When I first heard there was a story about a one-armed high school tennis player who made it to the Kentucky State High School Tournament, my thought was that was nice. But, I didn’t think it was a whole lot more than that. I was mistaken.
Jacob Raleigh had played in the tournament two years before, when he had two arms. Now he was back playing again with only one arm. Okay. This gets a little more interesting. But there is more.
Raleigh’s dominant hand was his left hand. However, the young man developed a rare soft-tissue cancer in his left wrist which eventually led to the amputation of his left arm. Now, this is a big deal.
This young man, in the short two years between playing in the state tournament, had cancer, lost his dominant arm, learned to play tennis again with his right arm and still made it to the state tournament. Oh, and people who lose an arm, no matter the reason, have to learn to balance themselves all over again. This is huge!
This young man is obviously going to succeed in whatever he chooses to do in life, since he is so determined. It also goes to show that having a disability does not change the character of the person. It only changes one characteristic.
If you are an employer and an applicant with a disability looks to be employed in your business, think of Jacob Raleigh. I don’t guarantee that your applicant will be that determined, but you need to at least consider that the person in front of you is the same person, with the same education and experience, he or she was before disability and that it is likely that you can accommodate the disability with a simple accommodation.
Annette Bourbonniere
401-846-1960
Fax: 401-846-1944
Twitter: @AccessInclude
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