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Alex Johnson: Physically Disabled, he helps others to experience the use of a wheelchair as he does.
Alex, an 8th grader now age 14, was born with a rare skeletal disorder and has used a wheelchair since the 2nd grade.
Knowing that most people have no idea what it's like to depend upon a wheelchair, when he was in the 5th grade, he developed a very interesting idea:
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It is called, "Spend a Day in My Wheels," a friendly challenge to some of the others in his class to use a wheelchair for one day.
Those students learned how it is to depend upon a wheelchair, complete with all of its limitations, as basic as how to use the bathroom,
or how to overcome stairs or open heavy doors or deal with narrow doorways.
Recently, Alex took his challenge to the Tennessee House of Representatives, in which 10 of the legislators spent their day in wheelchairs. It sharply raised their awareness.
In a speech to them as reported by TV station WSMV Alex said, "I could talk to you for hours and hours about the difficulties people face on a daily basis."
"Until you actually sit in a chair, you'll never fully understand."
Why did he bring his challenge to the Tennessee legislature? "They can influence things," he told WSMV. "They can help people achieve more independence."
What Alex has done is very clever. He has taken the old adage, "walk a mile in my shoes," and made it "roll a mile in my shoes," to help others understand.
Editor's Note:To learn more cbsnews.com/news/tennessee-state-lawmakers-use-wheelchairs-after-14-year-old-boy-challenges-them-spend-day-in-wheels/ and cnn.com/2020/02/24/us/lawmakers-wheelchair-challenge-trnd/
In the next KazanToday:
The power of a trashed pencil.
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