Woman crosses disability barrier
Sunday, October 08, 2006
By NANCY H. GONTER
ngonter@repub.com
NORTHAMPTON - Claudia Moore O'Brien's apron is more than just something that holds everything she needs when her hands are busy with her crutches.
The apron, featured in her New children's book "My Mom's Apron," illustrates how people can handle any problem they are dealt.
"The reason I wrote it is I wanted to give people ideas that if something in your life is difficult, like your hands are filled with crutches, you try to find other ways to do things," Moore O'Brien told a group of third-graders recently after she read her book to them at R.K. Finn Ryan Road School.
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"My Mom's Apron," the first book for Moore O'Brien, who is a graphic designer, tells about her own experience of being a single mother with a disability raising a small daughter. That daughter, Olivia Caraher, is now 15 and a 10th-grader at Northampton High School.
The book tells how Moore O'Brien used an apron that once belonged to a friend who was a waitress and had lots of pockets, to hold all the things she needed, such as the telephone, biscuits for the dog, Zelly, and even the feather duster.
Moore O'Brien, 54, had polio when she was 5. It left her with one leg that is very weak and has a brace on it. She uses both crutches and a wheelchair, and told children that she has different-colored crutches and wheelchairs, including blue and red chairs.
She made it clear to children that there are few things she can't do because of her disability. She explained how she can take airplanes and will go to California next week. She also plays tennis and skis downhill using a special ski.
Pupils who heard Moore O'Brien read her book said they thought it was cool she wrote a book and they were amazed by some of the things she can do.
"I thought it was a good book. It was cool because she did it about her and how she had an apron and used it to hold the things she needed," said Brenna L. Gompper, 8, a third-grader.
Fellow third-grader Raven J. Cerina, also 8, said he liked the apron because it could hold anything. He was impressed that Moore O'Brien could participate in sports.
"That sort of amazed me. I never knew that," he said.
Moore O'Brien's book is available through her Web site www.artvandelayart.com for $6 and will soon be at local bookstores.
Saludos Cordiales
Dr. José Manuel Ferrer Guerra
By NANCY H. GONTER
ngonter@repub.com
NORTHAMPTON - Claudia Moore O'Brien's apron is more than just something that holds everything she needs when her hands are busy with her crutches.
The apron, featured in her New children's book "My Mom's Apron," illustrates how people can handle any problem they are dealt.
"The reason I wrote it is I wanted to give people ideas that if something in your life is difficult, like your hands are filled with crutches, you try to find other ways to do things," Moore O'Brien told a group of third-graders recently after she read her book to them at R.K. Finn Ryan Road School.
Advertisement
"My Mom's Apron," the first book for Moore O'Brien, who is a graphic designer, tells about her own experience of being a single mother with a disability raising a small daughter. That daughter, Olivia Caraher, is now 15 and a 10th-grader at Northampton High School.
The book tells how Moore O'Brien used an apron that once belonged to a friend who was a waitress and had lots of pockets, to hold all the things she needed, such as the telephone, biscuits for the dog, Zelly, and even the feather duster.
Moore O'Brien, 54, had polio when she was 5. It left her with one leg that is very weak and has a brace on it. She uses both crutches and a wheelchair, and told children that she has different-colored crutches and wheelchairs, including blue and red chairs.
She made it clear to children that there are few things she can't do because of her disability. She explained how she can take airplanes and will go to California next week. She also plays tennis and skis downhill using a special ski.
Pupils who heard Moore O'Brien read her book said they thought it was cool she wrote a book and they were amazed by some of the things she can do.
"I thought it was a good book. It was cool because she did it about her and how she had an apron and used it to hold the things she needed," said Brenna L. Gompper, 8, a third-grader.
Fellow third-grader Raven J. Cerina, also 8, said he liked the apron because it could hold anything. He was impressed that Moore O'Brien could participate in sports.
"That sort of amazed me. I never knew that," he said.
Moore O'Brien's book is available through her Web site www.artvandelayart.com for $6 and will soon be at local bookstores.
Saludos Cordiales
Dr. José Manuel Ferrer Guerra
posted by Klip7 at
4:59 AM
