Lesson 7 A Step Forward

Small Decisions, Big Changes

About you: What is a big decision you have made recently?

We make decisions every day. Should I take the bus or walk? Should

I help the homeless person or pass him by? These decisions are mostly

personal, and they seem insignificant at the time. But small decisions

can bring about big changes in your life and the world. Here are three

people who made great differences through their small decisions.

Ed Roberts

Ed Roberts became *disabled due to polio at the age of fourteen, in

1953. Paralyzed from the neck down, he could only move two fingers

and several toes. He attended high school by telephone because he

was afraid that people would stare at him. One day during his senior

year, Roberts asked himself a question, “Should I stay home or get out

and go to school like other people?” Instead of being a prisoner to his

disabilities, he decided to think of himself as a “celebrity” and go out

into the world.

Q1 Which body parts could Ed Roberts move after he became disabled?

Q2 What was Roberts afraid of?

 After graduating from high school in 1959, Roberts wanted to study

at the University of California, Berkeley, but they would not admit him

because of his disabilities. Even the California Department of Vocational

Rehabilitation refused to help him attend college. The Department’s

conclusion was that Roberts was too disabled to ever get a job.

Despite the obstacles he faced, Roberts became the first student with

severe disabilities to attend Berkeley. His brave decision led many other

disabled students to follow suit. Roberts started a disabled student

organization and led campus projects that provided services like

wheelchair repairs.

In 1976, Ed Roberts was appointed Director of the California

Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, which was the same agency

that had considered him unfit for any job.

About you: What is a difficult situation you have overcome in your life?