Artistic gifts and other amazing abilities may be wrapped in

Unexpected packages

Model kid: Chris Petulla, who has Down syndrome, has modeled for magazines and print ads and acted in plays and movies. Chris is a sophomore at CSAS.

By Amy Petulla

Do you remember the poem that starts, “Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace”? Years ago, when I was pregnant, I thought a Sunday child was clearly the best: “bonny and blithe and good and gay” (in the old-fashioned, happy sense). And sure enough, I got exactly what I wished for: a son who is lighthearted and cheerful and good, born not only on Sunday, but on Father’s Day! What I didn’t count on was the absence from that little ditty of any mention of a particular IQ. When my son was born with Down syndrome, it was a total shock.

Years later, when another mom who had had a similar experience was expressing doubt about whether God answers prayers, I replied that He does—only sometimes his answers come in unexpected packages. People are often misled by the absence of the usual shiny ribbons on the outside of those unexpected packages, and in not exploring them, they miss out on discovering some truly amazing gifts.

Just like everyone else, people with disabilities have gifts as well as challenges, some things they are very good at, and some things they struggle with. You hear a lot about the “dis-” part of disabilities. Well, I’d like to share with you some about the “abilities”: stories of some great artists, actors, authors and athletes who, as a result of Down syndrome, happen to have more than the typical amount of challenges, but let their gifts shine through, nonetheless.

Creative stars shine

Some of these people have made their mark on the national level. Chris Burke starred for years as “Corky” on the television show Life Goes On. He also appeared in numerous other television shows and movies, and continues to perform throughout the country, along with his band. He recently thrilled audiences here in Chattanooga at the Hayes Auditorium of the Fine Arts Center.

In 1996, Pascal Duquenne, a Belgian actor with Down syndrome, won, along with his costar, the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for their film, The Eighth Day. (For those who don’t know, Cannes is the international equivalent of the Academy Awards.)

Raymond Hu is an internationally known artist whose watercolors on rice paper have been the subject of a PBS documentary, as well as a book, The Eyes of Raymond Hu. His original paintings sell for thousands of dollars. Sujeet Desai is an internationally known musician who has been hired throughout the United States as well as such far-flung places as Singapore and Dubai to play violin, clarinet and piano. He performed in Chattanooga in 2002 at the first “Celebration of Abilities,” and his wedding was featured in Time magazine.

Daniel Skandera of Atlanta, winner of the Itzhak Perlman award, also performed in Chattanooga recently, playing the marimba, one of the hardest instruments to learn.  Despite teachers’ warnings that he would never develop hand-eye coordination, he learned to play this 7-foot-long percussion instrument, with not just one, but two sets of mallets. His mother tells how he had to learn 20 spelling words per week at the regular public school he attended, and in his 12 years of public education, he missed only one of those spelling words. Daniel went on to become a guest-student at Georgia State University.

Emmanuel Bishop, now 12 years old, has performed in concert halls on the violin, and he surprised many by learning to read by the age of 2. Jason Kingsley and Mitchell Levitz have written an autobiographical book, Count Us In, about growing up with intellectual disabilities. The book has won several awards and been translated into numerous languages, including Japanese and Hebrew. Mitchell is also a gifted public speaker and politician. Nor is he the only person with Down syndrome whose public speaking ability led them into politics. In 1998, Nannie Sanchez garnered 35 percent of the vote for the New Mexico State School Board.
And you don’t have to look far from home to find artistic talent among the so-called disabled. Bernadette Resha is a Tennessee artist whose art recently appeared on Pepsi cans throughout the nation. Her talents have been displayed in galleries in New York as well as in Nashville’s Frist Center.

Gifted—and givers

My own “unexpected package” also has been making a name for himself, both here in Chattanooga and nationally. Chris Petulla, who is a sophomore at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, has performed in several plays here at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre Youth Theatre, as well as three movies (including the locally shot Thick as Thieves), was in Gametime catalog, and was a featured model in the United Methodist Church’s national diversity print ad campaign. In addition, he has appeared on the cover of Breaking Ground magazine.

Chris served as a stage escort for several models with Down syndrome in a recent fashion show featuring clothing from Maurice’s. The models included Polly Vandergriff, Emily Billings, Octavia Rivers, Lori Liner, Jamie McCurry, Dina Reagan, Ginger Guilbert and Sarah Philpott. Sarah, by the way, has completed two years at Hiawassee College, where she took classes and lived in the dorms, just like any other student.

Chattanooga also has several distinguished student athletes in the disability community. To name just a few: Jason Rogers, who attends Red Bank High School and competes in golf and swimming; Rachel Andry, who competes in equestrian and other events; and Jamie McCurry, who has played soccer on a “typical” team. There are also the many, many athletes who compete in track and field and numerous other events in Special Olympics.

Finally, there are many in this disability community with a special gift for sharing. Former President George W. Bush personally presented Debbie Chadwick with the USA Freedom Corps Greeter Award for her extensive volunteer work at Erlanger Hospital. Jason Rogers has been recognized with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award for his work in a soup kitchen, as a missionary, and at the Creative Discovery Museum.  Sarah Field and Chris Petulla also have received Presidential Volunteer Service Awards for their work at CDM.

So the next time you get the urge to hurry past someone who looks or acts different from you, resist. You never know what kinds of gifts you’ll find inside the different packaging!

Amy Petulla is the owner of Chattanooga Ghost Tours, Inc.