JIM ABBOTTLiving an improbable Life against the odds. Born without a hand he was a son, a brother, a devoted husband, loving father, and professional MLB player.

JIM ABBOTT“People will tell you that I overcame obstacles -- maybe. But the truth is I was incredibly blessed in my life. More was given than was ever taken away.”

SOCIAL BARRIERS

Stereotyping

Isolation

Looking for

work only to be denied

Funny looks from

others

Pity

Passivity

Dependence

EMOTIONAL BARRIERSBeing treated as if contagious. He was made to feel

ugly inside about himself.

Being last picked for school sports making him feel like he was worthless and should stop trying.

Being told he would never be successful which created a self-esteem issue

DISABILITIES IN AMERICA

10 percent of those 18 to 64 have a disabilityUtah is actually the state with the lowest reported disabilitiesVirginia is the highest

12.4 Percent of women and 11.7 have a disability

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Ratio of upper limb amputation is 1:4The most common limb loss is partial hand with losing 1 or more fingersSecond most common amputation is the arm.

More than 2 million people are living without a limb

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60 percent of arm amputations occur in those ages 21-64.70 percent of all people living with upper limb loss have amputations below the elbow.

HAND PROSTHETICS

CHILDHOOD• Born September 19, 1967 as a military child moving from city to city never really making friend which left him feeling lonely and isolated.• Born without his right hand• His early years were filled with alienation and self-hate for being different.• At five his parents took him to a specialty hospital to “get fixed” where he stayed for a month and received a hook arm.

CHILDHOOD HOSPITAL STAYHis time at the hospital started out rocky, but for the first time in his life he was surrounded by children that all had disabilities and he no longer was singled out, stared at and made fun of.

He befriended a little girl who unlike him was missing both arms yet managed to brush her teeth with her feet. She was happy all the time. It was this little girl that gave Jim a new perspective on not focusing on his disabilities but rather his abilities.

LEAVING THE HOSPITAL As he left the hospital he remembers the epiphany that his father had while he was looking around at the other kids in the hospital that were worse off than Jim and he said: “The kids in that hospital needed tending to and regular care, but the kid in this backseat… will be just fine!”

On the drive home Jim remembers looking down at his hook arm thinking it was too big, heavy and bulky. Jim felt it was harder to live with the fake hand than without it. He said he liked who he was and he didn’t want to hide it.

COPING AS A CHILDWhen he was little they made a show called The Six-Million Dollar Man and the main character Steve had a bionic arm. When he was feeling defeated or down he would pretend to be Steve and pretend the world needed him for secret covert missions .He remembers that every time he slipped away into his pretend mode he would karate-chop a can of coke. As he puts it later on in his life he “saved the world one can of Coke at a time.”

NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES SURROUNDING HIM

As time went by he remembers wanting to be accepted for who he was.• He was constantly being stared at by strangers• Given pitiful looks all the time • Being apologized to about how sorry people felt for him.• People spoke softly to him as though he was frail and would break.

He hated pity and he hated anyone feeling sorry for him because he could do everything anyone else could do it just took him longer.

NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES WITH HIS DISABILITY IN SCHOOL

His first day at kindergarten he wished Sears made a pair of pants with pockets deep enough to hide his arm because he hated the questions.

He remembers on his first day of kindergarten that the sight of his arm made a little girl cry in fear.

The teacher called his parents and asked them to have a talk with him about being careful and not scaring the other children

Jim remembers that life at school wasn’t just a single unpleasant episode but rather daily episodes that were followed by fighting and the desire to be accepted.

COPING WITH NEGATIVE PEOPLE AND FINDING HELP FROM

OTHERS There was an episode in school where a mean spirited girl walked right up to him and told him she didn’t like his hand. And marked the first time he was brought to tears.

Mr. Clarkson his favorite teacher offered him the advise to: “Tell her next time that you don’t like her face because she can’t change her face any more than you can change your hand.”

Jim built a bond with Mr. Clarkson and it was him that taught Jim how to tie his own shoes. It took him two days of working with his teacher but he did it.

FINDING INSPIRATION FROM A TEACHER

His third grade teacher inspired him to succeed against the odds and against what everyone else would think about him.

Mr. Clarkson told the story of when he was born the doctor used forceps on his head and clipped a nerve which led him to walk with a limp. Doctors and his parents didn’t think he would amount to much but in his early adult life he went on to college and ended up working for NASA as a space science education specialist.

FINDING STRENGTH FROM HIS FAMILY

• His family refused to treat him like he had a disability• His family never doubted that he would become a great person no matter

what he did.• His family did not make any special housing provisions or ask that he be

given any special opportunities.• His siblings wrestled with him, argued with him, and treated him like he

had no disabilities. • Treated him as though he was like everyone else was the goal growing

up. They wouldn’t let him have excuses.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS• 1985 Drafted, selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 36th round of the

1985 free-agent draft• July 18, 1987 Jim was the first American pitcher to defeat Cuba in Cuba in

25 years.• August, 1987 Jim carried the United States flag during the opening

ceremonies at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana.• 1988 Received the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher• Member of the U.S. Olympic baseball team. Abbott pitched a complete

game leading the United States to a gold medal victory over Japan, in Seoul, Korea.

• The first baseball player to win the Jesse Owens Award as Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS• 1991 Victory Award recipient at the Kennedy Center

Washington D.C.• 1993 As pitcher for the Yankees, Jim Abbott no-hit the

Tribe, 4-0, in a game at Yankee Stadium. Abbott was the first Yankees pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a decade.• 2000 Began professional motivational speaking.• 2004 Inducted to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.• 2007 Elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.• 2012 Wrote a book called Imperfect: The improbable life

CAREER MEDIA COVERAGEThe one thing he didn’t like about the media coverage was that they would try and pound it into his head that he was different; he went all this time getting to a place where he thought he was normal and here comes the media trying to make him out to be special. He said that it can be very pressing if you don’t have the right attitude and it could make a person bitter.

CAREER MOVE TO MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER

After his baseball career ended he made the choice to become a motivational speaker and his “power word” is ADAPT. He relates the word adapt to Darwin when Darwin said that “those who can adapt best to their surroundings will survive and they will win.” He feels that the five letters in the word adapt give us five strategies in life to live by.

AdjustabilityA

DeterminationD

Accountability A

PerseveranceP

TrustT

JIM ABBOTT

Adapt“Success and so much in life

depends on our ability to adapt. There is a strength

and a resiliency within all of us to respond to what

comes our way.”

PROJECT REFERENCES AND CITATIONS

ReferencesAbbott, Jim and Tim Brown. Imperfect: An Improbable Life. 1. New York: Ballantine Books, 2012. Book. July 2014.Baseball Reference. n.d. 17 July 2014. <http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/abbotji01.shtml>.Bureau, U.S Census. Recent U.S Disability Statistics from the Census Bureau. 18 July 2014. July 2014. <http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/census-stats.php>.Jim Abbott: Motivational Speaker and Professional Baseball Player. 2014. 13 July 2014. <http://www.jimabbott.net/>.Limb Loss Statistics. 2014. Internet. 13 July 2014. <http://www.amputee-coalition.org/limb-loss-resource-center/resources-by-topic/limb-loss-statistics/limb-loss-statistics/index.html>.Profile America Facts for features. 29 May 2013. 17 July 2014. <https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb13-ff15.html>.SABR Baseball Biography Project. n.d. 13 July 2014. <http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/635e3a93>.

GROUP-TRANSFORMER

Allie SchneiderRodney Walker

Mason Anderson

GROUPS QUESTIONSWhat did you learn about those having disabilities?

People assume that a person having a disability or affliction doesn't have feelings or can't notice when they are being talked down to, made fun of, or discriminated against.

Having a disability doesn’t count you out in life and the great things it has to offer.

What did you learn about the group process?

It taught us that conflict can arise when someone in the group doesn’t do their equal part and someone else has to do it for them.Working in a group gives the opportunity for new ideas and fresh perspectives they may not come from one person.

What was your team’s decision making process?

In the beginning it was very rough collaborating as people were not able to always join the discussions.In the end, our team made every effort to keep each other in the loop through emails and open communication.We used the majority rules method.

CLASS QUESTIONSAssuming people with a disability hope to be treated equal to those without a disability, is there a "neutral ground" where a person with a disability is not being discriminated against, favored, or pitied?

How can we identify those boundaries and avoid crossing them?

GROUP INDIVIDUAL GRADES

Mason’s Individual EvaluationDiscussion Participation/Contribution: 10Use of learned class concepts: 10Availability and Cooperation: 10Role Function: 10Level of Input: 10

Rodney’s Individual EvaluationDiscussion Participation/Contribution: 10Use of learned class concepts: 10Availability and Cooperation: 10Role Function: 10Level of Input: 10

Allie’s Individual EvaluationDiscussion Participation/Contribution: 10Use of learned class concepts: 10Availability and Cooperation: 10Role Function: 10Level of Input: 10