Breaking Down Barriers: Youth With Physical Challenges (Youth with Special Needs)

By: Joan Esherick

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Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Samantha Stevenson doesn't know what to do when Jenny, a girl who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheel chair, moves in next door. After a rocky start, however, the two teenagers become friends, and Jenny leads Samantha into a world she's never seen. Through Jenny, Samantha meets many other people--Tyrone, who is missing a leg; Allison, who lost the use of her arms and legs in a diving accident; Katie, who has spina bifida; and Ben, whose life will be shortened by muscular dystrophy. Samantha's five new friends all have different physical conditions, different abilities, and different ways of seeing their world, but each one teaches Samantha lessons she'll never forget. What causes physical disabilities and what is it like to live with physical challenges? Through the story of Samantha and Jenny, Breaking Down Barriers: Youth with Physical Challenges will teach you about several types of disabilities, their causes, and treatments. Along the way, you will not only learn about the struggles people with physical challenges face, but about the many ways that people with such challenges are living full, happy, and rewarding lives.