[TheForge] My challenge for the month

[Phlip]

I've been watching this thread with interest, waiting to contct a friend who
works with disabilities.

Be careful, but don't over-protect her. Depending on the severity of her CP,
she may have a strong startle reflex, so be careful about loud noises- warn
her, until she gets used to them- and make sure she isn't holding a hammer
if you think you might trigger it ;-)

Let her try to do anything she thinks she can do. If she makes a mistake,
keep in mind, that just like for the rest of us, a minor burn is
educational- if she's as bright as she sounds, she'll learn not to do it
THAT way again ;-)

Don't worry too much about what she can't do- worry more about helping her
figure out how she can do it. If you're patient, show her how you do it,
then let her try to work it out her way, you'll have made another steel
junkie.

And don't let her disability fool you- she's not incapable, she's just
differently able. The only disability that I've been unable to figure out
how to help smith is blindness- for judging metal heat, Braille just doesn't
work well ;-)



Phlip

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....