Phyllis McIntosh

A deaf actress reaches the top of her profession.

Anyone who wants proof of what a deaf person can achieve in a hearing world need look no farther than the beautiful, accomplished actress Marlee Matlin. "The only thing I can't do is hear," she declares—a statement that sums up her approach to life.

Deaf since the age of 18 months, Matlin made her stage debut at seven as Dorothy in a children's theater production of The Wizard of Oz. At 21, she became the youngest winner of the Academy Award for best actress for her role as a young woman afraid to leave the safe confines of a school for the deaf in the film Children of a Lesser God. She went on to star in 14 other movies and to earn four Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. Most recently, she appeared for seven seasons as a White House adviser in the popular political drama The West Wing.

In addition to acting, Matlin is a celebrity spokesperson for the American Red Cross, serves on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, and has written several children's books about children who are deaf. In 1990, she was instrumental in persuading Congress to pass legislation requiring that all televisions manufactured in the United States be equipped with closed captioning—words that scroll across the bottom of the screen—to aid the hearing impaired.

The wife of a police officer and mother of four, Matlin says, "I am also a Girl Scout leader, cook, car pool driver, mediator, closet organizer, and pretend math whiz."

She credits her own parents for encouraging her to be independent. Now, she says, "I work every day to help people understand, like my parents taught me, that deaf people not only deserve respect, they deserve to be heard."

Special Olympics
Phyllis McIntosh

From a backyard day camp, Special Olympics has grown into a worldwide movement.

Throughout the world, more than 2 million children and adults with intellectual disabilities develop physical fitness and experience the thrill of athletic competition through the Special Olympics.

Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, the organization was inspired by a day camp for children with intellectual disabilities that Shriver had established at her Maryland home. Over the years, Special Olympics has become a truly global movement with more than 200 programs in 150 countries. Currently, for example, there are almost 550,000 participants in the United States, 500,000 in China, 4,400 in Rwanda, and 600 in Afghanistan. As a grass-roots, nonprofit organization, Special Olympics relies on the help of 700,000 volunteers worldwide to ensure that every one of these athletes enjoys a quality experience.

At no cost, athletes age eight and over can train year-round and compete in 30 Olympic-type sports, from alpine skiing to volleyball. In the process, they condition their bodies, develop skills and friendships, and become productive and respected members of society. Through the Special Olympics Young Athletes Program, children ages two through seven build skills for future sports participation.

Thousands also participate in the Special Olympics World Summer Games and World Winter Games, each held every four years. The 2007 summer games will take place in Shanghai, China; the next winter games in 2009 in Boise, Idaho. Between World Games, athletes compete in local, state, national, and regional games. In 2006, Special Olympics is hosting regional games in Latin America, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East/North Africa and is sponsoring the First International Cricket Cup in Mumbai, India. In addition to competition, the games offer free health screenings for athletes, special forums where families can share ideas and resources, and youth summits to foster understanding between young people with and without disabilities.

Phyllis McIntosh

An actor who has Down syndrome reaches a different audience with Upbeat magazine.

The words that best describe the content of Upbeat, currently the only magazine in the United States written by and for people with Down syndrome, are "inspirational" and "uplifting." Published by the National Down Syndrome Society and directed also to family and friends of cognitively impaired people, the magazine is a mix of news and personal essays, each piece written by someone with Down syndrome.

"These are stories from our hearts about what it's like to grow up with Down syndrome and how to speak up for ourselves," says the decidedly upbeat editor-in-chief, Chris Burke, a popular role model in the Down syndrome community. Launched by Burke and the society's staff as News and Views in 1994, the magazine was, he says, inspired partly by a newsletter at the private school he attended.

Also an actor, musician, and goodwill ambassador for the National Down Syndrome Society, Burke is best known for his ground-breaking role as a young man with Down syndrome growing up in a loving family but struggling for acceptance in the outside world on the television show Life Goes On, which aired in the early 1990s and has just been released on DVD.

Today, Burke presents musical concerts with two long-time friends, twin brothers Joe and John DeMasi, spreading a message of love and inclusion through hundreds of performances a year at schools, festivals, and conferences.

When Burke was born in 1965, doctors advised his parents to place him in an institution. Instead, they treated him the same as his siblings and made sure he received a first-rate education. He likes to share with others the motto that has guided his life: "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal. Always say to yourself, 'Yes I can.' Believe in yourself, work hard, never give up!"

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