Armless Girl Wonders Why She's Always Picked Last For Dodgeball

Legless Boy Voices Same Concerns at Kickball Tryouts

ANN ARBOR, MI-- For most children at Tappan Middle School, P.E. class is the best time of the day. But for 7^th-grader Julie Raison, who was born without arms, gym can be painful.

"Gym's okay sometimes, I guess," said Julie. "It's just the days we play dodgeball that I don't like. I mean, nobody ever wants me on their team, and I don't get why. They just kind of avoid looking at me when they're picking teams. But I'm always the last person out when we play, usually nobody even throws a ball anywhere near me until there's nobody else left to hit.

"And anyway, I'm always, like, the first person picked when we play soccer," Julie added. "It just doesn't make any sense."

Julie's parents say that she was often glum and distracted after days when she played dodgeball in gym. He would even refuse to take part in rollicking games of "Snake in the Grass" with her three siblings-- an after-school staple at the Raison household-- with Julie featured as the "snake" nearly every time.

Several of Julie's teachers also noticed frequent changes in her academic performance after her P.E. classes, and investigated the reasons. In doing so, they noted other problems with Julie's performance in school.

"Well, Julie's a very special child," said her social studies teacher Jenny Giles., "and she has very special needs. Julie exhibits the signs of a child who needs a little extra help with her education. She never volunteers to answer questions in class, writes sloppily, always with her pens in her mouth, and she's reluctant to socialize with other children, just staring as they offer their hands in friendship. A couple of the other teachers and I had a meeting, and we decided that Julie would be better off in special education classes."

Julie has recently been placed in such a class, and she is still adjusting to her new environment.

"I thought I was learning okay in my classes, but they told me I had to be in different ones," Julie said. "I guess they must be right. After all, who could argue with the unbounded wisdom and compassion of middle school teachers?"

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