Thirteen-year-old Sean Nichols plays basketball, rides horses, and competes in Taekwondo. That surprises some people because Sean uses a wheelchair.
"If someone has a physical disability, they can still do things that other kids can," Sean explains. "They either have to do it in a different way, or it's just a bit harder." He's been sharing that message with kids and adults in his community since he was three.
When Sean was a baby, his family learned that he has a spinal (脊柱) condition that makes walking difficult. As he started school each year, he and his mom would talk with his class to help the kids understand why Sean uses a wheelchair. He now talks with kids in younger grades and answers their questions himself.
He also speaks at a nearby university each year and works with people who are studying physical therapy (治疗). He helps them understand what it's like to live with a disability and learn how to treat kids with challenges like his. "It's great helping people who are going to help other kids down the line," Sean says.
Sean finds lots of ways to increase disability awareness, including through events at school and in Scouts. He and his coaches demonstrate wheelchair basketball, then observers get to try out a chair. They see how much arm strength it takes. "It's funny to see all the people say, 'Oh, this is going to be easy',"
Sean says. "Then after, they take back what they said!" If kids want to race, Sean will race them. At times he goes backward—and still wins!
Sean hopes to change how people with disabilities are seen. "My goal is, if a person later sees someone with a disability, they see a person," he says, "like themselves. "
