Posted on 05/16/2012 8:08:43 PM PDT by rawhide
It can be a difficult time for many teens.
But high school for Barbara Behlmann has been exhilarating.
The 19-year-old has inspired her classmates at Hazelwood West High in St Louis - not because she was crowned homecoming queen or is a star cheerleader - but because she has Down's Syndrome. One of her teachers, Jodi Schutzenhofer, explained to STLToday.com: 'Unknowingly, Barbara has taught us all that nothing is impossible if you are willing to work for what you want.'
As the website reports, Barbara was four-years-old when child welfare workers placed her in the foster home of Gary and Karen Behlmann - malnourished at 22lbs.
Her birth parents had neglected and abandoned her; by then, she had already lived in 17 other homes and had extreme difficulties communicating.
Doctors described her as having 'failure to thrive.'
But the Behlmanns, STL Today reports, said slowly with nurturing and intense speech and language therapy, she began to flourish.
Today, she is considered one of the most outgoing students at Hazelwood - and one of the most popular.
Ever the teenage girl, Barbara also gushes about her boyfriend on Facebook, whom she describes as 'loving'.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Well-remembered: Barbara, front row, second from right, was also crowned homecoming queen by her classmates
Part of the team: Barbara, middle row, centre, poses for a cheer squad photo
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2145522/Barbara-Behlmann-Cheerleader-homecoming-queen-Downs-Syndrome-inspires-classmates.html#ixzz1v5oM00t1
This girl not only inspires me, but the entire student body the way they treat her and love her. Wow!
Tears
A nice break from the gay queens we hear about these days.
“A nice break from the gay queens we hear about these days.”
I was thinking the same thing. Great inspiration to learn from. And she’s more normal than those tranny and homo freaks that were voted prom king, queen, jester whatever..
fr mail
Kids at that age can be so cruel. If they truly accept her then it's absolutely amazing.
Outstanding!
it’s stories like these that give me hope that even if our country crashes there are young people with the stuff it takes to rebuilt it properly.
It is heartwarming - but sadly it’s not from a paper in the United States.
It's a story in a paper from the UK, but I believe the story is about a young lady in St. Louis MO!
Link the story to Sarah Palin’s FaceBook Page!
Being a kid that rode the “the short bus†and was in the special ed class...A quality of sole trumps what people see as physical or mental ability’s
The left detests these stories about people that will not accept victimhood and overcome their difficulties primarily through their own, and their family's, efforts instead of immediately demanding a new government program.
The Mail is not exactly conservative, but definitely leans more in that direction than 99% of the US media.
That explains it. ::Sigh::
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