Birth
My story begins on July 21, 1959 at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago. I weighed only 2 pounds and 11 ounces. I started losing weight and the doctors weren’t sure I would live.
My fight to live was in all the local newspapers and people all over the country were praying for me and my Mom and Dad.
ars Early Ye
I must have put up a good fight because on the 31st day I was still alive! My fight was not over. The doctors said that I had a lot of disability issues and that I should be put in an
They told my parents I would need constant care for the rest of my life. institution.
Early Years
d
Me an
ter my sis
Judy
When I was four and a half I went to nursery school and then to Kindergarten. It
took a long time to learn how to walk and talk.
My Mom was not here for my fifth birthday, she went
I still think about my Mom and know she is looking out for me. My dad got to heaven in Jan. 1964.
remarried and I got a new sister named Caren.
needed a special school, a place where children can go to school, get job skills, and a place to live. On Feb 5, 1968
my Mom and Dad brought me to Little City. This was going to be my new home for the next 21 years.
Here I am with my mom and dad at Little City
ay s School D
My parents always wanted the best for me. I
D ays
Sch ool
It was very difficult at first but I learned fast. My school classes were called Basic Academics. I had gym, arts, crafts and music. I was in a band called American Eagles, I played the tambourine.
I graduated from Little City School with a Basic Academics diploma on Feb 15, 1979. Thanks to all my teachers
I learned reading and counting. My mom, dad and sisters were very proud of me.
who never gave up on me.
track and field, swimming, volleyball, basketball, and bowling. I also tried gymnastics floor exercise.
Activities
In 1970 I joined Little City’s Special Olympics team. My first sports were
orts & Sp
ills
chen sk
ning kit Me lear
As a Girl Scout Troop 121 Leader with former Bears player Gary Fencik
I’m doing the standin g long jump in the Special Oly mpics
Employm ent
Little City taught me job skills. In 1980 I went to work at a fast food restaurant. I cleaned tables, bathrooms, and outside playground toys and helped make french fries. In 1983 I got my
first full-time job at
The American Egg Board as an Office Clerk.
My first jobs were important because I
was given responsibilities and learned teamwork.
This year I will celebrate 30 years at The American Egg Board.
food restaurant. I cleaned tables, bathrooms, and outside playground
High School Diploma. I enrolled in Read to Learn program and took the
toys and helped make french fries.
I finally passed and got my High School Diploma. My
GED test 8 times and did not pass. On May 2, 1998
In 1983 I got my
first full-time job at
family was very proud of
The American Egg Board as an Office Clerk.
was given responsibilities and learned teamwork.
me for not giving up.
My first jobs were important because I
This year I will celebrate 30 years at The American Egg Board.
At my GED graduation party
reams my D
Employm ent
I always believed to go for your dreams. My dream was to get my
Ach ievin g
Little City taught me job skills. In 1980 I went to work at a fast
Achieving my Dreams
When I was 10 years old I watched my older sister celebrate her Bat Mitzvah. When I asked my parents when I could have mine, I was told that it would be too difficult
It became a dream of mine to have a Bat Mitzvah someday, and finally I did at 47 years old! for me because I could not read.
Me with Little C ity Exec Directo utive r Shaw at my B n E. Jeffers at Mitz vah.
independent, and how to teach other people with
On August 5, 1989, I moved out of Little City in my own apartment. As I look back over my years at Little City, I see that everything my teachers and staff taught me were to prepare me for that day. I was 30 years old and going to start my new life. Today I am still living on my own using all the skills that I have learned at Little City.
I enjoy being a part of my community.
oals my G
disabilities the skills I had learned.
Re a ch in g
I learned many things that made me the person I am today. I learned to be responsible,
In my 21 years living at Little City,
Well this is where I say goodbye, but it’s not the end of my story. I hope that it can reach other people and be an inspiration to them. I want to dedicate my story to my dad. He was my hero who told me
“Never give up your dreams.”
To see Sue’s complete scrapbook, or to Give to Little City, visit www.littlecity.org/scrapbook COPYRIGHT 2009 SUE SALTSBERG & LITTLE CITY FOUNDATION