GRINELL, Iowa, June 3, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- How does a person act around the handicapped? How does one deal with those who are not normal physically? Dr. Ruth C. Webb, Ph.D., explores these questions and how able-bodied (AB) people interact with the handicapped (gimps) in How ABs See Gimps (now available through 1stBooks). The book is a compilation of stories to illustrate four perpetual mechanisms normal people use to reject the physically handicapped. How ABs See Gimps is designed to help family members and strangers as well as professionals to understand the mechanism of rejection.
In How ABs See Gimps, short stories portray interactions between able-bodied and physically disabled people in various settings and places to illustrate the processes of rejection. The characters and situations are drawn from incidents occurring in relationships between the handicapped, the people they love and the people who love them as well as the casual passerby.
Webb draws from her own personal experiences with interacting able-bodied people and the mechanisms of avoidance and rejection she often faced. As a child, Webb was injured at birth and left with Cerebral Palsy. How ABs See Gimps is a sequel to her memoir Journey Into Personhood that was published in 1994 by the University of Iowa Press. Webb designed the book to assist caring people and professionals -- teachers, mental health experts, ministers and physicians -- to understand negative reactions to handicapped persons by the general public. She also hopes that these stories will help parents and family members to understand the dynamics involved in caring for handicapped children and adults.
Dr. Ruth C. Webb spent 25 years working with physically and mentally handicapped persons in a workshop and hospital schools. She is now retired and lives in a retirement community. Dr. Webb was educated by her mother and graduated from two universities: Drew with a Bachelor of Arts and Syracuse with a Master of Arts in education, thereafter pursuing a doctorate at the University of Illinois.
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