These Ouachita Baptist University women are not letting anything hold them back--they are embracing, overcoming and empowering.
A Life-Changer
Anna Caroline Strickland looked at all of the young faces around her. Each child had difficulties to overcome, and she knew at that moment that she would be the one to help them along the way.
Strickland discovered her love for helping children by volunteering at Easterseals Arkansas, an organization in Little Rock that provides services to people with disabilities or special needs.
Strickland wanted to be a part of the organization because she had received help from Easterseals herself. She attended preschool there to receive occupational and physical therapy for over ten years due to her Cerebral Palsy (CP).
According to cerebralpalsy.org, CP is the result of brain damage, which happens when there is a brain injury or an abnormal development of the brain that occurs before, during or immediately after birth.
The range of physical impairment that results from CP varies for each individual. It can affect the control of different limbs, posture, muscle tone, fine motor skills and more.
Because there are so many different types and forms of CP, there are classification systems based on severity level, topographical distribution and motor function.
“Some people, God bless their souls, are bed-ridden and are dependent on others to take care of them,” Strickland said. “Luckily, God blessed me with the type where I would not be dependent on other people for basic living skills.”
Strickland has spastic CP. This form of CP affects motor function and muscle tone. The term hypertonic describes the increased muscle tone of spastic CP, which results in stiff limbs and awkward movements.
“I’m really tight all over, and I never really relax. I do relax, but Carol and Nancy [my professors] tease me about coming in and me jumping,” said Strickland. “They’re just talking to me, and they’ll come in in a quiet room and I’ll like jump out the chair, falling out of my desk. I startle at the slightest tap.”
During her childhood, Strickland had to have three different surgeries. The first one was after 1st grade and was done to reduce the spasticity in her arms and legs. The other two surgeries occurred after 6th grade.
Her femurs had begun to turn out, which caused her to have broken metatarsals. She went to Arkansas Children’s Hospital where the doctors cut her femurs and rotated them to make them straight. Although the surgeries were successful, they presented Strickland with a new challenge.
“I basically had to learn to walk all over again,” Strickland said. “That was a lovely experience—not. It was so difficult.”
But Strickland was not on her own. Her mom Lynn Sharp was beside her for every step.
“It goes without saying what an incredible person Anna Caroline is,” Lynn said. “I have never heard her say that she cannot do something. She perseveres no matter the challenges. As difficult as these surgeries were, I knew they were not only necessary, but they would be life-altering for her. God let her live at birth, and I knew she was destined for greatness. I had to be strong and faithful for us both. She met these challenges head-on like a champion.”
Strickland knows CP will affect her for the rest of her life, so she is grateful for the help she receives from people at school and her family.
“My mom pushes me because that’s how parents should be. They should push their kids to be the best that they can be,” Strickland said. “My mom, she’s a trooper, and so is Lizzie, my sister. She says I teach her patience.”
2018
Ouachita Grad
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Encouragement was important for Strickland when it came time for her to look at colleges. Her stepsister Jillian Sharp told her about Ouachita Baptist University, and Strickland liked the idea of a smaller campus with smaller class sizes.
“I wanted to go where everyone knew my name like in 'Cheers,'” Strickland said.
So, Strickland scheduled a tour. It was not long after that she made up her mind about where to go to school. However, deciding on a major took a bit more time.
She was an English major and an elementary education major before she finally settled on communication sciences and disorders. Her interest in the major grew from talking about speech therapy with her stepdad Greg Sharp and her neighbor, who was an OBU alumna with the communication sciences and disorders major.
“Then I took Phonetics, which was my first class with Carol. I loved it, but boy was that a shock sitting there,” Strickland said. “I still remember what I had on that first day in Phonetics, mainly because it changed my life completely and for the better. I definitely feel overwhelmed at some points, but in the overall, I think this is where my life is gonna take me. I think I’ll be happy overall, and I am happy.”
Even her family members could tell that this was the direction she needed to go.
"As a child she received physical and occupational therapies, so she wanted to give back to others because of her positive experiences and all that she had learned," said Greg. "Anna Caroline felt that she could change other’s lives as well. She has learned so much through Carol and Nancy; they have had a profound effect on her and her career choice.”
Although the courses in this program are challenging for anyone, they present some additional challenges for Strickland. She requires extra time to take tests and occasionally has had to dictate her answers to another student. But her professors are always willing to work with her.
“I kid you not, everywhere I go everybody has done everything they can to help me,” Strickland said. “Everybody at Episcopal [Collegiate School] helped me in any way they could, everybody at OBU has helped me in any way they could.”
The Ouachita community of professors and students have provided Strickland with the environment and skills she needs to pursue her goals and passions.
“She has grown immeasurably over the past four years,” Lynn said. “It was a huge step for her leaving home, her family and her safe place. OBU provided the same safe place that she had known, yet she could thrive and grow into the successful person that she has become.”
Strickland had always been drawn to speech therapy, even when she was a preschooler at Easterseals. She had a friend who had to have speech therapy, and she would beg the therapist to let her come along.
So, Strickland decided to return to Easterseals in 6th grade to meet community service requirements for Episcopal. She enjoyed it so much that when she needed a job the summer after her freshman year of college, she applied to be a volunteer. She has returned every summer since.
“Those kids are so resilient and full of life. I love those kids, every single one of them. I always think about them when I’m having a bad day, and they just bring a smile to my face,” said Strickland.
All of Strickland’s time at Easterseals has impacted her plans to go into speech therapy after graduation because she understands the importance of being able to communicate with loved ones.
“Easterseals has totally solidified in me, from all the help that I received as a little girl, I want to be that hopefully life-changing person,” Strickland said. “But if I’m not, I’m okay with that. I just want to help kids, that’s all I want to do. I want to help them communicate with the best of their ability. I want to help every kid who comes to me.
I hope I help them realize, in some small way, that they can be and do anything they set their hearts to. All they have to do is put forth the effort. Then it’ll go from there.”
All the kids in Strickland's class made these pieces of art for her. They gave her the handprint flower in 2015 and the footprint butterfly in 2016.
Differently Abled
Lindsey Edwards opened her Bible. Within the pages full of highlighted passages and notes, she found stories, stories that showed her how God was going to use her.
Lindsey Edwards is a senior Christian studies major at Ouachita. When she was little she wanted to be a motivational speaker. Now she speaks to fellow students at Refuge, a Thursday evening worship service held at 2nd Baptist Church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
Edwards draws from her own life experiences to encourage others. She talks about how in the Psalms people praise God, but they also cry out to God in times of distress and suffering. They lament, and Edwards has lamented to God about her own struggles in life--she suffers from a rare birth defect called Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome.
Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is a birth defect, and the cause is unknown. According to the Genetics Home Reference website, KTS affects at least one in 100,000 people globally. It has four features that affect the body's development:
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port-wine stain
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overgrowth of soft tissue (skin, muscles)
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overgrowth of bones
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vein malformations
A port-wine stain is a birthmark that occurs when blood vessels near the surface of the skin swell. This causes that area of the skin to turn a pink or maroon color.
The abnormal growth of skin, muscle and bone can affect arms, legs and even the torso. This can make limbs longer, heavier and subject to chronic pain.
Vein malformations also cause pain for a person with the syndrome. Varicose veins occur when the blood vessels become twisted and swollen. If deep veins in the body are malformed, this can lead to a very serious issue called deep vein thrombosis, which is a type of blood clot. And this can develop into a life-threatening situation--pulmonary embolism--if that blood clot goes through the bloodstream and to the lungs.
With a condition as serious as KTS, there will be complications. According to the Genetics Home Reference website, one of the complications is "a skin infection called cellulitis, swelling caused by a buildup of fluid (lymphedema), and internal bleeding from abnormal blood vessels."
Other possible complications include syndactyly (the fusion of fingers or toes) and polydactyly (an extra finger or toe), but these are not as common as cellulitis.
According to the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, there is currently no known cure for KTS.
Listen to Lindsey talk about how she faces the complications that come with KTS.
Setting the Example
A seven-year-old Rebekah Cobb sat in her classroom and smiled up at her teacher. She knew that when she grew up she wanted to help children the way her teacher helped her.
The “hidden disability.” This term is used to describe different types of learning disabilities because they are not always noticeable to others. According to the Learning Disabilities Association of America’s website, “the person looks perfectly 'normal' and seems to be a very bright and intelligent person, yet may be unable to demonstrate the skill level expected from someone of a similar age.”
Learning disabilities interfere with how the brain processes information, so this can affect how people learn reading, writing and math skills. It can also affect attention span.
A person who has a learning disability will have to face the challenges it brings for the rest of her life because there is no cure. However, with a strong support system from those around her and the perseverance to keep learning, a person can go on to accomplish what she wants to do.
And Rebekah Cobb has done just that. Cobb is a senior sociology major with a Christian studies minor at Ouachita Baptist, and she has a learning disability and comprehension.
In elementary and high school, Cobb was in resource classes with some other students where the teacher would teach on their level because they were one level below where they were supposed to be.
“I worked better one-on-one, and so that’s where I learned and comprehended information faster, better,” said Cobb. “That was nice, but I do remember in language arts in 3rd grade, for us that was the grade you learned how to write cursive. Well, I never learned cursive. I only know how to write my name in cursive because I was still learning how to write in print.
So I think that was a downfall because yes they were teaching at my level and what I needed to know, but it’s not great when your friends know cursive and you’re like, ‘Don’t see my signature because it looks bad.’”
Unfortunately, public schools can make mistakes like this when teaching students with learning disabilities. And some schools are not quick to even test students for disabilities because of the high expenses of the tests and services.
Dr. Wesley Kluck, who is a member of Ouachita’s physician services staff, has been the medical director at Ascent, a pediatric preschool for kids with developmental and behavioral issues, for 17 years and said that there is a doctor in town who has a comprehension exam for $600.
Because she was in different classes than the majority of her classmates, Cobb struggled with feeling different from others, but in the end, her learning disability helped her discover what she wanted to do.
“In elementary it was pretty normal, but starting in middle school I was like, ‘Oh, I’m different. I learn differently from others.’ So some days it was hard because I’m like, ‘Okay Lord, why did you create me like this?’
But some days I’m just so thankful that he created me like this because it made me realize I want to work with special education students later on in life. So, it was a hard time but very rewarding.”
Cobb attended Ouachita with the goal of teaching special education students in mind. The transition for her was easy because she felt her high school teachers had prepared her. However, she has been in college for six years because her ACT scores were low, and she struggled with passing the Praxis exam to get into the education department.
Before switching to a sociology major, Cobb took a course with Dr. Rachel Pool called Foundations of Education. In this class, Cobb found a professor who would work with her and help her do her best.
“Rebekah shared with me some of the challenges she faces in college, and we discovered that her challenges were the exact same as my sister,” said Pool. “We were able to discuss how my sister found ways to overcome some of these challenges and how she had to prepare a little more thoroughly than others in order to achieve academic goals.”
Each semester, Cobb takes a list of her accommodations to each of her professors. It does not say on the list that she has a learning disability; it simply informs the professors that Cobb has been approved and tested for these accommodations.
“I know if I don’t hand them the paper, they’re never going to know that I have this disability, or I struggle in this subject,” she said.
There are more students on campus that require assistance with a learning disability than one might expect.
“I’ll probably diagnose 15 to 20 college students a year here with attention deficit disorder,” said Kluck.
Kluck has also interacted with students that have auditory and visual processing disorder and dyslexia.
“The last couple of years, we’ve had people with significant hearing issues, and we hired a service that the teacher wears a microphone that goes off-site to a person who is listening. And they transcribe as they’re lecturing and it comes to their computer and the person sees what they’re saying in real time,” said Kluck. “We’ve had to do that twice in the last five years. The thing is, that costs about $20,000 or $30,000 a year for Ouachita.”
The university wants each student to succeed, so every professor is required to put a section about the accommodations the university provides in the syllabus. This ensures that students who may need help can easily find a starting place.
Along with accommodations, Ouachita has also provided Cobb with a chance to learn independence and leadership skills. She has been a resident assistant in the dorms for two years.
Cobb is an introvert but feels that that should not stop someone from taking a leadership role. A person has to learn to be a leader, so being an extroverted or introverted personality does not have as much to do with leadership as people might think.
Taking this job was also a way for her to take a stand against the mentality that those with learning disabilities cannot be leaders.
“It’s just been really cool to say, ‘Hey, I am a resident assistant, and I did get this job. And hey, I am graduating,’” said Cobb.
After graduation, Cobb will complete an internship at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas working with their children’s ministry. She was also accepted to Dallas Baptist University where she will earn a master’s in children’s ministry with a concentration in special needs ministry.
Although Cobb may not be headed toward the original teaching position she had dreamed of since she was little, she will still be setting an example for all of those around her.
“This year, the Lord has shown me, ‘Hey, you can work with special needs students not being a teacher,’” she said. “So, the Lord has put on my heart to do ministry and work with children that way and to share the Gospel with them.”