The human spirit is one of ability, perseverance and courage that no disability can steal away.
About
Michael Long
Though I was born disabled, I always knew I could live a life like anybody else. My parents had raised me that way, and I believed it. The first thing that drove me to prove this to the rest of the world happened in second grade. I’d gone to school that morning excited to ask my crush to marry me. I got dressed in my suit, with a bouquet of flowers and a cheap tin, toy-machine ring in my hand, and ran out the door. I went right to her on the playground, said hello, and made my intentions known. She did not respond as I’d hoped.
Back in the classroom, my teacher pulled me aside and said she needed to speak to me. What she’d said that day, at the time, made me feel like a weirdo. I immediately realized I was seen as different. It made me feel terrible and alone. She said, “Michael, your IQ is too low, and you’re too mentally retarded. You’ll never get married in your life.” It became a defining moment for me. It’s what made me want to prove my teacher and everybody else wrong.
About
The Book
A Life Like Anybody Else: How a Man with an Intellectual Disability Fulfilled His American Dream. This is my book all in my own words. When I was born the doctor said to my parents, “You have a child that’ll probably not be able to talk.” But my parents decided to bring me home and raise me like anybody else. In second grade my teacher said, “Michael, your IQ is too low, and you’re too mentally retarded. You’ll never get married in your life.” That really set up a new belief system inside of me: I had an image of myself that I was weird. That idea controlled my life all the way through my elementary and junior high years; it lasted up until I was about twenty-four years old. Then in 1986 I took a self-improvement course. The training was about knowing how you could be able to make a difference in your life and in other people’s life. After that I have really come out of my shell. And in 1992 I got hired to be the first governor appointee in the United States: California Consumer Coordinator at the Department of Developmental Services. I advocated for people with developmental disabilities. I traveled all over the state and created a lot of People First self-advocacy groups.
Inspiration
Get in touch with Michael
Contact