1983_05 The Daily Collegian May 1983

              Photographs by
Rod Duddv
At times, Marty Turcious (right), a cerebral palsy
victim, says he must have his own recreation and
golf is the game that serves as an "outlet" to him.
As part of his graduation requirements, Turcious
must put in volunteer time with other disabled
people. He help9 Marcia (above) with calisthen¬
ics. Turcious enjoys competition (top left) and
puts up a good fight during the Vintage Days
wrist wrestling contest. Despite his cerebral pal-
sey. Turcious (center) is determined be a link
between the handicapped and the non-hand¬
icapped persons. As part of Theraputic Recrea¬
tion training, TurciouB (far upper left) works with
handicapped children. Close friendships and
personal attention is important to the children
and can be a valuable tool to the recreation
process (lower left corner.)
When Marty Turcious was growing up in
the bay Area. his.mother recalls, people
wasted little time in asking the awkward-
looking youngster THE QUESTION. Total
strangers, apparently overcome withcunos-
ity, couldn't resist asking the boy what was
wrong with him
always left the stranger the more awkward
looking party to the conversation.
"People would say, 'what's the matter
with you?" " Barbara Turcious remembers.
"And he would say, 'I've got ceTebra] palsy.
..what's the matter with you?1 "
Turcious' all-purpose response tells a lot
about the 23 year-old Therapudic Recrea¬
tion major. Afflicted with a disease that
leaves most of its victims withdrawn and .
bitter as well as physically impaired, Marty
Turcious doesn't ask nothin' from nobody.
"I wouldn't call myself severely handi
capped," Turcious said the other day over
the roar of a crowded cafeteria. "I'm quite
the opposite."
His heavy speech impedimei
words come slowly and indi
Turcious clarifies his poi:
understands. His point
rtinctV. but
:il the listener
it he doesn't
— treated any
- and usually is
differently than anyone else.
"Throughout my life I've been told I'm
crazy to try to do the things I do, and I do
them anyway." Turcious said. "I've come to
a point where I don't want to be held back by
The words ring ironic, however, when
often accompf
about his ill
number  of p*jt'"'
palsy.
Turc
afflicted withi
mitted to spa*
chosen vocaajr^
— that
Like most
peers, Turci
few years in I
ities, but ur
payroll. Asj
Turcious
fulfill that :
Three day;
of Park!
Division.
'Throughout my life I'<
things I do, and I do
point where I don't waj)
on't want to be held back by anything'
own body. Cere-
12,000 children a
by the uncoordi-
*y defects, which
s questioned
,ot know the
Mth cerebral
11,000 Americans
-ilities), but it's his
'us dedication to it
emarkable.
ularly handicaped
1 much of the next
habitation facil-
,, hell b
n the
think, has a hard
But he has a right
■ :ping the disabled
four hours a day,
isaUad children at
> the Department
m's Therapudic
ing
ionally and physically handicapped
ildren, he provides leadership while serv-
link between the disabled and the
"He really doesn't consider himself han¬
dicapped," his mother said, "and yet he can
handicapped. People won't feel sorry for
themselves when he's 3
Wn*l
>ugh  spor
use recreational therapy to help the disabled
leam something about the world and about
themselves.
"Rehabilitation is an excellent tool," Tur¬
cious said.  "It provides a real growing
The "growing experience" provided by
recreational therapy, Turcious said, is vital
for these children, many of whom have been
deprived of affection at home and have yet
to develop properly on either the physical or
emotional level. By working on the child¬
ren's verbal, physical and cognitive skills, he
hopes that they will one day be able to at
least partially overcome their various
handicaps.
"Recreation develops different types of
attitudes, it builds character and self-
image," he said. "We work on self-image."
Self-image, those close to Turcious agree,
has never been a problem for t he young man
from Berkeley. The fourth of seven children,
Turcious was never shielded from the out¬
side world, and was never given a chance to
think of himself as anything but "normal."
"He thinks he can do anything," his
mother said. "He knows what he wants and
he's got a stubborn streak a mile wide."
Still, growing up wasn't easy for Turc
Forced by authorities until a sophomore
high school to attend special institutions for
the phyacially and occupational^
handicapped, Turcious was long separated
from the "normal" children he so longed to
be one of. The forced separation eventually
led to a hatred of everything to do with the
handicapped, a feeling which Turcious
believes may have something to do with his
earnest desire to help the disabled today.
"When I was old enough to realize why I
was at this school, I became frustrated,"
Turcious said. "1 became totally anti-
handicapped. I hated them."
Turcious said the hatred, while relatively
short-lived, did fill him with a desire that he
still has — a desire to fit in with the "normal"
people.
'The dream is to be totally normal," he
said. "To associate with another disabled
person would be contradictory,
"Now my family has pointed out to me
that I've made a 180 degree rum," he added.
"1 want to help the disabled."
When Turcious was finally accepted into
a regular high school, the long-awaited tran¬
sition was a total success, his mother
remembers.
"When he was in the eighth grade we
wanted him to go to regular school, we said
'he's gonna have to get into the real world,"*
she said. They hassled 1*1 so we waited one
more year, but (in high school) he was so
successfuIL so involved, that they never
gave us any hassles."
Sm MARTY, p»Sr* 10
.
\|een told I'm crazy to try the
anyway. I've come to the
be held back by anything.'