"Penny is a bright girl. As she was growing up she learnt quickly and always had a bright smile..." Eric chose to tell his account of Penny and her brave ways of overcoming a severe handicap. After 30 years spent helping children with many different forms of handicap, Eric could've told a multitude of similar stories, but this is a very positive tale which he feels he could relate briefly. Listening to other story circle members telling their stories made Eric feel very humble. Within this circle of new friends, he says he felt privileged to be able to tell Penny's story. Eric is a retired Education Officer. For many years he was Senior Advisory Teacher for the County of Staffordshire where his work involved supporting the teaching of children with severe disabilities, who were unable to attend mainstream schools. He's originally from Lancashire, but now lives in Barlaston, Staffordshire. He considers himself 'proud to be a potter'
Penny had a most difficult birth. She was thought to be dead when she was born. But after a whiff of oxygen, she recovered. Sadly she has no use in her arms and legs and cannot talk. She can, however, laugh, by making a funny croaking noise. Penny is a bright girl. As she was growing up she learnt quickly and always had a bright smile. Penny had good movement of her head and we had a harness made on which was fitted a pencil with a rubber end. We called it Penny's beak. With this she learnt to press the keys of an electric typewriter I'd got for her. Penny very quickly learnt to type and to talk to her mother and gran through the printed word. She was also fond of pop music and we acquired an automatic record player. Penny could easily operate this using her wooden beak. Mother would always give me a warm hug when I visited the family and Penny would wave her beak with pleasure. One day her mother gave me a letter to read. Penny blushed. I opened the letter in which was a typed message, which read: 'Dear Eric, I love you. When I am 20 I'm going to marry you.' I felt a tear run down my cheek although I'm used to working with severely handicapped pupils. Penny is now 35 years old. Her mother is still alive and Penny's beak is still useful. Now she is able to use it to travel around the estate where she lives, on an electrical buggy. | 
