Quadraplegic Warwick greeting card designer lives independently, holds down a job, and says there’s much more to her than just her disability
Rebecca Beaton has something to say. This surprises people. They see the 40-year-old Warwick woman in her wheelchair, unable to move anything but her head. They see Beaton’s aide standing beside her. And they speak — to the aide, about Beaton.
“I will speak up,” Beaton says. “And they will get surprised.”
People make assumptions about cerebral palsy, Beaton says. They assume she can’t speak; that her limitations aren’t just physical but mental. And they tend to talk loud.
“I am not deaf,” Beaton says.
Beaton listens, laughs, reads and writes, and also inspires. Her preferred mode is “to go out in the community and teach people about people with disabilities.” In grade schools, high schools and colleges, Beaton educates by example.