Disabilities no handicap, GSA students told

BLUE HILL — A charismatic athlete and speaker enthralled George Stevens Academy students in the Blue Hill Town Hall recently, especially when he demonstrated his celebrated archery and riflery technique with his bare right foot.

Michael C. Noyes, who has no arms, represents the Pine Tree Society of Handicapped Children and Adults in school presentations throughout the state. Noyes delivered the first of this year’s Stevens Speakers Series lectures last Thursday.

The youthful father of five told his teen-age audience that one in 10 Maine residents has a serious physical or emotional disability, as do 40 million people nationwide. “You’re going to encounter people with disabilities everywhere you go,” the Levant resident said, “so you should learn to be comfortable talking to a person with a disability.”

Always refer to a blind person as a “person who cannot see” or a lame person as “someone who cannot walk,” the man without arms advised, putting the person first in your mind and in your phraseology.

Noyes told of asking a young boy at a presentation whether he knew that Noyes is disabled. “I knew but I didn’t want to tell you,” the boy replied.

Disabled people do not expect others to pretend they don’t notice disabilities, Noyes said. Nor do they want to be called “fantastic” or “amazing” for learning to compensate for their disabilities with their capabilities.

It would be difficult not to admire the long list of accomplishments Noyes has achieved — riflery and archery instructor certification, soccer coaching, ski instructing, and most recently, recognition by President George Bush as a “Point of Light.”

The avid sportsman is also chairman of the newly established Maine Outdoors for Everyone committee affiliated with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Early in his GSA presentation, Noyes removed his left penny loafer to show the students how he picks up his briefcase, gestures, and even scratches with his foot. After removing his suit coat, he also demonstrated the lifesaving technique using his chin and neck that won him lifesaving certification. Student Amanda Hitchings pretended to be drowning onstage, and Noyes taught her to clasp his neck gently so he could pull her to safety.

Noyes said his natural and learned capabilities usually get him through challenging situations. An exception was filling the sandbox of one of his children — he needed to use a shovel just as anyone else would.

All people turn to tools and devices for help, whether glasses, crutches, a wheelchair, or whatever, Noyes pointed out. “Never take someone’s device without permission,” he added.

When Noyes asked the GSA students whether disabled people want others’ help, several said no and a few said yes. “Sometimes” is the best answer, said Noyes, who appreciates help carrying his tray from the counter at McDonald’s.

In turn, he helps teach people to ski, swim, and understand the disabled.

A certified teacher, Noyes has bachelor’s degrees in rehabilitation and education, and is earning a master’s degreee in social work at the University of Maine. He was named outstanding alumnus of the University of Maine at Farmington campus in 1987.

From his work with substance abusers, Noyes has concluded that destructive behavior in the disabled and others is merely a symptom of a more fundamental problem — the lack of self-esteem.

“The number one problem in America is not drug abuse, crime or teenage pregnancy but people who don’t like themselves or use their capabilities,” he asserted. “I believe every time I see a happy, healthy, productive independent person, that there is someone who has helped in that person’s life. Our goal should be to be that person for someone else.”