A 9-year-old, born without hands, has not let her limitations stop her from reaching her full potential and doing the things she enjoys.
Anaya Ellick who attends Greenbrier Christian Academy in USA on Wednesday won the 2018 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest, under the Nicholas Maxim category.
Two years ago she won a similar penmanship award for her printing, according to CBN News.
Greenbrier Christian Academy administration while speaking to local USA media said the third grader was determined to learn and perfect her cursive writing so she could compete in the cursive category this year.
“Anaya is a role model to everyone,” her teacher Sarah Cannaday told journalaists. “Her classmates see her and see her doing the same tasks they are and they are often amazed that she can do just as well as they do, sometimes even better.”
Anaya uses her forearms to write.
When she was a year old, her grandmother taught her to steady the pencil between her two wrists, CBN News reported.
To be eligible for the Award, a student must have a cognitive delay or an intellectual, physical or developmental disability. A team of occupational therapists judges all of the entries.
For over 30 years, the Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest has been recognizing outstanding penmanship among students. The contest is open to all students in grades K through 8 and awards excellence at the state and national level.
“I was happy. I thought my mom was joking when she said I won again,” the third grader is quoted as saying, upon accepting the award during her school assembly.
Anaya’s parents said she hasn’t let her situation stop her from anything.
“She’s really independent, from tying shoes, putting clothes, getting baths,” Anaya’s father is quoted as saying. “It was always like ‘I can do it’. So, that just carried on over the years.”
Anaya said sports might be the next thing she tackles.
Her mother Bianca Middleton told media the family decided against the use of a prosthesis (an artificial body part).
“They actually started to hinder her rather than help her,” said Middleton. She didn’t want them anymore. She had already started learning how to do different things without them. She learned to write and draw without them.”
Anaya’s work went under a category for students with cognitive delays, intellectual, physical or developmental disabilities, which was judged by a team of occupational therapists.
Facing stiff competition and strict guidelines, the little girl with no hands came out on top.
“The biggest thing Anaya has taught our class is that there are no excuses,” her teachers commented.
By Staff Writer.
