Kids Who Are Different by Digby Wolfe Here’s to the kids who are different, The kids who don’t always get “A’s”, The kids who have ears twice the size of their peers, And noses that go on for days… The kids they call crazy or dumb, The kids who don’t fit, with the guts and the grit, Who dance to a different drum… The kids with the mischievous streak, For when they have grown, as history’s shown, It’s their difference that makes them unique.

Kids Who Are Different How does this poem make you feel? Do you think difference among people is good? Why or why not? Look around the room, how many of you look exactly alike? What would it be like if you were all the same?

Birth Defect Statistics Birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality Every 31/2 minutes a baby is born with a birth defect On an average day in the U.S. 411 babies are born with a defect and 19 babies die as the result of the defect. 150,000 babies are born each year with a birth defect Approximately 3% of children have a major malformation About 10% of problems seen at birth can be traced to a specific agent (environmental, drug, biologic, nutritional), 20% are inherited or are associated with chromosomal changes. The rest (about 70%) are of unknown etiology.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

About the Author Rodman Philbrick Rodman Philbrick has been writing young adult novels for 19 years and is now 49 years old. He finally “made it big” with his novel, Freak the Mighty, which has been made into a movie starring Sharon Stone.