Grown-up Karen Lynn delivering a keynote speech at a conference

I am going to tell you a story about myself that will blow you away. This actually happened to me fresh out of high school. I was only eighteen years old and still finding my voice. At that moment, I knew that once this workshop trial period ended, that was it. I would never settle for a life that limited my potential.

This happened back in the fall of 1969. First, I was tested and labeled mentally retarded after I was given an IQ test that did not measure my intelligence accurately because it did not take my dyslexia into account or allow me extra time to comprehend the questions.

After grading the test, the counselor who had administered it said, in a brisk, haughty manner, ”You are going to Handicraft Industries. It’s a workshop for intellectually disabled people.They’ll take good care of you.”

I didn’t like the taste of what he had said. It smelled rotten all over. But I was willing to consider new ideas with an open heart and learn from this experience. So, I went and worked there for a month.

However, after spending a week in that place, I said to myself, “I am going to rise above the feeling of defeat that I feel right now. I will not be intimidated by so-called experts. I’m smarter than they think. I’ll be damned if I wind up in a sheltered workshop folding boxes with one hand for the rest of my life. Once this probation period is over, it’s over. I will never be humiliated like this again.”

After reading this post, you will understand my life. It’s been a journey to make this world a better, kinder place. My fight has never been in vain. It didn’t always end in a desirable, lasting way. But instead, each experience built my character. After all these years of fighting the good fight with guts, grit, and humility, my willingness and determination took the world by surprise. I won over life with ‌mental and moral inner strength, resilience, and ‌bravery, which showed my light.

As I soared, so did my confidence and voice. I now had a firmness of will in the face of extreme difficulty.

Because of these firsthand experiences, I pursued a career finding new ways to help in the disability movement. I took the California Department of Rehabilitation to court. After three years of litigation, I won the first civil rights case (in California) for my own education under section 504 of the disabilities act of 1973, which not only allowed me to go to college, but opened the doors for all disabled people wanting an education. The discrimination didn’t stop there, though. Two more times, this same organization labeled me mentally retarded, stopping all my higher education, but I seized the moment and held firm. My dreams went full steam ahead, and I won.

Throughout my life, I have grown to believe that anything is possible. I turned every negative experience into a positive one, turning hurt and pain into happiness, healing my mind and body. I had to believe in myself. And I have used my “I can do anything” attitude during incredible situations, becoming more fearless in each one than before. I did what I had to do to thrive.

I always listened to my inner self, and I told myself, “All I wanted was to be able to live my life like any other human being here on earth, with meaning and purpose. I will not let anyone take that away from me.”

So I kept doing the impossible…

Who would have thought that my life would make such a difference? I was once a tiny infant, stricken at the tender age of five months old after being given a ‌vaccine, and my mother told that I only had a thirty percent chance to live and that I would be deaf, dumb and blind. Ten days later, I awoke from a coma with left-side hemiplegia. What a miracle that was, that I awoke, but sentenced to partial paralysis on my left side, a sentence that has lasted a lifetime. But instead of giving up, somehow, I kept moving forward, even at that age. I remember thinking a few years later, “I can do this. I have to get through this with a smile like Al taught me.”

I also remember having a stabbing feeling in the pit of my stomach. It kept urging me on. Since I had never felt anything like this before. I listened carefully. I knew that I would have to do things differently. If I took on‌ too much, it would be overwhelming. Hence, I learned to take one baby step at a time. Conquering, facing life’s trials, I got stronger in every way. I gave myself the authority to emancipate and empower my life. I became impassioned in pursuit of a cause. I stood erect and upright without folding. I used my voice under tumultuous situations, never giving way to pressure, standing my ground. Thus, dedicating my life to others by becoming an advocate at the young age of seven, using my voice to help others with disabilities and giving encouragement and hope. I treated all people with dignity and respect.

My rationale for these feelings comes from a lifetime of non-stop struggle leading to achievement. Truthfully, I wouldn’t settle for the crumbs the experts wanted to give me. I wouldn’t let them destroy my life. I wanted to follow my own destiny.

I have spent my life accomplishing what seemed like an impossible dream.

Have you done something in your life to feel good about yourself and to pass it on to others? Please share in the comments below.

Meanwhile, here is a poem.

Tireless Support

In the face of adversity

I stand at attention.

I stand for justice.

I stand for human rights

And hold my head up high.

In the face of adversity

I stand for truth.

I stand for fairness.

I stand for what is right

And hold my head up high.

In the face of adversity

I stand for bravery.

I stand for ‌firm confidence.

I stand for having good, sound judgment

And hold my head up high.

The only way I do these things

Is with an open mind,

A compassion for others

A willingness to talk things out

And with an open dialogue without prejudice.

Text and image ©2026 Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved.