Bio – Mary Chap Grigar
My Story
Mary Grigar has been an active and dynamic spokesperson for children and adults challenged by learning and other disabilities. She has presented scores of unique and entertaining programs for a variety of parent and professional groups, offering her insights into the experience of living with a disability, and focusing on the importance of emphasizing abilities and “unique learning styles” rather than disabilities.
In addition to addressing parent and teacher groups at elementary and secondary schools in and around Chicago, she has spoken at conferences sponsored by a wide range of public and private organizations nationwide that serve the needs of people with
disabilities, including:
– Illinois Department. of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities
– Minnesota Assoc. for Children and Adults With Learning Disabilities
– Illinois State Board of Education
– Iowa Association for Children and Adults With Learning Disabilities
– Parents and Teachers of Children With Handicaps (PATCH)
– Ohio Association for Citizens With Learning Disabilities
– President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped
In 1978 she organized the Illinois Exhibit of Art by artists with learning disabilities.
In 1981 her story was featured in Family Circle magazine.
In 1982 she was featured in Reader’s Digest
In 2001 she was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey as part of the “Education Matters” series in Chicago
Mary also contributed to the planning and execution of the Museum of Science and Industry’s award-winning exhibit, “Learning and Learning Disabilities: Explorations of the Human Brain.”
Personal Life
"I can't form or hold mental pictures in my mind so I can't remember what letters and numbers look like. Even now as I try to picture a number in my mind, such as 88, I can only see one "8" and it is lying on its side. To add the other "8" I have to draw it in mentally. And letters and numbers flip over so a "p" becomes a "b" and a "9" becomes a "6." That's why I can't spell--that's why letters drop off the ends of words, that's why I can't write the same word the same way twice.“
Mary’s life has been a master class in “overcoming”. Born on the west side of Chicago, she grew up in a large, Catholic family where faith and love were abundant, if most other things were not. It is that faith and love, along with a healthy dose of intelligence and wit, that enabled her to cope with a severe learning disability, a spina-bifida child, and the challenges that come with raising six kids. Through it all, she not only survived, but became a champion of the cause for others.
