Sara Hinesley, a 10-year-old girl who was born without hands has surprised the world by proving that her disability is not a factor to slow her down.
Sara, who had learnt to write in neatly cursive sample, has earned the Nicholas Maxim Award in the 2019 Zaner-Bloser National Handwriting Contest.
The award is given to a student with a cognitive delay, or an intellectual, physical or developmental disability. The judges were occupational therapists.
Sara is a third grader at St. John’s Regional Catholic School in Frederick, Maryland and learnt to hold her pencil between the ends of her arms to write. She said her teacher first taught her how to write in cursive, and then she discovered she had a natural flair for it.
When asked what she was going to do with her $500 prize money, the 10 year old said she hadn’t yet figured that out, but she hopes other children with disabilities will be inspired by her story.
“I felt proud and hope others who have challenges learn from me, that if you try your hardest you can do it,” Sara said.
At some point, her family briefly looked into getting Sara prosthetic hands but ultimately decided against it, as she was doing quite fine without them.
“She is so amazing and functional without prosthetics that really there is not a need,” Sara’s mom said. “She can do just about anything — often times better than me or my husband.”
