Article
Amy Enderle

“My Limb Difference Doesn’t Define Me”

Jordan Reeves, 13, embraces her limb difference. Now she’s helping other kids do the same.

photo of mackenzie carro
By Mackenzie Carro
From the November 2019 Issue

Learning Objective: to synthesize information from a nonfiction article and a Q&A, and then write an essay

Lexile: 930L (combined)
Other Key Skills: author’s craft, literary devices, author’s purpose, tone, interpreting text, synthesi

Story Navigation

AS YOU READ

As you read the articles and study the images, think about how Jordan is fulfilling her mission.

“My Limb Difference Doesn’t Define Me”    

This is the powerful story of Jordan Reeves, a 13-year-old girl who 3-D printed her own prosthetic arm.    

Whitney Curtis/AP Images for Scholastic Inc.

Jordan invented this arm. It shoots glitter! 

Jordan Reeves could feel the eyes on her as she walked into her new dance class. She didn’t know anyone. And a few of the other dancers would not stop staring at her left arm, which stops just above her elbow.

“They just kept looking and whispering to one another,” recalls Jordan. “It made me so angry and sad, especially because they weren’t even bothering to talk to me.”

But Jordan didn’t stay upset for long. Instead, she took action. The following week, Jordan showed up in a new T-shirt that she had made herself. Big, bold letters on the front of the shirt read “Don’t Stare. Just Ask.”

No one asked Jordan anything, which bothered her a little, but the staring stopped. “I don’t know if [the shirt] made a difference,” says Jordan. “But I felt stronger.”

Five years later, Jordan, who is now 13, is on a mission: to help other kids feel the same strength she felt in her homemade T-shirt. 

Doing It Differently    

Each year, about 2,250 babies are born in the U.S. with limb differences. That means they are missing all or part of an arm or a leg. Why this happens is not always clear. In Jordan’s case, her doctors say it was because the blood circulation in her arm didn’t work properly while she was developing inside her mother’s womb. Other people with limb differences have had all or part of a limb removed because of an illness or injury.

Having a limb difference can sometimes make life challenging. Just think about everything you use two hands for every day. With just one hand, how would you tie your shoes? Put toothpaste on your toothbrush? Open a bag of chips?

But Jordan can do all these things—and more. She’s played soccer, softball, and basketball. She runs track. She’s the manager of her school’s cheerleading squad, and she plays the trumpet in the marching band.

When Jordan was little, her parents, Jen and Randy, made sure to let Jordan figure things out—like putting on her shoes and socks—for herself. Jordan also went to specialists for tips on how to better navigate the world with one hand, and she has special tools to help her with some activities. Her prosthetic arm, for example, enables her to ride a bike and paddle a kayak. She uses a small keyboard to type and a special knife to cut food.

“I really can do almost everything a two-handed person can do,” Jordan says. “I just might have to do it differently.”

Project Unicorn    

Courtesy of Reeves family

Jordan, with the doll she helped design    

Three years ago, Jordan attended a workshop in San Francisco now called BOOST. The purpose was to teach kids with limb differences how to use 3-D printers to create their own prostheses. But not just any prostheses—prostheses that could do all sorts of creative things.

One kid wanted an arm like Marvel’s Wolverine. Another wanted to be able to spout water from her arm.

As for Jordan? She wanted to shoot sparkles from her fingertips.

Jordan spent five days designing and printing prototypes of her glitter-shooting arm, which she named Project Unicorn. But the glitter was difficult to load and wasn’t shooting out fast enough.

After the workshop, Jordan paired up with designer Sam Hobish, who helped her continue working on her glitter arm. Hobish had access to a 3-D printer and sent Jordan new parts as they designed them.

Many months—and many failures—later, Jordan had an “aha!” moment. She realized that the arm didn’t have to look like an arm at all. It could look like anything she wanted—even, say, a sparkly purple unicorn horn. It turned out that a unicorn horn was the perfect shape for spraying glitter.

After nearly a year of hard work, Project Unicorn was a success.

When Jordan’s mom posted a photo of Jordan demonstrating her glitter arm, the internet went wild. Reporters began reaching out to her. She showed her glitter arm at the Maker Faire in San Francisco, where innovators showcase their creations. She was even invited to appear on the Rachael Ray Show and pitch Project Unicorn to the cast of Shark Tank

Born Just Right

Today, Jordan has become a powerful advocate for kids with physical differences. She and her mom started an organization called Born Just Right. It holds design workshops like the one Jordan attended, as well as other events, to help kids learn to embrace their differences.

Born Just Right also encourages companies to create more inclusive products and to involve people with limb differences in the design process. Last year, Jordan helped the toy company Mattel design its first Barbie doll with a prosthetic limb.

Ultimately, Jordan wants to build much more than arms and dolls. She wants to build a new world. A world where kids can walk down a toy aisle and see dolls and action figures that look like them. A world where differences are not criticized or whispered about but embraced, respected, and cherished. A world where everyone knows to not stare and just ask. 

Advice From Jordan    

Questions Jordan gets asked all the time—and the answers she wants you to know

Whitney Curtis/AP Images for Scholastic Inc.

How do I start a conversation with someone who has a disability? I don’t want to seem rude!

Jordan: It’s important to say hello. Do not ask the person what is “wrong” with them. Just introduce yourself. Let that person know you are interested in knowing them.

You will quickly find out if the person is interested in talking or not. Most of the time, if I meet someone who is curious and respectful, I’ll tell them about my little arm.

If someone looks different, it’s really hard not to stare. Should I look away?

Jordan: I really, really don’t like staring. But I also don’t like people who avoid me because they seem scared about my difference. Instead of looking away, look that person in the eye and say hello. Treat them like a regular person because they are a regular person.

What can I do to help people with disabilities if I don’t have one?

Jordan: If you hear someone making fun of a person or feeling sad about a person’s way of life because he or she is disabled, speak up. Let them know that having a disability isn’t sad. It might be hard—a person with a disability might need help to live—but people do not “suffer from” a disability. They live with a disability. A person who uses a wheelchair is not “wheelchair-bound”; they are a wheelchair user. A wheelchair is freedom!

Shift how you think about a disability, and let your friends and family know when you hear conversations that go against your new knowledge. All people deserve to be treated like you would want to be treated: with respect. 

This article was originally published in the November 2019 issue.

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Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

1. PREPARING TO READ

2. READING AND DISCUSSING

3. SKILL BUILDING AND WRITING

Differentiated Writing Prompts
For Struggling Readers

In a well-organized paragraph, explain what Jordan’s mission is. Use details from the article and the Q&A in your answer.

For Advanced Readers

What is Jordan’s mission? How is she accomplishing it? Answer both questions in a well-organized essay. Support your ideas with information from the article, Q&A, and one additional resource of your choice.

CUSTOMIZED PERFORMANCE TASKS
For Biographers

Choose someone with a physical difference (such as Bethany Hamilton or Franklin D. Roosevelt) to research. Then write an essay or create a video about that person.

For Scientists

Research 3-D printing and its incredible potential. Then write an essay or create a presentation predicting how 3-D printing will change the world in your lifetime.

Literature Connection: Texts about making the world more inclusive for people with differences 

Born Just Right
by Jordan and Jen Lee Reeves (memoir)

Hello, Universe
by Erin Entrada Kelly (novel)

A Storm of Strawberries
by Jo Cotterill (novel)

This Kid Can Fly
by Aaron Phillip (memoir)

Text-to-Speech