PSU Magazine Fall 1990

- - ---------------- ------------------------------------------ - - She has taught aerobics, ridden horses, and has been a vocal advocate for the rights of people such as herself. This June, she was hired by the state Senior and Disabled Services Division to organize local advisory council s throughout Oregon for people with disabilities. The counc ils will g ive Oregon's d isabled a voice in state government - a bigger voice than they had before when their serv ices were handled through the huge Adult and Family Services Div ision . The shift of those programs to Senior and Disabled was done throughout the summer, adding 300 new emp loyees to the Division in the process. Helping local communities get the most from thi s change is the job of Schwartz– Knee, who has been traveling to every corner of Oregon to show groups how to establish by-laws, make effecti ve dec isions, form agenda and follow parliamentary procedures. When the Legislature is in sess ion , she will keep the groups informed about bills a ffecting them. She draws experience for the job from having been a governor-appointed member of the state Developmental Disabil ities Council since March 1988, and its vice-chair since June of 1989. The post requires her to travel to Salem from her Portland home three times a month for council meetings. Her curren t job requires daily commutes to Salem in addition to her exte nsive out of town travel. She gets up at 5 a.m. and often doesn ' t return to her home in the St. Johns area of Portland unti l after 6:30, but doesn ' t seem to feel bogged down by the heavy schedu le, an neither does her husband , Bob Knee, who does all the driving. Laurie wants to return to teachin g aerobics in her spare time, but admits she will have little time to do that until she and Bob move to Salem - something they are actively working on. She has a job lead at the Salem YMCA, and is looking forward to teaching aerobics for retarded adults. " I need to work out," she said. " I hate to admit it, but when I don' t teach, I don ' t work out. " Schwartz-Knee began teaching aerobics as a way of stay ing in shape after she began usin g a wheelchair while a student at Portland State. She walked until she was 19, but because of a worsening prob lem with scoliosis - a lateral curving of the In addition to aerobics, Schwartz-Knee enjoys horseback riding, downhill skiing and other activities that even people without disabilities find challenging. In addition to aerobics, Schwartz-Knee enjoys horseback riding, downhill skiing and other act ivities that even people without di sabilities find challe nging. But for her, those accompli shments come from being able to focus on the positive, drawing on her abilities rather than being hampered by her disability. '" I always look at myself on the ins ide. don 't blame my problems on my di sabil– ity," she said . Her hu sband gives partial cred it to Laurie 's father, Alvin Schwartz, who he described affectionately as "stubborn and Schwartz-Knee types wirh a rubber-tipped pointer held in her mouth and is most comfor– table working on the floor in her home and Salem office. spine - she had Lo have metal rods put in her back . The surgery forced her to use a wheelchair. No fitness programs for persons with di sabilities were ava il able at Portland State, so, with the he lp of gradu ate student Darla Hulen, she started one. Since then, she has taught aerobics for people with and without di sabilities through the Port land Park Bureau and Metro Center YMCA. bullheaded," refusing to let Laurie sit on the side lines of life. Laurie is stubborn about life too, but never to the point that she is blinded to her condition. Said Bob, "She realizes she has a disab ility, but she knows how to deal with it." "When I met her, all she wanted to be was independent. Now, she wants to be interdependent." he continued. PSU 21