The Family Center on Technology and Disability

Meet the Gardners and learn about their family and successful use of assistive technology

In 1969 the “Miracle Mets” somehow rocketed from last place to the World Series championship. Like the Mets of yesteryear the baseball playing Miracle Gardners of Alabama demonstrate daily that no miracle is quicksilver, that each miracle has a foundation: the tight bond between teammates. Twelve members of the 18-member Gardner nuclear family, which includes patriarch Sam and matriarch Bev, participate as a team in the local Miracle Baseball League. The love of baseball excites them, of course, but the more significant driver is their love for each other and their mutual respect for the special qualities that make the Gardners a unique team in any league.

The nuclear Gardners consist of Sam, Bev, their four biological children and the 12 children they adopted. Whether biological or adopted, each child, family members say, is an important and cherished member of the family.

In addition to love, the adhesive in the family’s bond is reliability: each family member knows that he or she can always rely on other family members for help. For example, six-year-old Lynden does not hesitate to ask for help from her brothers and sisters. Since she does not have use of her arms or legs, she needs to be able to rely on her siblings for aid. She has gradually become more vocal since her tracheotomy was removed two years ago. She had the “trach” for four years and when it was removed there was, miraculously, no damage. Her talking has now increased substantially and she gets a lot of practice talking with her siblings. Although she is able to use her voice, Lynden also uses alternate modes of communicating. She has recently started using mouth sticks, but isn’t particularly fond of them. She prefers using pencils and straws to point to things that she wants in her picture book. Lynden is looking forward to getting a computer of her own soon that will be operated by a laser light. The computer will help her with her school work and continue building her communication skills.

Lynden enjoys talking to all of her siblings, but she may talk to 10-year-old Brian the most. Brian has become Lynden’s constant companion. Because Lynden is unable to walk Brian pushes her around in her stroller and entertains her with rub-on tattoos. Brian, along with the other Gardner children, is home schooled by Bev. As a result of being born with fetal alcohol syndrome and receptive language disorder, Brian learns in a different way. He thrives in the home schooling environment because of the individualized attention he receives from his teacher, whom he calls “Mom.”

Bev has successfully home schooled the children for three years. In Bev’s home school as in schools of all kinds there is no such thing as a “typical” school day. However, a usual school day in the Gardner house begins between 6 and 7 AM when the kids awake. Preparation is the theme for the day’s first few minutes: beds are made and rooms cleaned. Once they are ready for school, they do the majority of their work downstairs at a table together. Once they have completed their work, they take it to Bev who checks it and works through it with them, focusing on areas where they may be experiencing difficulty. This system allows the Gardner children to receive the individual attention they need.

Cooking class is the kids’ favorite part of the school day. They often will try out recipes on each other as they mix various ingredients to create new concoctions, always keeping in mind Bev’s rule of the kitchen: “You make it, you eat it.” They try to make something that someone will like. There have been many instances where the students have made their own lunch and dinner during these cooking sessions, a boon to their parents.

After all of the academics are done for the day, the children go outside for P.E. They run around and play various games so they can get their daily exercise. This is another favorite part of the day.

While home schooling is great for all of the school-aged children in the Gardner house, it has also been very beneficial to the children who are not yet school-aged or who are past school-age. Tucker, the youngest, began school this year at a first grade level. He was able to progress past kindergarten before officially starting school because when the other students were at school and doing their work, he liked to join in. He worked through their workbooks and learned much before receiving formal education in the home school environment. It is expected that his early jump-start will enable him to proceed through his school experience at an accelerated pace.

The Gardners’ older children help perform house chores with the younger students, during and outside school hours. This interaction with their siblings has inspired them to continue helping individuals with disabilities. The Gardner’s first adopted child, Jessica, now 19, anticipates a career in occupational or physical therapy and hopes to attend Auburn University.

Seventeen year-old Steven also hopes to attend Auburn. Steven is typically developing and excels in school and in sports. He has been playing football for nearly three years and hopes to continue in the upcoming season if he can find a job to afford the transportation. Bev calls this a lesson in responsibility, which will help him greatly during and after college. Steven has already demonstrated a level of responsibility by helping tend to his younger siblings.

Steven may have learned the concept of responsibility from his five older siblings. Brittany, 23, has just completed her training in the Army. She scored very high in her Army enlistment tests. Her high scores allowed her to choose the area in which she wanted to study: journalism. She has remained at or near the top of her class in journalism training and will employ those skills beginning in December at her next post – Iraq.

The desire to serve her country and to share information through writing runs in the family. Josh, 25, is also preparing to enter the Army. He is also the first of the Gardners to add grandchildren to the family roster. He is married and has a five-year-old son with another baby on the way. Haley, 15, has the journalism bug. She has excelled in school, overcoming ADHD and being born a crack baby. She earns straight A’s and has just completed a three-week program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to which she received a scholarship. During this three-week college-level course, she gained exposure to journalism and hopes, like her sister, to make it her profession.

Haley is the same age as her brother, Destin. One of Bev’s favorite stories about Haley’s compassion is based on an incident that occurred when Haley was around 10 years old. Haley asked Bev what grade Destin was in. Bev explained to her that he was in a special education class and wasn’t really in a specific grade. She responded in total bewilderment, “Well, how is he going to get a job when he graduates?” When she was told that he probably wouldn’t, she said, “OK, I guess he’ll live with me when he grows up then.” This is but one example of the caring attitude that permeates the Gardner family. Haley continues to help her brother, Destin, who has Down syndrome and autism.

Destin uses assistive technology – voice boards and picture boards -- to communicate with his family and friends. When Destin was in public school and acquired these aids, the teachers were astonished at how smart he was. All he had lacked was an effective method of communication. He uses the voice board to express what he needs or wants. The device is programmed with four messages, including “I’d like a drink, “or, “I’d like something to eat.” These technologies have been a very pivotal part of Destin’s growing up experience, courtesy of Children’s Rehabilitation Services, which stepped in to help the Gardners obtain needed medical equipment and AT. CRS also provided Lynden with her mouthsticks.

While AT has helped Destin he, like Lynden, continues to rely on his siblings. His older brother, Tony cares for Destin and their other brother Johnny, helping with personal care and feeding. Tony carries Johnny wherever he needs to go, even though they are almost the same size! Johnny is 12 and cannot walk due to cerebral palsy. In addition, he is vision impaired. Despite his disabilities he uses no AT because he is uncomfortable touching objects. The family has tried various switches, but Johnny hasn’t accepted them into his life. For Johnny, family is his AT.

Johnny’s older brother, Rick, also has cerebral palsy. Rick, now 27, grew up as a very determined young man. His determination was first noticed when he was five years old and his brother ran by him and hit him in the arm. Rick said, “I wish I could chase him.” Bev told Rick that that wish was the best motivation for him to learn how to walk and run. In the years since that incident Rick has indeed learned to walk and occasionally even breaks into a trot when chasing his brother.

Rick’s determination has carried him to Wal-Mart, where he is employed. He also drives his own truck. He is currently interviewing with the county for a position in sales.

Rick is the second oldest Gardner child. His older sister, Samantha, 28, tested as gifted as a child. She excelled in school and later began a successful advertising career. Today Samantha is seeking a new career challenge. Whatever career she chooses will likely inspire younger sister Tia, age eight, and her other younger siblings.

Tia’s older brother Chip, 10, aspires to a career as a garbage truck driver or as a professional baseball player for the Atlanta Braves, a team he and his dad root for.

The Gardners are taking a break from school for the summer and are preparing for a family vacation trip to Panama City, Florida, where they have borrowed a beach house from a friend. This four-day trip is particularly exciting because it marks the first time in 18 years that Sam and Bev will be on vacation together with all of their children.

The Gardner family bond is further strengthened by help from the community. For example, a local company has bought the children’s Christmas presents since 2001 and a church group recently renovated the family’s kitchen and dining rooms. Community support was critically important to the Gardners when they lost their daughter, McKenzie, seven years ago at age three.

A decade after the ’69 Miracle Mets shocked the baseball world, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series. The Pirates’ theme song that year: “We Are Fam–i-ly,” sung by Sister Sledge, is even more appropriate for the Gardners and their baseball team of all-stars, who have bonded to make life rich for kids of all abilities.


If you have or know of a child/teen who has experienced success through the use of assistive technology that would like to be featured, please contact us at agutierr@aed.org.