On the record

"Wheelchair sports can provide a means for experiencing personal camaraderie, for building relationships with one's peers. It's also an opportunity to be viewed as competent among your peers, having a sense of purpose and fitting in....While so much support comes from one's family--and that's wonderful--what teen-agers crave is peer support."

--Mary Jo Palmieri, a pediatric psychologist, on the benefits of nontraditional interscholastic activities. Chicago Tribune, Jan. 6.

"With all the rapid technological change going on, we feel like we can't get a handle on it. We want to know what comes next and what we should pay attention to."

--Richard Wessler, PhD, on the American fascination with predictions. Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 29.

"When I go to follow up appointments at [my] spinal cord injury clinic, my doctor welcomes me with a warm hug and a smile. However, it's the warm, sympathetic, knowing and encouraging hug she gives my wife that I find most touching....Disability brings catastrophic losses for the spouse: no more dancing, no more vacations to inaccessible places, no more nights where you can just fall into bed after a hard day's work. It brings dramatic changes in family income, physical intimacy and possibilities for having a child. One's vision of the future is suddenly truncated and confused. What you really want--for your spouse to be well again--you can't have."

--J. Gibson Henderson, PhD, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan 8.

"You don't just tell it once. You tell it again and again with moral teachings and spiritual guidance along the way. At each stage, as the child matures, you can add more information and teaching about the error and judgment."

--Barbara Rila, PhD, on what parents should do if they decide to talk about mistakes they made in their youth. The Arizona Republic, Jan. 9.