Alvin Law (born 1960 in

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

) is a

motivational speaker A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

and former

radio broadcaster Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

. Law was born without arms as a consequence of his mother's use of

thalidomide Thalidomide, sold under the brand names Contergan and Thalomid among others, is a medication used to treat a number of cancers (including multiple myeloma), graft-versus-host disease, and a number of skin conditions including complications of ...

while pregnant. His birth parents put him up for adoption, and he was raised by foster parents Hilda and Jack Law. Law learned to perform routine activities using his feet alone, including eating, dressing and grooming himself, driving, sewing, playing sports, and playing drums, piano, and trombone. He attended regular elementary and high schools, even though at the time disabled children were usually placed in institutions or special education programs. After graduating from college, Law embarked on a successful career in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

. He expressed an interest in moving to

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, but network executives were unsure of how the public would react to an armless

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. Law began dabbling in

motivational speaking A motivational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep talk. Motivational speakers ca ...

in 1981. In 1988 he made this his full-time occupation with the founding of AJL Communications Ltd. He is the subject of two award-winning documentaries, and is the author of a book, ''Alvin's Laws of Life: 5 Steps To Successfully Overcome Anything''. He has also dabbled in acting, his most notable role to date being a preacher in the '' X-Files'' episode "

Humbug A humbug is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, often as a hoax or in jest. The term was first described in 1751 as student slang, and recorded in 1840 as a "nautical phrase". It is now also often used as an exclama ...

". In 1986, Law ran as a

Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan is a conservative political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Prior to 1942, it was known as the Conservative Party of Saskatchewan. Members are commonly known as Tories. History ...

candidate in the 1986 provincial election, losing to John Solomon in the constituency of

Regina North West Regina North West was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It was located in Regina. The riding was created prior to the 1967 election out of parts of Regina North and Regina West. It was ab ...

. Law served on the national board of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. For many years, Law was a mainstay on the annual telethon

Telemiracle ''Telemiracle'' is an annual telethon organized by the Kin Canada, Kinsmen and Kinettes in Saskatchewan, Canada for the benefit of the Kin Canada, Kinsmen Foundation. Initially broadcast on both CTV Television Network, CTV and CBC Television, ...

. In 2018, Law was inducted into the

Canadian Disability Hall of Fame The Canadian Disability Hall of Fame (formerly the Terry Fox Hall of Fame), recognizes "outstanding Canadians who have made extraordinary contributions to enriching the quality of life for people with physical disabilities". It is run by the Canadia ...

Citations

References

*Alvin Law. ''Alvin's Laws of Life: 5 Steps To Successfully Overcome Anything''. . *Lynne Swanson.
Alvin Law: Every Reason to Celebrate Life
. ''Abilities'', No. 59, pp. 14–15, Summer 2004. *''Alvin, His Best Foot Forward''. Television documentary, 1978. *''Broken Promises'' (later renamed ''Extraordinary People''). Television documentary.

External links

AJL Communications Ltd
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Alvin People without hands People from Yorkton 1960 births Living people Canadian radio reporters and correspondents Canadian motivational speakers Candidates in Saskatchewan provincial elections Canadian Disability Hall of Fame