Justin Ross Yoder was the first child with a disability to drive a soapbox

Soapbox (car)

A gravity racer is a motorless vehicle capable of holding a driver built for the purpose of racing or recreation. They are propelled by gravity and can achieve speeds upwards of 112 km/h .-Soapbox cars:...

 in the All American Soapbox Derby. In 1996, Yoder challenged the regulations to allow children with disabilities to use a hand brake

Brake

A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....

 instead of the required foot brake. Thanks to him regulations were changed. The hand brake is now called the Justin Brake in Yoder's honor.

Yoder has spina bifida

Spina bifida

Spina bifida is a developmental congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebrae overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open. If the opening is large enough, this allows a portion of the spinal cord to protrude through...

. His story is told in the movie Miracle in Lane 2

Miracle in Lane 2

Miracle in Lane 2 is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Frankie Muniz, Rick Rossovich, Molly Hagan, and Patrick Levis.-Plot:The movie tells the true story of Justin Yoder , a boy that was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, and resumes his life in a wheelchair...

starring Frankie Muniz

Frankie Muniz

Francisco "Frankie" Muniz IV is an American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver. He is known primarily as the star of the FOX television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2003, he was considered "one of Hollywood's most bankable teens". In 2008, he put his acting career...

.

Yoder is a Mennonite

Mennonite

The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...

 and attends the same church as Miracle in Lane 2 screenwriters Don Yost and Joel Kauffmann.
As of 2006, Yoder is a student at Goshen College

Goshen College

Goshen College, is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, USA with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The college is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...

 in Goshen, Indiana

Goshen, Indiana

Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...

, and is majoring in American Sign Language Interpreting

American Sign Language

American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...

.

External links

• Justin Yoder ('05): "Frosh surprised by caring classmates", Bethany Christian School Bulletin, pp. 6-7, Summer 2002 edition. (Retrieved April 26, 2007)