Jan Blaustone, 56, is a Nashville-based author and speaker who focuses on family life and disability issues.

Her second book, Every Family Is Special: Love Comes First, was published in 1994 by Fairview Press, and her first book, The Joy of Parenthood, in 1993 by Meadowbrook/Simon & Schuster. Her books have been endorsed by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse and are used as counseling tools in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Blaustone earned a bachelor's degree in English from California State University, Sacramento. She has worked in advertising, as a fire fighter and as assistant to best-selling author H. Jackson Brown Jr. She volunteers with Canine Assistants of Alpharetta, Ga., and also has served as a volunteer consultant on special needs adoptions for Family & Children's Service of Middle Tennessee. She also has worked as a substitute teacher for Metro-Davidson County in Nashville.

She has assisted with MDA summer camp and was profiled on the national broadcast of the 1996 MDA Telethon. She has written for MDA's Quest magazine and various publications nationwide via wire services. She also participates as a member of MDA's national task force steering committee, and she's a motivational speaker at MDA functions and support groups. In 1994, she was honored by the Nashville mayor's office for her efforts to promote a positive image of people with disabilities. She was the 2001 recipient of MDA's National Personal Achievement Award. She served two terms as president of MDA's Middle Tennesee and Southern Kentucky Chapter.

Blaustone enjoys activities involving children, fishing, boating, painting, gardening and photography. She has contributed four works of art to the MDA Art Collection. She lives in Nashville with her husband, Michael, and their 17-year-old son, Lee.

Blaustone has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, which affects her shoulders, upper arms and legs. She uses a power wheelchair for mobility. She received a diagnosis of LGMD in 1987.