SHORT TAKES : ‘Life’ Teaches Kellie Martin

NEW YORK — Teen-age actress Kellie Martin of the ABC series “Life Goes On” says playing opposite an actor who has Down’s syndrome has “opened my mind and made me a better person.”

The 14-year-old Martin, who portrays Becca in the weekly series, told Parade magazine for this Sunday’s issue that before she met actor Christopher Burke she was uncomfortable around disabled people.

“When I first knew that there was going to be a boy playing Corky who really had Down’s syndrome, I was very afraid. I was thinking, ‘Gosh, I wish they had an actor playing him. This is going to be very hard.’

“But once you’ve gotten to know someone like Chris, who is such a normal person and so great, everything changes.”