In the past, I've talked about how I used to take ballet, but I've never mentioned how grateful I am that the studio never once hesitated to let me take classes because I have Cerebral Palsy.
Recently, I read this article, published three years ago that talks about a ballet class for girls with Cerebral Palsy and other conditions located in Queens, New York. This class was established by Joann Ferrara,a physical therapist, because ballet studios were refusing to let these girls with Cerebral Palsy join.
Learn more or sign up for classes at, Dancing Dreams, Ferrara's therapeutic non-profit dance studio here.
In 2007, Ferrara published a pre-school level book entitled Ballerina Dreams, which shares the story of five little girls, with Cerebral Palsy, pursuing their dreams of dancing Ballet. Find it here.
The original article, along with a short video, was published in the New York Times and can be found here.
The post featured on Parent Dish can be found here.
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Resources. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Two Great Resources
These are two great resources that have been and continue to be very beneficial programs to people with Cerebral Palsy living in the Washington, D.C. area:
1. Cerebral Palsy Ability Center: Located in Chantilly, VA, CPAC provides therapeutic and educational support to kids living with Cerebral Palsy. Click here to visit their website, so you can read their mission statement, look at pictures, and find out about the various activities offered throughout the year.
2. Lift Me Up: Lift Me Up, located in Great Falls VA, provides the chance for children and adults with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities to improve the well-being through riding horses and interacting with the very compassionate staff. The website can be located by clicking here. You can also meet the horses by clicking here. I participated in Lift Me Up, for a couple of years, starting when i was six and I absolutely loved it!
Share your thoughts?
Do have any equally as great resources for people living with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities in your area?
1. Cerebral Palsy Ability Center: Located in Chantilly, VA, CPAC provides therapeutic and educational support to kids living with Cerebral Palsy. Click here to visit their website, so you can read their mission statement, look at pictures, and find out about the various activities offered throughout the year.
2. Lift Me Up: Lift Me Up, located in Great Falls VA, provides the chance for children and adults with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities to improve the well-being through riding horses and interacting with the very compassionate staff. The website can be located by clicking here. You can also meet the horses by clicking here. I participated in Lift Me Up, for a couple of years, starting when i was six and I absolutely loved it!
Share your thoughts?
Do have any equally as great resources for people living with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities in your area?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
A Little Early
So, I was going to wait a few days to post number 3 and 4 of my favorite exercise equipment, but after finding the greatest website I couldn't resist posting at least number 3.
3. Exercise Ball: Oh, the exercise ball, great for sore backs and such. A large variety can be found here.
The website featuring the exercise balls had some other great products as well. Here are two of my favorites:
I've heard of Bilibo's, but it never occurred to me how great they could be when used in therapy.
Learning to ride a bike can be very difficult for kids with Cerebral Palsy because balancing is especially challenging. As a result, the Skuut™ Balance Bike would be the perfect solution to help your child learn to balance before actually learning how to ride a bike!
3. Exercise Ball: Oh, the exercise ball, great for sore backs and such. A large variety can be found here.
The website featuring the exercise balls had some other great products as well. Here are two of my favorites:
I've heard of Bilibo's, but it never occurred to me how great they could be when used in therapy.
Learning to ride a bike can be very difficult for kids with Cerebral Palsy because balancing is especially challenging. As a result, the Skuut™ Balance Bike would be the perfect solution to help your child learn to balance before actually learning how to ride a bike!
A Potential Routine: Part 1
Exercise is important for anybody, but it is even more important for people with Cerebral Palsy. Although the actual event of me exercising either rarely or never happens...I confess. So, I'm writing this post tonight with the hopes of inspiring myself to put only FIVE minutes of exercise into my daily routine, but most importantly I'm inspiring you, the reader of this blog, to do the same! Don't worry there will be no exercises shown today, just a display of the fancy schmanzy equipment! Conclude with: THAT WAS DRAMATIC!
***As always, I am not a doctor so please consult with yours before you take any of my advice!
Here it goes:
1. Yoga Mat: You are going to need a comfortable surface on which to do your exercising. Personally, yoga mats work best for me! I've seen them being sold at thrift shops for around five bucks! There are some pretty good deals on websites like Amazon. For the adventurous types, there may be some steals/deals on your local Craigslist.
2. Resistance Band: Does anybody else think these smell like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, or am I just weird? These are great for stretching out tired, sore muscles (As always check with your doctor first before using a resistance band). Anyways, I just found a great deal on resistance bands: one band for 1-2 dollars depending on the intended resistance.
More to come later!
***As always, I am not a doctor so please consult with yours before you take any of my advice!
Here it goes:
1. Yoga Mat: You are going to need a comfortable surface on which to do your exercising. Personally, yoga mats work best for me! I've seen them being sold at thrift shops for around five bucks! There are some pretty good deals on websites like Amazon. For the adventurous types, there may be some steals/deals on your local Craigslist.
2. Resistance Band: Does anybody else think these smell like fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, or am I just weird? These are great for stretching out tired, sore muscles (As always check with your doctor first before using a resistance band). Anyways, I just found a great deal on resistance bands: one band for 1-2 dollars depending on the intended resistance.
More to come later!
Just As Good As Vogue...
Apparently, there is a magazine of all things CP called "Cerebral Palsy magazine." Subscriptions are available in many ways and forms: they can be ordered by mailing in an order form, digital forms of each issue are available for purchase on a CD, and there are FREE PDFs of each issue available online. I might get my own subscription and if I do I'll post about it. Though the magazine, in my opinion, does look very informative with covers featuring prominent figures in the Cerebral palsy world.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Pondering
When I feel like this...
I go here:
http://perezhilton.com/
Here:
http://www.etsy.com/
And most definitely here:
http://www.facebook.com/
This leads me to a question: What are your favorite Cerebral Palsy website resources?
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.
I go here:
http://perezhilton.com/
Here:
http://www.etsy.com/
And most definitely here:
http://www.facebook.com/
This leads me to a question: What are your favorite Cerebral Palsy website resources?
Friday, January 9, 2009
Multimedia Extravaganza
1. Comedians
Maysoon Zayid
Josh Blue
2. Books
Most of these books are around the young-adult level, though I do think adults would enjoy them as well! Plus, Small Steps is by the author of Holes.
3. Movies
I have never seen these movies, but they are supposed to be really good!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Music and Motion
Eight year-old Mary Cassell, who has Cerebral Palsy, recently participated in the Joffrey Ballet's recent production of the Nutcracker (The post on her performance is a few posts ahead of this one)
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