Presentation

About a month ago, I gave a presentation to a group of about 20 teachers about how I think the school system has helped or hindered me, specifically with regards to my Cerebral Palsy. I wanted to share some of the most prominent parts of the whole experience:

1). I was both enlightened and amazed by the types of questions I was asked by these teachers. One of the most enlightening questions was, "I assume you took chemistry lab, did you ever have any accommodations when working in the lab?" At first, this question seemed slightly out of the blue, but then I realized that this teacher's question must have came from a personal experience. i soon learned that a colleague of this teacher had a student with Cerebral Palsy who had accommodations in chemistry lab. Honestly, I would have never have thought of giving someone with Cerebral Palsy accommodations during chemistry lab.

2). People don't understand that Cerebral Palsy runs from very mild to severe or that conditions like, intellectual disabilities are not caused by Cerebral Palsy, but are completely separate entities.

3). Teachers are trying to help students recognize and be proud of their personal differences, but (at least in my school county) teachers are not allowed to talk about the differences of a particular student in front of his or her class, or some other group of students.

At the presentation I handed out a flyer titled, "Attending School and Having Cerebral Palsy" The flyer included beneficial actions, which are, encouraging, asking, and adapting, and detrimental actions, which are, patronizing and assuming.
A fun acronym to remember these actions is "Don't PA, EAA." Other acronyms and insight is greatly appreciated!

Being a Ballerina

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.

NIH involved with Cerebral Palsy Awareness

The National Institute of Heath (NIH) has a number of Cerebral palsy resources and conducts a number of cerebral palsy related clinical trials every year. The various resources are extremely thorough and useful. I was especially happy when I came across a list of organizations, on the website, that support research and awareness of all things Cerebral Palsy.

1. The Cerebral Palsy international Research Foundation: Supports research for Cerebral Palsy and is currently selling "Hope Bracelets" to raise awareness for Cerebral Palsy because 100% of the proceeds go to benefit the efforts CPIRF. I love the look of these bracelets and i think I'm tempted to get one for myself.

2. Pedal With Pete: Their mission is to " raise funds for research to improve the quality of life for persons with Cerebral Palsy. "

I hope these resources will be helpful to someone!

Monty Python: Hilarious or Rude

Many of the walks in Monty Python's "Ministry of Silly Walks" resembles that of someone with Cerebral Palsy. I have yet to decide if this is downright rude or hilarious.



This article from the UK Comedy Guide talks about the presence of disability in comedy.

What do you think?
Is it okay to use disabilities in comedy?
Does this increase awareness of all kinds of disabilities or is it just plain rude?

Parachute and Pillows

In a little less than 24 hours I have become obsessed with this new group name Parachute (no poem intended)! But Seriously, they are amazing and i especially like their song "She is Love." it is absolutely brilliant.

Also, i was just on Etsy and I saw these adorable floor cushions made by Tiny Decor. They are designed for nurseries and playrooms, but I like them more for my own room. Plus, I was thinking how great they would be for physical therapy and/or back support.

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?

Success and Sweet Comments

A few nights ago I had my IB personal project fair. Just in case you didn't know, this blog was specifically done for my high school IB personal project and I am proud to say it was a great success! I created a kind of scrapbook summary of my blog using Scraplog and displayed it during the fair. Two of my many favorite moments of the night were meeting a lady who helped start the United Cerebral Palsy in Washington State, (There are United Cerebral Palsys all over the country), and meeting a little girl who quickly told me that her grandmother has Cerebral Palsy and "is a very special person."

Advantages to CP

In my opinion, having Cerebral Palsy has many advantages. Here are some advantages that I have or will experience(d):

1. I can get paid for participating in medical studies.
2. Even though I don't, I have permission to use the elevator at school.
3. I am the only one in my graduating class with Cerebral Palsy.
4. I can get one of those blue parking passes.
5. I am not old, but I have already had Botox.
6. I have an excuse to take Pilates Classes.
7. Some of the most influential people in my life have to do with my Cerebral Palsy (my therapist, my Pilates teacher, and my adapted P.E. teacher).
8. When I write poetry, I automatically have something to write about.
9. Playing the cello is not only fun, it's also theraputic!
10. I understand all the jokes made by Josh Blue.

I want to know...

Do you have a list of ten great things about having Cerebral Palsy?

"Teachable Moments"

When I heard about President Obama's inappropriate comment comparing his bowling skills to the special olympics I was very upset. This newly elected President who I have admired and cheered for over the last months insulted something that is related to a major part of my life. President Obama who is, in my opinion, a believer of hope and equality has contradicted his own ideals, which were spoken in his hundreds of speeches given throughout the campaign season. In my opinion Obama slipped up BIG TIME! Nevertheless, I am still an avid admirer and supporter of him. I also believe that everyone makes mistakes that cause a lot of harm to certain groups of people and, yes, this is wrong, but the truth is that we do not live in a perfect world. Instead I think we should take this comment and turn into something good and productive, a time to realize that everybody has their differences and that the world is an amazing place because of these differences. Also, that everybody's differences, whether external or internal, should be respected by all. In the words of Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, "This kind of language needs to be a teachable moment, I think, for our country." So, I think, in my opinion
we can all use President Obama's comment as a "teachable moment" whether its for ourselves or for another. On this issue I found this video of Good morning America's interview with Tim Shriver to be quite, to use his word, "affirming." Finally, this letter to Obama, written by Sarah from Class of 2008 (found at To the Max) is great and puts an uplifting perspective on this issue.

In other news..

Also, I want to wish you all a happy 2nd day of Spring! I am so excited for Spring I can hardly stand it! Oh, and just in case you missed it, yesterday was World Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. Don't worry, if you forgot or didn't know, I was informed by email a day ahead. Thank goodness for Facebook and its Cerebral Palsy awareness groups!

Feel free to share your thoughts...
What are your perspectives, opinions, or thoughts on President Obama's comment?
Are you all as excited for Spring as I am?
and
Did you do anything special for CP Awareness Day?

Believe In Hopes and Your Dreams!

November 4, 2008--Election Day! Glued to CNN, I watched, with my husband, the results come in as many of you did. As the evening went on, I became more confident of my decision 18 months ago to support Barak Obama as my new President!

He Won! I cried! I fought back tears as he gave his Victory speech (although it was more a speech of Gratitude and an invitation for us all to unite as Americans to bring about change). I fought back tears to see the genuine hope in people's eyes as Obama talked of the future. He talked of working together to bring America back to being a strong and caring Nation, giving its citizens the power and the responsibility to help make that happen.

Where am I going with this, you might be thinking. I guess I want to talk about visualization. My visualizing that Obama would become our next President is similar to visualization of my own life. If you are readers of this blog, I have Cerebral Palsy. I have strived to overcome the barriers, misconceptions and the attitudes of the times!

Time has been good to me. Born in the late 40's, my folks were told I'd be a vegetable who would never sit up. Soon my parents realized this as not so an began to work with me. As far back as I can remember, I visualized success in whatever I wanted to do. That's the true blessing of going through childhood. One can dream and act out their future with no limitations.

I saw myself as attending high school, college, being employed and being married. I'm happy to say that I've accomplished each goal! Was it easy, no! Those limitations that a kid never sees; well they started appearing However, my desire and determination outweighed the negative feedback from those who only saw my wheelchair and heard my distorted speech.

After reaching my goals, I began searching for future chapters in my life. After college I got hired as a teacher's assistant, teaching students with disabilities. I then worked for the Metropolitan Center for Independent Living as Transition Coordinator, helping students with disabilities make the transition from High School and home to independent living in the "real" world.

Still relatively young, but burned out from fighting and advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, my husband and I moved out of the big City to a life in the country. I love it! To keep active I joined the Lions and the snowmobile Club. This baby, born to be a vegetable was living her life!

I wanted to do more, to give back! Then I found this neat tool on the internet. It allowed me to send beautiful cards via my computer! I had reached a new level of independence. Learning more about the effects of sending heartfelt greeting in minutes, prompted by a thought, I found a way to give back and help others reach their dreams. http://www.greetingcardschangelives.com has given me a future!

It is our inner self that makes us who we are. Obama found his inner self. He now wants to help each one of us to find that strength and belief that we can accomplish our goals and desires.

With the Election over, a real hope for the future ahead, we can now focus on a way to make a difference ~ Change a life!

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). Even more relevant to Cerebral Palsy, Mary's grandmother and founder of the Maryland Youth Ballet started Music and Motion classes. Music and Motion classes are specifically and exclusively designed for children with disabilities. The classes began because Mary's grandmother wanted a way for her granddaughter to enjoy the physical benefits of ballet. In my opinion the classes look really fun and engaging. To register or for more information click here.   

Cerebral Palsy Pins

I just came across these amazing Cerebral Palsy Awareness Pins. They are made by a woman named Christy who has a sixteen year old daughter living with Cerebral Palsy. Complete with an awareness ribbon bead and a few green beads these pins would be great on a cute bag (Am I starting to sound like an infomercial, yet?). Better yet, the proceeds go toward buying items for the local dog pound. I loved them so much that I bought one for myself! Check them out here.  

The Big Dilemma: Shoes

I don't know about you, but for me, as a person living with Cerebral Palsy buying shoes has always been my biggest achilles heel. I'll have an adorable outfit, but not the perfect shoes to match. This comes from the fact that if I were to have the perfect shoes to match (i.e. narrow, non-supportive flats, sandals, or clogs) my walk would either be extremely exaggerated or I would fall flat on my face! So, after many trips to the mall and many stores I have finally found the perfect shoe source Zappos, or in other words, the shoe store that is only on the internet and is complete with free returns! Scrolling through multitudes of pages, the possibilities are endless with the number of" "Cerebral Palsy-approved" shoes is infinitely endless. Finally, I must share that my favorite shoe company is J-41. They are the makers of the fabulous pair of shoes above!

 

Happy 2009!

I've made my personal resolutions for this year and now its time to make some for this blog:

• Gain more contributors and readers. 
• Help people who have loved ones with Cerebral Palsy or those who are living with Cerebral Palsy.
• Enjoy the up and coming blog layout by Blogs By Danielle . 
• Donate money to United Cerebral Palsy and March of Dimes.
• Possibly create posters or tees promoting awareness for Cerebral Palsy. 
• Gather stories about life with Cerebral Palsy.

The list could go on and on! Feel free to share your input!

An Inspirational Story

When I was around eight years old I took ballet at the local ballet studio. For three years straight I got to dance in their production of the Nutcracker. That is why I find this story particularly thrilling! Enjoy!  I would love to hear what you think about this video! Go ahead and comment below. 

*The video player isn't working, so a link will have to suffice!

A Good Cause

Recently, I came across a website called Good Search in an issue of Real Simple Magazine. What thrills me about it is, that it is just like a standard search engine, but here's the thing, each time you use it to search for something it gives a penny to your favorite charity! If you're like me, that could add up to a lot in a little bit of time! Ok, so what exactly does this have to do with Cerebral Palsy? Well, charities of course! Think United Cerebral Palsy or March of Dimes and try it for yourself. Oh, and you may even consider setting it as your homepage for maximum giving!   

Thanks, Ann!

I took Ann up on her offer to contribute to her blog. I'm Sandy Morgan, from MN and do have CP. I'm catorgorized as severely disabled, as I need assistance with pretty much everything! Computers have given me much independence. My husband complains that I'm on it 14 hours a day! Pretty accurate, he is, but my typing speed is about 8 words per minute.

Looking forward to see how this blog evolves! With others contributing and giving feedback. through your comments, I expect many interesting discussions coming into play! here's to a lively place to share and learn with one another!

Sandy