Last week I went out to lunch with my mom, our family and friends. In the group there was one person whom I had met only a handful of times, and another person I was meeting for the first time. Today, I am a seasoned 21-year-old and meeting someone who has never encountered…
For any teenager, learning to drive is a rite of passage from being a child to becoming an adult, and is no less important for someone with cerebral palsy, like me. So, let’s go back to that time: In the summer after I graduated high school, although already…
Today, I want to talk about something a lot of us think about, but that can lose its importance on our to-do list. That is our need to stay strong when confronted by the pressures to get things done or to succeed. Those of us with cerebral palsy…
Lately, I have been pleased with the content of this column. I feel it’s the most true to myself that I’ve written, and just about every piece is about now, the things I’m currently going through, as opposed to being several months old. And it has all happened as…
I have been hinting about it on social media for months, posting status updates and tweets. My blog was the only place I let the true reality of my life struggles slip through, sharing stories of others’ struggles in response to my own — all tiny hints. But…
It was October as I remember it. Mom picked me up from school and a thick tension hung in the air, blasting out of the car the moment I opened the door. When I got in a wave of dread washed over me. The drive from my high…
This is a challenge, a call to action. I want people with disabilities to talk proudly about the defining moments in their life that made them confident. What cracked open your shell? What set you free? What was your proudest moment? I’m sure many of us can name…
I feel like I share more about my life in this column than I do on my personal blog. But the response I get here has always been so positive, curious and supportive that I can’t help but continue. So, I have a another confession to make: I’ve…
Since middle school, I’ve really been into planning. At first, I liked being able to plug in important due dates of my classes. But by my second year of college I wanted writing to become my job full time and to be be self-employed. To succeed I had…
Update to my recent column about bedwetting: I have found a solution that appears to be working. First, I put aside my experience with the uncaring doctor, the one who failed to conduct a thorough exam on me, yet told me that my diet was too acidic. I didn’t believe him, of…