Cerebral palsy affects speech patterns and communication for many (not all) with the disorder. Having a speech impediment as a child made it difficult for me to maintain friendships and be taken seriously by some adults. Although I had speech therapy, I would have benefited from a little…
April is a strange month for me. Spring, flowers, and warmer weather are all associated with April — new beginnings. April pushed me to a radically new beginning 11 years ago. My first husband, an abusive man, committed suicide in 2007, unexpectedly leaving me as a single mother with…
Summer will finally return soon. Many of us had a long, bitter, and cold winter. Each season has a different effect on cerebral palsy. Muscles react to cold and warm weather differently, and sometimes it’s difficult to know how to adjust or ease some of the muscle tension and…
Imagine going to the mall with a wheelchair-accessible van and all handicapped-accessible spaces are taken, but no one has a proper tag to park there. Or you’re in a wheelchair and need to use the bathroom, but others are in the handicapped stall when they have no good excuse…
School violence, unfortunately, is on the minds of thousands of people. Protection of our children is extremely important, and it is imperative to find the right plan to keep everyone safe. As more schools implement drills and plans to protect children and staff, children with disabilities aren’t included…
International Women’s Day happened last week, and I’m happy to celebrate all of the amazing women I know and those I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting. Being a woman is terrific because we have superhero qualities and can turn them on as easily as a switch…
I’m finally going to answer the age-old question: Should you use the accessible restroom stall if you are able-bodied or otherwise don’t need to? I have been thinking about sharing my opinion almost since this column began, but for a long time, there were so…
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disability that affects thousands of children and adults worldwide. March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, which allows us to celebrate and educate others about the disorder. With so many disabilities in the world, cerebral palsy often is easily pushed to the…
We heard so many conflicting ideas about how to manage our to-do lists while we were in elementary school. “Do the hardest thing first.” “Do the thing you don’t want to do first if it takes less than five minutes to do — don’t put it off.”…
I’ve loved watching the Olympics as long as I can remember. It doesn’t matter if it’s the winter or summer games, I watch it no matter what. I enjoy watching because of the competition and unity found in masses of people across the world watching the same thing.