Parents of children with disabilities have a tough job, but also a rewarding one. You have a child filled with tremendous potential, but the challenges of their disabilities hold them back or cause obstacles. I believe that education is so important to both parent and child. Education…
For the last 10 weeks, I’ve been taking a course my college calls “Introduction to Disability Culture.” To refresh your memory, I’m a senior in college and I have a physically obvious disability — I would like to think that I have been well acquainted with disability culture…
Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that impacts coordination and muscle tone. But what about the mental health of someone who has cerebral palsy? How does the physical disability impact the mental state? Oct. 10 was World Mental Health Day, and in honor of that I…
Hey! I never know how to reintroduce myself to you after being away for a while, and oddly enough, the topic at hand today is how you can reintroduce yourself to people as someone with a disability. Let me explain: Over the course of my life, I have…
Cerebral palsy has had a major impact on my life as well as the people important to me. A negative outlook is easy to have when thinking about living with a disability. Often I visualize myself without cerebral palsy, and it feels so real. But I know I…
While browsing Reddit recently, I came across a discussion about how to tell people that you have a disability. I have never had the luxury of nondisclosure because my disability has always been visible and I often use mobility aids. However, I have experienced the feelings…
Cerebral palsy varies from person to person in how it affects people. Limitations in one person might be completely different from another person. One symptom, however, remains the same in those who have cerebral palsy: Muscles become uncontrollable to some degree. Muscles can be stiff, too relaxed,…
The back-to-school season is in full swing, and with Halloween candy hitting the shelves, I think we need to be blunt about an extremely important subject for everyone — but especially people with a chronic illness: advocacy, particularly self-advocacy. People who live with a chronic illness still…
Friends are essential to life because they help guide, support and love us. Our friends keep us in line, smiling, laughing and make life worthwhile. Imagine how bland life would be without friendships? Life would be pretty dull without the fortune of friends, and having severe cerebral palsy…
We all know how important self-care is for everyone, but it can be crucial when dealing with a chronic illness. During the summer months, I strived for self-care one day a week. But now that my days are longer and filled with activities, I need to practice…