SURVIVAL TIPS

1

“My mom and dad had a mantra, a saying, a quote that we live by. My dad would always say to me, ‘You can do it’. My dad taught me how to walk when I was five years old; most people with cerebral palsy don’t walk at all. My parents treated me as an equal. If my sisters were mopping the floor, I was mopping the floor. If my sisters went to public school, my parents would sue the school system to make sure that I went too.”

2

“If you know someone who has a disabled child, it’s very very important to not feel bad for them. Do not constantly be praising them. You raise this child like any other. Every child has a problem, every child has issues. We cannot focus on one aspect of who a person is and eliminate everything else about them.”

3

“My parents weren’t afraid to push me, they weren’t afraid to absolutely and unequivocally demand that people around them treated me as an equal. This is rare though it need not be. We need to understand that people are more than just their disabilities.”

4

“I think the important thing is talk to the disabled. Communicate with them, see what they want, see what they dream of. Please do not think of any of them as a shell of a human being.”