Teen raising awareness about special needs
Cory Michalec never set out to be an advocate for people with special needs, but by simply being himself, he is one.
“He just naturally does it,” said Cory’s mother, Tiffany Michalec. “If someone asks him, he’ll do it and he’ll have a lot to say.”
Cory, a 17-year-old Tallmadge High School senior who has cerebral palsy, was recently featured in a Guardian article talking about the importance of accessibility and inclusivity when it comes to students who use wheelchairs. He’s also testified at the Ohio Statehouse to ask for more funding for wheelchair basketball and has been a crowd favorite on the basketball court.
“I’ve always been an outgoing person, and sometimes some people think I’m just the kid in the wheelchair, but it’s important that I can speak up and have the opportunity to share what’s on my mind,” he said.
Cory and his twin sister, Katie, were born premature and were in the neonatal intensive care unit at Akron Children’s Hospital. Early on, doctors told his parents, Tiffany and Greg, that Cory would have special needs.
“We’d only been in Tallmadge about a year and didn’t know a lot, but one thing that stood out was I knew Tallmadge had a good school system for special education,” Tiffany said. “I knew we’d be OK on that end, but I had no idea how much other stuff would come in place.”
Cory’s passion for sports cropped up at an early age. Cory’s parents learned about the Tallmadge Little League Challenger Division, an adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges, and signed him up. Greg and Tiffany now run the division.
When Cory was in third grade and wanted to participate in football, he was asked to help manage the team.
“Everyone’s always been good about saying, ‘Cory would love to do this, so how can we adapt it to make it work?’” Tiffany said.
When Cory was in middle school,
Greg was approached by Lisa Followay, CEO of Adaptive Sports Ohio, to start a wheelchair basketball team.
“Cory knows everyone in Tallmadge, so the first thing we did was talk to the mayor, and then we talked to the school,” Greg said.
The team was up and running by the time Cory was in eighth grade and as a starter, HE earned his letterman’s jacket that year. He is currently the only senior on the team.
“It’s made me feel kinda cool. It was a game I grew up watching my peers and my friends play, and now I was able to play too,” Cory said. “It made me feel pretty cool that I could finally do something like that.”
“If you come, you’d see Cory’s a crowd favorite,” Greg said. “He leads the team in fouls and sometimes he turns toward the crowd, throws his arms up and everyone goes crazy.”
Greg, who serves as assistant coach of the team under Monica Currey, said Tallmadge has been a “poster child” for how to support wheelchair basketball. The team typically fills their side of the bleachers, even at away games, and brings cheerleaders.
Cory also now serves as the high school football team’s manager and is part of the school’s newspaper, often interviewing the high school athletes.
He is looking forward to prom and said he believes someone who uses a wheelchair should be part of that committee to ensure accessibility.
“Anything the school does, all those extras, he wants all of those committees to keep wheelchairs in mind,” Tiffany said. “Unless you’re in a chair and you go, you just don’t realize there are obstacles. He’d love to be a consult for all of these planned events.”
“Tallmadge has supported everything he’s done here, and I think he’s elevated the knowledge of everything in town,” Greg said.
Cory is also looking forward to graduation this year. Tallmadge used to have its ceremony at EJ Thomas Hall, which is not wheelchair friendly but due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been holding it at the high school stadium.
Since December, Cory has been working with his physical therapist to be able to go on a short walk. He plans to shock all of his classmates when he walks across the stage.
Reporter Krista S. Kano can be reached at 330-541-9416, kkano@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @Kristakanoabj.