Questions and answers

One of the things I often deal with related to my disability is how to answer questions asked of me by those who don’t know what it’s like to have cerebral palsy, or even what it is. There’s a lot of discourse happening around disability now, and the labels that are put on people who live with disabilities.

According to attorney Kenneth A. Stern, a lawyer who claims to specialize in cases related to cerebral palsy, often abbreviated as CP, it is estimated that there are 764,000 children and adults living with Cerebral Palsy in the United States. Another set of attorneys, Miller and Stois, provide studies stating that in addition to these numbers, nearly two thirds of these cases are children.

I was one of these many children. Born two months prematurely in 1990, I was eventually diagnosed with spastic ataxia, including me in the 15% of cases that Miller and Stois cite as mixed. Until the age of 10, I was one of the 11% of kids diagnosed with CP who needed hand held mobility aids to get around. For me, the aid of choice was a walker.

Throughout my adolescence, I was often asked constant questions about my ability to do things. I think this is one of the many reasons I became a writer. One of the reasons I started this blog was to provide information and encouragement to those living with disability.

These facts and figures may seem overwhelming. But I share them to share this. There are many people who thrive with disability and live productive lives. We chase our dreams, we fall in love, we strive and we struggle. Some of us, like me, use our faith to get through it.

If you were a parent whose child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy today, what questions would you have for an adult who is learning to thrive with it? I’ll be happy to answer as many comments as I can. [Bear in mind that my experience is not the same as every person with some form of Cerebral Palsy]