Different Abilities

I have had athetoid cerebral palsy since I was born. Cerebral palsy affects the nervous system's ability to communicate with and control muscles. I use a walker and a wheelchair to get around. My speech can be hard to understand by an unfamiliar listener, but, as soon as people get to know me, they can easily understand me.

Throughout my childhood and adolescence, and continuing in the present, I find new ways of using my body. In addition to traditional physical, occupational, and speech therapies, the body-work modalities of The Feldenkrais Method and Body-Mind Centering have been a large part of this process.

Here at Haverford College, I am more independent than I have ever been in the past. I live in an on-campus apartment and primarily use my electric wheelchair to get around. I attend classes and campus events on my own or with friends. I frequently take public transportation into Philadelphia to go to events in the city.

I hire fellow students to help me eat meals and assist me with minimal activities of daily living. I also have scribes come in, to whom I dictate most of my schoolwork and correspondence. Although I am able to type and have invented an alternative input device, my typing is too slow for me to type all of my papers myself.

I am currently working with people at Haverford College to figure out ways to increase the speed at which I type. Our goal is to develop a way for me to type at a normal speed before I graduate.