Category Archives: Cerebral Palsy

Born with cerebral palsy, Keith Grieser has little control over his body but took full control of what he envisioned for his future. (Photo courtesy: Work Opportunities Unlimited) Born with cerebral palsy, Keith Grieser has little control over his body but took full control of what he envisioned for his future. "Having a job makes me feel like a regular person doing my part; It makes me feel like I belong," the 24-year-old said. Keith landed his dream job at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter thanks to hard work and some help from Susan Scaperotto, a career resource specialist with Work Opportunities Unlimited. The organization specializes in helping people with disabilities find community based employment. "Roger Dean Stadium gave me a chance, and that's all I ever asked for," Grieser said. His job duties include everything from greeting fans to preparing visitors for security checks. "He's a joy to have around," said Alex Inman, the Assistant General Manager at the ballpark. "The staff loves him, the fans love him during spring training and we look to have him here working with us for many years to come." The feeling is mutual. "I love my job and the people I work … Continue reading →

PITTSFIELD, Mass. Taconic High School's radio station, WTBR, is expected to be under new management within the next year. The station's license is owned by Pittsfield Public Schools and operates out of Taconic. But the new building does not include space for it and the tower will have to be removed. For years school administrators have been trying to figure out what to do with the state. Superintendent Jason McCandless said on Wednesday that he is working on a management agreement with United Cerebral Palsy of Berkshire County, which uses the Taconic tower to simultaneously broadcast the Berkshire Talking Chronicle, to take over operations. The school will still retain ownership of the license, but UCP will manage the station and a new studio will be built in the Clocktower Building on South Church Street. "We are hopeful that by the middle of the school year next year we are ready to begin executing that agreement. That's driven by the practicality that there is some equipment we have to move over the remaining four or five months," McCandless said. McCandless envisions the station becoming much more of a community station than it is now. There are few shows on WTBR, but … Continue reading →

June 28, 2017: A UT student and caretaker is raising money for his friend living with cerebral palsy. Madison Wade, WBIR 11:56 PM. EDT June 28, 2017 Gatlin McPherson, a junior at the University of Tennessee, is living with cerebral palsy and cannot communicate clearly after his communication device recently broke. Hes really a bright mind and nobody knows it because he cant express himself, said his caretaker and best friend Ashytnn Gilmore, also a UT student. Ashytnn is raising money for Gatlin to get a new Tobii device to be able to communicate quicker and more efficiently with people. "We go out and have fun but he can only talk maybe two words per minute and he can't really keep anyone's attention, so hopefully getting his computer is going to help that," Ashytnn said. The device would also help Gatlin's studies, especially inside the classroom. "It's been a lot of fun communicating and talking to him but it has been slow as well since his device broke," saidGatlin's musicology professor Sean McCollough. "I have to imagine without the device, he has to think really hard about whether or not he wants to come up and ask me a question." … Continue reading →

By AMELIA HARPER, Rocky Mount Telegram SPRING HOPE, N.C. One local woman has turned the challenges of her life into a way to serve others. Spring Hope native Jesse Sykes, 26, graduated last month from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a master's degree in clinical rehabilitation and mental health. Her master's thesis dealt with the impact of cerebral-palsy on care-givers during the transition from adolescent to adulthood. At first glance, this looks like a fairly typical story of intelligent young woman succeeding in a challenging and beneficial field. But Sykes is far from typical. She has dealt with the challenges of cerebral palsy since birth and now hopes to parlay that lifetime of experience into way to help others deal with challenges in their own lives. Sykes credits her success so far to family support and her own perseverance. "If you tell me I can't do something, I have to prove I can," Sykes said. "This is the way I was brought up. My parents always told me that the only thing I can't do is the thing I tell myself I can't do. I was tempted to quit at times, but a lot of people in my … Continue reading →

Brandon Mendenhall, left, with his band, The Mendenhall Experiment Courtesy of the band If theres one thing 33-year-old Los Angeles musician Brandon Mendenhall doesnt want, its your sympathy. Mendenhall, originally from Illinois, was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects the muscles, movement, speech, coordination and balance. The cerebral palsy causes my muscles to not function properly. I have motor coordination difficulties it affects my speech, the movement in my left hand and the way I walk, Mendenhall says during a recent phone interview. The biggest misconception a lot of people have about people with disabilities is that we arent capable and they need to feel sorry for us, he continues. I think a lot of people feel so bad they dont even want to talk to us or approach us. Mendenhall is the guitarist and main songwriter for The Mendenhall Experiment, a band whose mission, he says, is to remove the social stigma that comes with having a disability. The Mendenhall Experiment began in 2008 and currently features Mendenhall, lead guitarist Michael Lira, Michael's brother Bruce Lira on drums, vocalist Mario Valadez and bassist Nate Stockton. This band is about trying to change that initial perception when … Continue reading →

Please enable Javascript to watch this video ST. LOUIS You may not think of golf as a marathon but Monday it is for a very special cause.You`ll have to forgive Scott Thomas for feeling a little dj vu in Forest Park Monday afternoon. This is hole number 72 so we`ve finished. This is our 8th loop of the 9-hole course. That`s right since sun up Thomas and friends have been swinging and swinging and putting over and over and over again. And they`re not using any golf carts on their mission to play 100 holes of golf. I would love to be in those but the whole purpose of this is the 100-hole hike. It`s the physical challenge of walking. Golf is a sport that is enjoyed when it`s walking and enjoyed when it`s in a cart. But Charlie is trying to walk and it seems silly for us to be in modernized carts when we`re trying to raise awareness for him and his ability to walk again. Sure, a hole in one would be nice, but Scott Thomas and friends are driven by something else. Through pledges, the persistent players are hoping to help raise the $130,000 for the … Continue reading →

Two B.C. menone in a wheelchair and one pushing the wheelchairfinished the Scotiabank Half Marathon Sunday well under the world record time for the second year in a row, but their race won't be recognized because they built their chair instead of buying it. Rand Surbey, 42, has Cerebral Palsy. He can't speak, but he has a clear sense of adventure and smiles the whole way while his friend Jason Cole, 46, pushes his custom-built racing chair along the 21 kilometre half marathon course. They say the chair is what's preventing the pair from holding the official Guinness World Record for the fastest half marathon pushing a wheelchair. The current record is held by Andrew Steward of the U.K. who pushed his son Chris around the course in one hour and 54 minutes. "We were disqualified because this duct-tape encrusted piece of rust is considered an advantage for Rand here over $10,000 carbon fibre racing carriage," Cole told CTV News. Cole thinks it's unfair because neither he nor Surbey has "deep pockets" to afford a commercially sold racing chair. Plus, Cole says, he'd have to modify a store bought chair anyway to suit Surbey. The 42-year-old weighs about 150 pounds, … Continue reading →

Dylan Pallister, 11, left, will be participating in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge on the weekend to raise money for the Cerebral Palsy Association of B.C.. Contributed Dylan Pallister will be walking and running intermittently for the Scotiabank 5 kilometer run/walk in Vancouver. Dylan Pallister has cerebral palsy, but that doesnt stop the enthusiastic 11-year-old from playing wheelchair basketball, sledgehockey, adapted swimming or jogging. Dylan was diagnosed with the condition when he was a year old. He was deprived of oxygen to the brain either before, during or after birth. So its kind of like brain damage. It depends on what part of the brain is damaged, as to what it affects in a child. Every person is different, explained his mother, Celia Pallister. With Dylan, its his balance and mobility that are affected. Everytime he grows, his muscles become tighter. But that can be improved with exercise. He walks around with the aid of walking sticks. Finding activities in the community that are adapted is key, says his mother. [Cerebral palsy] is a static condition it doesnt get worse, but it doesnt get better, she explained. Dylan is preparing to participate in the five-kilometre Scotiabank Charity Challenge. He will be … Continue reading →

A hurtful remark by one parent to another sparked a mass play date in Auckland on Saturday in support of six-year-old disabled boy Charlie Gordon-Stables. The youngster with cerebral palsy found himself the unwitting guest-of-honour at the Takapuna event, attended by strangers touched by his mum's recent brush with discrimination. Tumbling through those early years should be child's play. But Charlie has endured a lifetime of sideways glances, and now an unfortunate verbal attack. Visiting a beachside playground recently with his mum, Charlie had a seizure and two other mothers wanted him gone. "One mum said I should reconsider coming to the park because Charlie was frightening their children," says mother Kirstin McKendry. But on Saturday dozens angry at reading about her ordeal on Facebook came out in support, for what they're calling "Charlie's play date". "I was appalled that people should see Charlie as someone that should be shut away or shied away from. That's just wrong," says Bart Couprie. And Charlie, what does he reckon? "Charlie's a little bit sleepy this morning, but the important thing is any time he does want to come here and his mum wants to come out, now she knows she is always … Continue reading →

Niamh ONeill outside the offices of Carlow County Council. Im emotionally stressed over this its gone beyond a joke. Photograph: Dylan Vaughan A woman living with cerebral palsy who is currently being housed in emergency accommodation in a hotel in Co Carlow has appealed to the local authority to find her suitable long-term wheelchair-accessible accommodation. Niamh ONeill, who was born with the condition, says she has nowhere else to go having moved out of the family home due to an altercation some months ago. The young woman, who is a wheelchair user, told The Irish Times that she is very distressed with not having a proper home to live in and was forced to present herself to the Carlow County Council homeless services. Im currently homeless; I became homeless on the 20th of January after an issue with my family. I had a good friend in Kilkenny who took me in for a while because she is in a wheelchair herself and her house was wheelchair-accessible. She took me in for three and a half months but I was sleeping on her couch. I presented myself to the Carlow Homeless Executive on the 16th May. The council have placed me … Continue reading →