Hello everybody. This week my blog will be about what special needs means to me.

First let me give you a little general background on the two types of special needs as I understand them. Type number one is developmental. Told in a nutshell, that means that people with that type of disability need help focusing and keeping on task. Type number two is a physical disability. The difference between a developmental disability and a physical disability is sometimes quite great. Someone with a physical disability like I have needs help doing almost everything, from taking a shower to eating breakfast. When people asked me what my disability is, I say CP. Some people underestimate people with disabilities. They are wrong to do that because we can do almost everything that everyone else can do. Sometimes we can do things better than almost everyone else. If you read my previous blog about the video of the skier, you will have a better understanding of where I’m getting the information from.  For instance in the video, Alex’s brother Frederick might not have been able to move very well, but his paintings were fantastic.

You might be asking what keeps me motivated to face the many challenges in my everyday life. Well, you know how they say you only live once and you should take every day as if it was your last. That is my philosophy in life and that is what keeps me motivated to keep working hard. Now I’m going to tell you about my support team and who helps me carry out my philosophy. It starts off with my Mom who helps me throughout the day. My teachers support me by giving me challenges throughout the day and the tools I need to get them done. As I stated in my last blog, my teacher Mr. Feldmann is who inspires me, but it is not just him.  My Mom-Mom inspires me by pushing me to do certain things that are not easy for me to do.  Carol is one of my fellow coworkers at The Arc Alliance. Even though Carol can sometimes drive me a little crazy she is very inspirational to me, because she shows me and tells me that I can do anything I want to as long as I put my mind to it.

I hope this is helpful and will talk to you next week!

Chandler