Author: My cerebral palsy life

Do you cringe when you think of the holiday season? Does it raise your anxiety? Cause depression? Do you stress out just by trying to get everything right so it will go smoothly? You are not alone.

The holiday season no doubt can get and be stressful on everyone. The key is the way we handle the stress that we are under that determines how our outcome is going to be. There are simple things that we can do to help us dis-stress during this time.

Stress is also very hard on those of us that live with limitations for example stress can bring on seizures for someone who may have a seizure disorder. So by doing some tips and tricks so to speak can help prevent these types of situations. What are these tips you ask? Lets dive in and look at some tips that can help during the stressful holiday season.

It is easy to loose sight of what really matters, it helps to stay focused on the present time and situation. Details are important, however, do not over think things or should I say don’t sweat the small stuff. Face reality. A lot of the time we will plan events and have it in mind that it will goes as we have it planned in our mind. This unfortunately, is not always the case. Nothing is perfect so by accepting things may not go as planned helps us to not get flustered at the situation. Accept the mishaps and move on. Consideration. It is hard at times to stop and think about others situations, feelings, mentality etc., especially, during the holiday season. It is true holidays can bring a lot of emotions up and create issues for a lot of us. So trying to be supportive and thoughtful and aware of what others around us are thinking, feeling, going through and so on can easy tension and help us easy our stress and anxiety. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/4-mindful-tips-to-destress-this-holiday-season

How about our present moment with what is going on around the country with covid 19? That is stressful in itself for example if we are going to travel which is stressful in itself we may be required to wear a mask and abide by certain rules that pertain to safety where covid is concerned. So the question is how can we de-stress while in a pandemic such as covid 19? Anything is possible. Yes we can make things easier on ourselves so we do not stress out and raise our anxiety and get frustrated even in the pandemic.

Being practical is an important key to helping us dis-stress. Facing reality for what our situation involves, bracing ourselves for the unexpected. Going with the flow, planning ahead are all things that are practical that we can focus on by accepting these realities that they could occur. When we feel overwhelmed and have no where to go or anyone to turn to we can look in others places such as in our community. This may involve a support group, church family, community outreaches that can help us in various ways. Our mind likes to play tricks on us especially when stress is ruling our lives. By reaching out and asking for assistance and support this can lighten the load that we are carrying. Another place we can turn to is social media to contact family, friends that are far away. I personally love facetime it gives the sense that you are right there with the person whom you are talking to. It is important to set all our personal problems aside for the occasion weather its thanksgiving, Christmas, keeping a focus on the reason for the season, so to speak, there is a time and place for everything. holidays are not a time to allow conflict or personal issues to take over the joy of the season. https://www.bbrfoundation.org/blog/how-deal-holiday-stress-during-covid-19

A big dis-stressor is to start early and create a plan ahead of time. Do not wait for the last minute to decide what you are going to get and figure out how much you want to spend on gifts, especially, when you have a limited income and have children. Not to mention unexpected expenses . By planning ahead helps take some of the pressure off of us physically, mentally and emotionally. My personal favorite, “Me time” always, take time for yourself to relax and collect yourself. Its important to not only give ourselves me time, but also, to make sure we are looking out for our main necessities by taking care of ourselves. (eating right, exercising, decompressing), it is all good for the body, mind and soul. Mindfulness, being aware of what is setting off our stress is important to be aware of. If we know the root cause for our stress and anxiety we can be proactive in preventing these triggers. Holidays may cause mixed emotions and cause us to be depressed, anxious, missing loved ones. By keeping our eyes and ears open and being aware of what’s going on around us and what kind of space our friends and family are in we can help not only them by being thoughtful and considerate but it can help us as well by knowing these facts we can lower our stress levels and whatever emotions are being created within ourselves. https://www.bbrfoundation.org/blog/how-deal-holiday-stress-during-covid-19

Try to dis-stress during this upcoming holiday season. The holidays are meant to be joyful, fun and make memories, not to be stressful and tiresome. Enjoy yourself and each other. Happy holidays and happy reading everyone!

What comes to mind when you hear the word disability? Do you think of a physical disability? How about when you hear the words learning disability, what comes to mind? Do you think of reading comprehension problems?

Do you know someone with a physical or learning disability? Maybe its your child, yourself and friend or family member. Do you know anyone who struggles with a comprehension problem? In todays reading I want to focus on learning disabilities and comprehension obstacles.

These obstacles, disabilities, whatever you choose to call them are challenging in itself, but, what happens when you put a physical disability in the mix it can make those struggles seem a little harder. All this is manageable.

First know that weather its your child, yourself a loved one whoever you are not alone and you are not the only one dealing and managing these challenges. As an example lets look at someone with cerebral palsy. There are different areas of the brain that gets damaged either during, before or after birth caused from the lack of oxygen. Even though us with cp are very highly intelligent individuals in some cases the learning center of our brain as I like to refer it to gets damaged. This makes it hard for one to understand, read, comprehend possibly even cause one to have speech difficulties. Keep in mind there is hope!

I personally did not realize I was dyslexic until I started my online college career. I have a dear friend whom I help who struggles with audible comprehension everyday. In her own words it makes her feel stupid, overwhelmed, frustrating and angry, which causes a low self-esteem. Sad, but true Im sure that others feel the same way due to their obstacles they face. I want you to remember though it is not your fault. It is the way the brain processes information. so please do not blame yourself for having a learning disability.

There are steps that one can take to help manage these impediments. An interesting fact that research has discovered is that 10% of our worlds population deals with learning disorders. https://www.readandspell.com/learning-disabilities-in-adults

How can we whom don’t struggle help those we know that do live with these problems daily? The following tips can help one cope with these daily complications. These tips are aimed at helping children, however, they can be utilized by adults as well. 1. read out loud this technique helps the person process at their own pace what they are reading so they can understand what the material is saying. 2. make sure your child is reading age appropriate books for their age level. The words should not be to hard for them to read nor for them to be able to understand and reading the words can help them progress and be successful. 3. Encourage reading and rereading of the material. This not only helps build confidence but it also helps them to increase a flow of ones reading. as they say practice makes perfect! https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/reading-resources/developing-reading-skills/improve-reading-comprehension.html

There is more than reading comprehension as I mentioned with my friend there is also audible comprehension also known as listening comprehension. It is hard to deal with listening comprehension, especially when people are talking fast and using words you are not understanding. As an example listening to a doctor explain something to you without using simple English. These moments can be down right frustrating and its no ones fault. Simply, its the way each persons brain processes the information they are hearing, along with the processing speed each processing center takes to take in what was said.

As Im sure you can tell I am a person of simple words, I don’t care for big high vocabular words. Some things a person can do especially adults are to ask questions. You can ask the person you are listening to speak slowly, use simple words and short sentences because you struggle with a learning disorder. Absolutely use your voice and advocate for yourself. There is nothing wrong with that. Asking for help can be hard but essential. Do not hesitate to ask for help by anyone.

It is manageable and its all in the way you look at the obstacles you face on a daily basis. Keep your chin up and keep a positive attitude, say you can rather than you can’t. Happy reading everyone!

First let’s face facts disability shows no discrimination. It does not matter who you are , what race, gender you are when a disability strikes it does not care who it strikes. There is another type of discrimination that us with disabilities face and that is equal opportunity employment. Have you ever ran into an employer that says they are an equal opportunity employer but you find out later they are not? You are not alone.

I find it sad that discrimination is a part of our society and that we who live with a disability seldom get looked at. Its getting more recognized, however there are still employers who say they are for equal employment but are not actually. I know this from personal experience.

I am a intelligent, educated person with a bachelor’s of science degree in healthcare administration along with a pca license. While in college I took medical coding as alternative backup. After my college was over, I went to my local hospital for an interview for a healthcare administration position. I was the only one with a degree in that field and was turned away. All because my cerebral palsy shows physically. Its a crying shame that I went to college for 6 years just to get turn down. Why did not I go after the hospital and hold them accountable, because I thought Ill go take my coding exam and be able to get on as a medical coder and unfortunately that road was a dead end as well. I got tired of being rejected so I decided it was not worth it and stayed living on my current income.

Have you ever had experiences like this one? We with a disability are covered or protected by the equal employment opportunity act but sadly we still get rejected. I’ve learned one thing a lot of us just want to be treated like other abled-bodied individuals, but we are looked at differently. Lets look at this EEOA. (equal employment opportunity act)

We with a disability are covered under the ADA at having an equal employment opportunity regardless at the fact we have a disability, physical or mental. We are to be given a fair chance at employment with being able to ask for reasonable accommodations. Its also interesting in our reference article that not every one is covered under the law and that certain protocols must be met in order for one with a disability to be covered. https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination An example in my situation is I asked for a reasonable accommodation if I could bring my own standard keyboard as I don’t and can not type on the split keyboards they use today, because, I type one-handed and have different main keys that everyone else. I was turned away.

If you are every put in this type of position fight for what you believe because, you have earned the right to work just as everyone else. It is nobodies fault that you may have been born or stricken with a disability. By out waying the pros and cons our your situation do what is best for you. If you have a goal and a dream follow it don’t give up, rather, advocate for yourself.

the truth of the matter in my opinion is we with disabilities should not be put on the back burner so to speak, We should be able to go to work in our degrees and not be ridiculed for the way we are. Never give up. Happy reading everyone!

Do you as an adult have a disability? Are you a parent? Do you care for a child with a disability? In today’s reading I would like to shed light and share my personal experience being a disabled single mother. It can be a juggling act to balance our challenges with our disabilities and raising a family.

There are a few different categories to family and disability. What do I mean, you ask? There are families where the child is disabled and the parent is not. There are families just the opposite, where the parent struggles with a disability but the children are abled bodied.

I would like to explore two types of dynamics. Both situations can be challenging, especially when it comes to balancing family and a disability. a lot of people think that a person who has a disability that they can not work, this is simply not true. There are some disabled adults that are more than capable of working and doing tasks that abled-bodied parents can do.

One must realize that not every disability, especially, in the cerebral palsy world is not equally the same. Not one of us is identically the same. After I raised my children, I attended college and worked in the health care field. Even though I raised two abled bodied boys, they to have struggled with learning disabilities. And I was born with cp as you know.

There is always an impact on the family when a family member is disabled. Example: I not only have cp, but also, a seizure disorder. I felt I had to educate my boys on what to do if I had a seizure at a very young age. so I started them both out in head start and teaching them phone numbers they needed to know to get help. Needless to say they had to grow up way to soon. However I made it a goal, to make their childhood as normal as possible.

How does the disability effect your family dynamics? How does the disability effect siblings? As the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise children. ” It takes a very strong support system to parent a disabled or abled-bodied child, and keep in mind everybody needs someone. No one, parents, caregivers, children no one should feel nor be alone. Sad but true there are those out there that feel exactly that way, alone.

Reality is whether you are caring for, parenting a disabled child, it takes a toll mentally, physically and emotionally. Stress has a strange effect on people which can cause anxiety, depression, loneliness, in some cases it can lead to mental health issues. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5559994/

Not only does these issues have a profound impact on adults, but they have a impact on children as well. We all know as parents that raising a child disabled or not can be a challenge, however, it is not impossible. Its especially hard when one does not have a support system and has to go it alone. Such as a single family home. However there is hope and resources out there that one can get support and help from. There are programs that have been created to provide assistance with caregiving, respite, support to help with both children with disabilities as well as adults with disabilities. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4780669/

Do not be afraid to reach out for help. These programs were made to help those who need it. Happy reading everyone!

There are a lot of controversial topics one can touch on. I usually stay away from these topics but I want to share my experience with you. I am not here to change anyone’s mind about our topic today, which I want to touch on covid 19 and the shots that are pushed so much.

As I said I am a believer that everyone has their own beliefs about certain topics just as I do and I am not here to change those beliefs. I will tell you I am a skeptic when it comes to the shots the government and CDC want us to get. I have experienced twice now two dear people I dearly love have the shots and both got covid 19. The CDC and others try to say that the shot prevents you from getting it, no that is not the case it suppose to help you not get it as bad, it does not prevent you from getting it.

Here I sit, a fairly healthy individual with cerebral palsy and recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. if you follow my writing you also know I have an epileptic seizure disorder that was caused by the cerebral palsy. My treatment for my seizure disorder is meds and a vegas nerve stimulator also known as the vns machine. Here a few weeks ago I was sent to go get a new battery replacement of my vns machine. Standard routine surgery. I was tested before my surgery which came back negative, just to get sick thinking I was having postoperative complications, I went to my local Er just to have them tell me I contracted covid from the hospital where my surgery took place. Complete utter shock. So here I sit recovering from this terrible virus that has been attacking my body.

https://theconversation.com/three-major-scientific-controversies-about-coronavirus-144021I found some interesting facts about it that I wanted to share with you all. Did you know there are currently “3 major scientic controversies about coronavirus”? One of these controversies is face masks. while studies have been done for face masks to help in spreading the virus it has at the same time been controversial at the effects the face covering have on us who wear them. the scientists disagree due to the fact that the face covering does not stop us from inhaling droplets of the virus which can result in infection. and as we wear the mask we are breathing the exhaled air which goes up into our eyes, which results in the urge to touch our eyes and if we are contaminated with the virus we could end up infecting ourselves, according to research.

I personally found this interesting. Another area that researchers can not agree on is antibody therapy. Does it work or does it not? Researchers are not sure but they believe that by extracting b-cells and t-cells they can insert these antibodies into an infected person and it will help fight the infection, however research shows that in some cases the antibodies remained high in the body for only a few weeks but eventually decreased. keep in mind not all the studies in this article have been peer reviewed as they state. https://theconversation.com/three-major-scientific-controversies-about-coronavirus-144021

Much more needs to be researched and studied on this nasty virus and I believe the more we as individuals can educate ourselves the more informative decisions we can make for ourselves when it comes to making decisions about our bodies. I never go anywhere and never in a million years did I ever think I would get it from a hospital no less, nor have to watch my family fight the same battle because I had no idea I was infected. If you are vaccinated, do not be fooled that it is going to prevent you from getting it. It only helps you to not get it as bad according to doctors. Please do your research and stay safe. happy reading everyone!

Hello everyone just a small post to let you know I have not forgot about the page nor about you. I had to take a break and deal with some health issues and Im hoping on being back before to long. Im working on some fresh writing ideas as Im taking care of my health issues but as Im sure all of you can relate our health comes first before any writing articles. thank you for your understanding and your patience as I take care of me.

Do you struggle with regulating your emotions? Do you find yourself excessively emotional or do you get emotional easily? There are a various span of reasons for emotional issues, some are: depression, anxiety, withdrawing from social situations, loneliness, nervousness and even frustration.

For us with cerebral palsy these are connected with our motor skills and depending on where the brain was damaged from the cp this specific area can cause problems with us regulating our emotions and feelings associated with and without cerebral palsy.

One may ask where do these emotions generate or begin from? Communication can be difficult, frustration, anger, feelings of being misunderstood, feeling that no cares, not feeling heard. Learning problems can trigger these emotions, trouble with comprehension, as you can see the list is endless. https://www.flintrehab.com/emotional-effects-of-cerebral-palsy/

The true question here is How can one learn to put their emotions in check or be able to effectively and successfully regulate their emotions? These skills are obviously different for children than adults.

Pinpointing over stimuli in children can help in the process to teach children self-regulation. Starting with baby steps. For instance, if you know morning routine with children is going to be a battle, you can create a schedule and give them one task to accomplish at a time. Depending on their age, comprehension level, you as the parent may have to get creative such as using a timer. Example: you have to get dressed by the time the bell or timer goes off. Doing stuff like having clothes out on the bed when they wake up, helping to lessen the stimuli that seems to create issue that point or trigger emotional meltdowns sometimes outbursts . Another example, is practicing before the event occurs, so the child has time to see what to do and to comprehend what is expected of them.

When I was raising my boys I found that a star chart worked as a big motivator. They knew if they helped clean up their toys they got a star and 7 stars in a row meant fun time. The ultimate goal is to avoid outburst, breakdowns, etc. However, teaching them skills to cope and help them regulate their emotions.

What if we as an adult did not have this type of experience as a child and have to learn ways to cope as an adult? What are we to do? Where are we to start? First, I think its important to acknowledge that there is a problem. That in my opinion is a good start. Then figuring out the best treatment or therapy whether you do it yourself or with a professional. There are a number of things one can do, from taking frequent breaks, to learning meditation and practicing deep breathing, professional therapy such as behavioral therapy, even just talking to a counselor or therapist. Every person is different so not all therapy or technique is going to work for everyone. https://www.cerebralpalsyguide.com/blog/cerebral-palsy-anger-issues-in-adults/

I know personally, it helps me to meditate, journal and talk to my therapist. They key is to experiment with different techniques and tools to see what works best for you. Just as it is different for children, some tools could be occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, teaching them to breath and take breaks, counting was a big one around my house. Also we used tap therapy that one was and still is very helpful.

Do not be afraid to ask for help. By acknowledging the issue of having over regulated emotions or over stimuli. Do not blame yourself. Its nothing you have done it was damaged caused by the cerebral palsy. No one is to blame and it is no one fault. Its an issue we who have cp have to learn to cope with and deal with on a daily basis. Now its time to experience for yourself what works for you as a unique individual person. Happy reading everyone!

Have you every struggled with the way you are? Struggled accepting yourself the way you are? Do you battle with a low self-esteem?

Abled-bodied or not we are all human and some of us fight similar battles. However a disability can and does affect a person is various ways, weathers its self-esteem, self-image, worrying about what others are going to think of you, especially if you have a physical disability.

Have you ever thought you were born the way you were for a reason? Have you ever thought you were made to be a light in a very dark world? Something as simple as a smile or a kind word can affect and brighten someone’s day.

It can be difficult to accept yourself the way you are, but not impossible. Why do we fight it when it comes to accepting ourselves? Why not embrace yourselves and our limitations. I do not always like the way I was created, I especially, do not like two-handed jobs, because, I have difficulty using my arm/hand that was affected by the hemiplegia cerebral palsy. But, I work with what my strong areas are.

Accepting ourselves is the key to not letting our limitations bother us. Its ok to ask for help. No one really knows what you have gone through and what it takes for you to get thru your day. When one has walked in your shoes only then would they understand. How about the battle of our thoughts? There are somethings, some battle that others can not see. Mental and emotional care is important.

Some fight thoughts of suicide, self-esteem, some fight self-harm thoughts. These are real life battles for some. To conquer these areas it takes self-acceptance. Asking what could we do to help someone else. In order to help ourselves we need to plant seeds to help others. We never know when we are going to be used to help someone else.

The unknown can be very scary, but to accept yourself as you are takes a burden off ones shoulders. Would not it be nice to not carry that around on your shoulders? By looking forward we become a victor, instead of being a victim living in the past. Keep in mind everyday is a new day and we can only make the best of everyday.

Whose to say what is normal? No one person is exactly the same. Not all of us fit in a one-size fits all box. We all have different talents, skills, attributes that we can bring to the table so to speak.

The question is how do we create a foundation to build our confidence and self-esteem? Mind over matter. Change your thinking process. Find yourself positive affirmations and say them out loud, so they sink into your soul, so eventually you will believe what you are saying. Example: I am beautiful (handsome), I am talented, I am strong, I love the way I am, I accept my limitations. You get the idea. you can read more tips at the following page. https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/your-feelings/feelings-emotions/building-confidence-self-esteem/

It is more important about what we think about ourselves than what others think of us. No one will stand up for you but you. We can not rely completely on someone to express our voice. We must advocate for ourselves.

We all need to find our voice to verbalize our needs, wants and to take a stand as sometimes we have to defend ourselves. Keep in mind we all have different points of view, different perspectives, but we can show others our points of view.

By being accepting of yourself, being good to yourself, brings a new perspective to your way of thinking. Just think the struggles you fight can help someone else someday, as you become stronger going through your battles and face your daily challenges. Ex: Me being a single mother for 18 years of special needs children gives me the strength and experience through personal experience to help other single mothers going through what I went through. Take steps to be good to yourself and keep your head up high. Happy reading everyone!

other helpful tips you can find in the following link. https://www.themobilityresource.com/blog/post/coming-out-as-disabled-10-reasons-you-should-embrace-your-disability/

Hello fellow readers I just want you to know what Im doing. I discovered a podcast software by anchor that I am converting all my reading material onto so now you can read the blog or listen to it.

If you see the past reading updated its cuz its now on audio. Hope this helps everyone. I know Im not a big reader, a big writer, lol. However, I know personally Id rather listen to a book than to read. Hope you enjoy the new changes I’ve made to the site.

Happy reading! happy listening !

For everyone disables or not change affects everyone. Do you know anyone afraid of the unknown? Anyone who struggles with change? Some take change or lifestyle changes better than others. Regardless we are all affected by change.

How do you individually get affected by change? Is it easy for you to adapt or not so much? I personally struggle with change. I have my routine and if or when change occurs it completely throws me off and readjusting can be challenging. Im going to venture to say Im not alone in that category. When I struggle I find myself using my wild imagination to help adapt to these situations known as life style changes or changes in life.

For example, I am needing to make lifestyle changes due to a diabetes diagnosis. Im having to relearn how to cook for example and adjust my pallet to be able to adjust to changes I must make in order to reverse my situation. Having gestational diabetes during my third pregnancy I was always told it could come back as I got older I was not however prepared for it to hit. Subconsciously, I knew it could but was not expecting it to. So not only was it a shock I was not expecting it.

Everyone faces temptation everyday, but when we beat the battle of the mind as I like to say change and adapting can be a little easier. Not saying its easy to do it is not it is hard but its not impossible. Mind over matter is different for everyone as we all face different fears, anxieties and situations. Just like in the Cerebral palsy world we are all different so we all face diffeent challenges to some degree.

Mind over matter for me is to tell myself I am going to do a specific task and make myself do so. Sometimes this requires a little motivation so I usually remind myself of the goal Im trying or striving to accomplish.

There are tips and tricks also known as life hacks that one can do in order to conquer adapting to change. Here are five tips and tricks that can hopefully help you in adapting to life’s changes.

One. Making choices. Mind over matter. Overcoming our fight or flight response and facing our fears and the unknowns helps us to face the other side of change.

Two. Create goals to accomplish to get to where you want to go. Write your goals on paper and write down steps to take to get to those goals and by seeing it and reading it out loud getting all your senses involved your confidence grows to accomplish the steps to go where you want to.

Three. Forgive. Forgive yourself and others whom have hurt you. If we got baggage holding us back in our past we will struggle moving forward to our destiny or future along with struggling with being present in the here and now. Let go of the hurt, anger, malice feelings and move forward. Be a victor not a victim.

Four. Facing fears head on. Facing our fears can be a frightful experience, so by participating in fearful events we come face to face with the unknown which means we are not in our comfort zone and by doing these fearful events we can become comfortable in facing the unknown and the fears we may struggle with.

Five. “Me time”. By giving yourself “me time” and caring for yourself so you can care for others is vital to your physical, mental and emotional health. By finding a balance in your health and well being. Helps to manage and be able to conquer everyday stressors and facing everyday life situations. That means we must eat right, meditate, exercise and take care of ourselves. https://www.lifehack.org/372463/why-you-need-adapt-change

I hope you enjoyed todays reading There was once a wise lady told me no one is going to look out for you but you. That is so very true. Happy reading everyone.