Hi everyone:

What I have been seeing as I read this current thred is intresting. Be
assured that the first time I meet someone the the first thing I say to them
is not "My name is Anee Stanford and I have cerebral palsy..."  (though I
have no quams about saying this if it is neccessary) no it is usualy "Hi, my
name is Anee I am a college student and I run a large website". Or maby "I'm
majoring in healthcare administration" or something like that.  As a matter
of course if the subject of why I am the way I am comes up than I have no
truble saying that "I have cerebral palsy" or something to that affect.

 But I think what Dineise and correct me if I am wrong was talking about was
feeling comfterble with admitting to yourself that "my name is ______ and I
have _______" I think that it is very important to be able to do that in your
own mind because it is a part of your being that you can;t ignor.  If you try
and flat out ignor the fact that you have CP or some other disability I think
you will not be compleetly accepting of your self and thus that is why being
able to say something like "my name is____and I have ____ is important to if
nothing elce peace of mind shall we say.  And at the same time if the subject
dose come up in the course of conversation to be able to tell this to others
with out having a problem with it.  I have been in cospondence with an middle
aged adult for sometime now who is not on this list and has CP and he/she is
not able to say in his/her mind "my name is___and I have___" with out
becoming self concious...he/she litraly hates being diffrent and is very
angry that he/she has CP and all this anger is of course causing him/her to
have problems...but enough about that.

I am not self consiss of being diffrent or having CP (and glad that I am not)
and the ways in which having CP has influenced my life have helped me grately
in being able to look at things from a diffrent point of view than those
around me and that's why I think having CP or any other disability is so
great at least in my point of view.  It dosn't define me as a person..no
disability or single factor should...but it dose strongly influence what I do
and my beliefs and the way I look at the world, my whole family would tell
you that...boy if you want to sart a discussion on the diffrence this can
make in peoples attitudes and believes when compared to the rest of there
famiy's attitudes and beliefs I am the person to talk to--I am sort of a loan
ranger in my family  and how I see things.     I can't imagin my life without
CP and don't really want to.

This is a bit wordy but I hope you can understand what I am about to say:

I think that being abele to say that you have CP is a big step [assuming you
have cp or what ever disability] towards relizing WHO YOU ARE --- I put that
in caps for a reason-- what role you can play and were you can contribuit,
not just your name but the whole and compleet person you make up and the body
of work you will contribute to the world.  If you have CP or another
disability there is no getting around the fact that it is a part of you and
to accept yourself for who you are you have to accept the disability as well.

Anyway those are my words of wisdom for the day.  I hope thay make some iota
of since.

Yours,
Anee
Webmaster of CPIC
http://www.geocities.com/aneecp/CPIC.html

In a message dated 11/2/1999 2:38:32 AM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Perk and Denise,

 As "beings" are we all or only "states of mind?"  What would have been
 gained by answering "Yes" or "No?"  Does the straight forward satisfy more
 than the indirect?  I wasn't dismissing Perk, merely trying to get out for
 the day and leave the thought open for her or, in this case, you to ponder
 until my return.

 Trisha a day or two back gave the standard definition about the CP brain
 injury being static.  In light of recent research there seems little static
 about the brain (perhaps too much "static" in human thinking).  Who knows of
 any research reassessing Trisha's assumption?  Be there much matter whether
 our brain injuries are static or dynamic?  Something accelerates changes and
 disruptions throughout our bodies.  For sure that's become evident in our
 discussions.

 CP Anonymous.  I too had seen myself standing (Hah!  Now I'd be in my
 wheelchair.) on stage, hands in pockets trying to keep my arms from flailing
 saying: "Hi, My name's Steve, and I am a CP Mix (a good sampling of each
 type, like Planter's Cocktail Mix)."

 After a rousing "Hi, Steve," an absolutely gorgeous woman "manifesting"
 spastic tri-plegia cerebral palsy stands to say, "you mean 'HAVE' Cerebral
 Palsy."  "'BEING' is a state of mind.  Besides.  You're not all and only
 your disability!"

 Margolis starts to wriggle on the stage, tugging at his pockets, struggling
 to get at least one hand out, yet trying to pose as if not struggling.  His
 face sparkles sweat and dark begins to spread around his arm pits.  He's
 looking at one "Hot Mamma" and he ain't sure to stand ground or retreat.

 "Well...Have...Am...Semantics," he tries to keep the pleading from his
 voice.  "Perhaps there's not that much of a distinction?"  "You know: Like
 whether you have or are your gender, race, religion, clothes, education,
 class, money: you fess up, make your labels and parts work, honor  them and
 use them."

 "A twenty year old says the other day she thought CP was 'great' and I'm
 think 'What a difference 38 years makes.'  How can she accept what I spent
 so long denying?"

 "I mean if I say I am..."  Here Margolis finally to the relief of many in
 the crowd, who were beginning to fidget and look around the room, gets his
 left hand out of his pants pocket, pulls the pocket inside out and spills a
 dozen or so half yellow/blue capsules.  The clatter draws immediate focus
 from many other directed eyes.  Margolis watches his interlocutor spread an
 enigmatic smile, his already jumping left arm flailing faster.

 "If I say I "am" I mean that I take full...responsibility...for my CP, don't
 evade, try to free it from negative meaning and feeling so I can live with
 the condition more pro-actively, less reactively."  Margolis shoots a look,
 hoping he gets at least two points.  She reads a book, bounces to whatever
 pulses through the earphones she now wears.

 "Guess that's about all for now."  Margolis turns to leave the stage.  A
 voice yells "Don't step on your pills!"  Margolis startles, looks down,
 asks, "Could someone help me pick them up?"
 The group surges forward to grab pills.  "Hot Mamma" continues to read and
 bounce.

 "Down and dirty," Perk.  I am-have-with Cerebral Palsy.  Since a few days
 after birth.  Wasn't supposed to survive the hemorrhage.  They told my
 mother, not me, that I might die.  Guess what I didn't know didn't kill me.

 Perk: Hope I've answered your question.  Denise?

 Steve M.
  >>