Hi Everyone-

I thought it might be a good time to introduce myself again as I have been in
a more lurking phase of particerpation on the list for the past several
months and have become once again an ative member these past few weeks.  I
have belonged to the c-palsy list since about 1994.  This is mainly for the
binifit of the newer members.  Please bare with me as this is some what long.

My name is Andrea Stanford but I go by Anee.  I am 20 years old.  My family
and I have 2 greyhounds that we adopted from a greyhound rescue orginization.
 I volenteer with the orginization most weekends.  I am curently waiting to
be accepted as a transfure student to Idaho State University (hopefully).
Sincce I graduated high school in 1997 I have been going to Collin County
Community College in Mckinney TX were my mom and dad live.

We lived in fairfax county va near washington dc when I was in middle school.
 I went to Holmes middle school which is a 1 floor school in near annandale
and alaxandria va.  It is home to the countys physical disabilities
department for middle schoolers.  I was mainstreemed there in the normal
classes as I was throught school.  The diffrence was there were about 15 kids
in the PD department who were mildly to severly  disabled.  Of these 13 of us
had CP and of those 13, 4 of us were fully mainstreemed, and the rest
partialy mainstreemed.  Since 13 of us had CP I learned alot about the
diffrent affects of CP and how to overcome these.  This was probably the best
school experience of my life because I learned so much about deversity (noth
va is very diverse--we had signs in 6 languages at the school) and about
disability and especially CP because of that concentrated CP population.

Also when we lived in DC I volentered in the summers at a school for the
severe and profoundly handicapped...these were more of the mental-physical
type disabilities---very sever nurological dammage beyond diagnosis and
autism and such. At the school I learned about feeding people, GI tubes,
physical and occupational therapy teqniques, speech therapy tequniques etc.

We then moved to Dallas texas area and that's were I went to high school.  I
did not rally like high school because I was the only one with a physical
disability, just like in elementry school.  There was one other girl in my
high school who was partialy blind and we are good friends.  I got through it
ok.  I can't say I would ever want to do it again thouh. :)

 I have ataxic and athetoid CP.  I use a manule wheelchair or electric
scooter for going long distances like school and shopping.  The use controll
of my hands espically my left is somewhat limited.  I have slight speech
imparment.  I have difficulty reading small print because it is hard to stay
still enough to be able to read.  I have a history of seizures and am on
medication for that but I have not had one since I was in 3rd grade--however
every time I go off it for long enough I end up having one (that's what
happened in 3rd grade...I've been taken off it 3 times only to be put back on
so I just stay on).

I joined the C-palsy list in about 1993/4 and have been with it through  the
goood, the bad, and the ugly (some of the older members will know what I am
refuring to :-) ).

 In 1995 I started my website cerebral palsy info central or CPIC.  I try to
make the website have inforrmation not just for people who are intrested in
"what is CP" [i do have that on there]--like all the other web sites--but
information that people with CP can use.  When I started CPIC there was not
much information on the net about CP.  On my website I try to provide a place
with information not just for parents of kids with cp but for all of us who
are adults with CP, who are kids with CP, who are caregivers.  I have tried
to raise awarness that people with CP do not just stay kids forever, or do
not just not have CP anymore when they hit 13,--which is something that the
medical comunity has not quite caught up with.  Anyway I try to provide
something for everyone including adult with CP.

Well now all you newer members know something about me.  If you would like to
learn more you can vist the second url under my name.

Yours,
Anee
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Sauna/4441/CPIC.html    (CPIC)
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/7132/about.html  (My homepage)