-----Original Message-----
From: Charles Darr [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, September 17, 1999 9:47 PM
To: Kyle E. Cleveland
Subject: Re: Re: Time for introducction


-----Original Message-----
From: Kyle E. Cleveland <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, September 17, 1999 8:57 AM
Subject: Re: Time for introducction


>I grew up in Temperance MI in Monroe Co. and spent a lot of time at the U
of
>M physical medicine clinic in the care of Dr. William Keopke.

Are you still in the land of the great lakes?

Yeah, central Ohio--near Columbus.

You know, Joanne, I was thinking about the visual memory thing and it makes
sense.  I see fine out of each eye, but independently--they don't focus
together so I don't have binocular vision.  No binocular vision=no depth
perception (the Michael Jackson movie at Epcot did nothing for me).
My wife Laura, a former special ed teacher, tells me that many kids with cp
have this additional affliction and they also have problems with spatial
orientation.

Let me give you an example:

Laura's grandma lived way back in this neighborhood tucked away inside the
city.  To get to her house you had to make several turns, left and right, on
a number of neighborhood streets.  I bet I drove (with Laura) there a
thousand times, but every time I tried I'd get lost.  Now I can read a map
just fine.  In fact, in younger days when I wasn't so gimpy, I'd do a lot of
wilderness hiking with a topo map and compass--no problem.  Without solid
visual cues (like a map) it's easy for me to get lost in a department store.
It's a big family joke, but it is discouraging.

CP manifests itself in rather odd ways that are not often documented in the
standard literature.  I am synesthetic, which means that I "hear" colors and
"see" sounds.  I've brought this up on the list before, but for your
edification I'll describe it again.

It seems that the aural and visual neural pathways had been somewhat crossed
when the cerebral insult occurred.  I had no idea I was "different" than
anyone else until I took a freshman psych course at college and the
phenomenon was described.  In a nutshell, loud noises present themselves as
bursts of light--color determined by fequency; bright flashing lights
produce a not-altogether-unpleasant (usually) percussive sound--I love
looking at blue and red police lights because they stongly stimulate two
senses concurrently.

I guess the purpose of this rambling missive is to encourage you to continue
to expect much possibility from Alex.  Like many others on this list, I too
was labeled virtually and permanently "vegatative" as a young lad.  I'm glad
my parents had the courage to persevere.

-Kyle