Assorted conversations occurred Wednesday, November 29th, 2017 during the cerebral palsy Twitter chat #CPChatNow. I am co-host Zachary Fenell, here to summarize the dialogue into your weekly recap. Tone throughout the night varied from empathetic and humorous to more serious.

Both co-host Devin and I empathized with Rachel when she shared she almost fell earlier in the day. Rachel described the situation tweeting in-part, “don’t even have a sense of what happened… my muscles just decided to go on strike.”

Her description made me recall the second fall I endured amidst my marathon Sunday, October 8th, 2017. Meanwhile Devin noted experiencing similar scenarios. For him he ends up going backwards. Devin and I additionally each answered a question raised by participant Seth.

Curiosity sparked Seth to ask if anyone knows a republican with CP. I mentioned seeing social media posts containing republican ideals published by others with CP. However, I added not asking about party affiliation. Close-minded attitudes make political discourse difficult to enjoy in my opinion. Devin agreed, expressing indifference towards the two main parties. Furthermore Devin voiced frustration regarding another subject.

Retweeting a news story emerging too often, Devin vocalized disgust. The piece centers around an adult woman with a disability who some “never seen” and her parents. The father killed the mom and daughter prior to taking his own life. Actions certain people in society reacted to with sympathy. A reaction tiring to Devin.

Similarly, I found the news piece sickening. I theorized such instances happen due to the misconception people with disabilities cannot live valuable lives. #CPChatNow regular Shira Sadiky chimed in, saying these unfortunate attitudes motivate her. She wants to prove those people wrong!

Fellow #CPChatNow regular Susanne Kate Brasset also provided her insight.

Susanne viewed the scenario partially a communication issue. She sees multiple people with disabilities posting online unfamiliar with available resources. Within her comments Susanne hit upon key advice. “You never know unless you ask.”

Later in the evening chatter returned to advice when I tweeted an article I read previously in the day.

Building off the article I tweeted, I asked “What advice would you give your younger self?” Long-time chat regular Blemi would advise her younger self to “Keep on keeping on. Life does get better.”

Seth additionally encouraged with his wisdom. “Living on your own isn’t as scary as you think.” Your turn! Ponder your life lessons and answer for the week’s extend-the-conversation question, “What advice would you give your younger self?”

Answer the week’s extend-the-conversation question with a comment in the “Comments” section.

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Until next time!

-Zachary