Tag Archives: cerebral palsy

#CPChatNow Recap- 10-14-2020

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This past week in #CPChatNow was busy as always. Members discussed writing memoirs, other people addressing their limitations, and their voting plans. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap. All aboard!

Many members of #CPChatNow have a hobby of writing. Chris shared that he was starting his memoir and Zach shared some tips.

chris tweeted he is struggling with his memoir and bought a book memoir writing for dummies, zach asked what he is struggling with, chris tweeted he is having a hard time including enough details and struggling with vivid memories
zach suggests using things like photos, videos, or music to refresh his memory, or speaking with other relatives,

Next, talk turned to other people asking about your limitations in a helpful way. Zach shared a positive interaction that happened at work:

zach tweeted about subbing at a branch of a library and someone asked if he had any limitations. zach tweeted he liked her asking him directly. i tweeted i would like people treating me as competent, zach tweeted he does see how it could be awkward for the other person because they don't want to offend

Finally, talk turned to a common and important topic lately, making a plan to vote. Members discussed their voting plans and why they were choosing their voting method. You can make your own plan to vote at https://iwillvote.com/. As one of the leaders of disability rights movement, Justin Dart, said, “Vote as if your life depends on it! Because it does!”:

i tweeted and asked about people's voting plan, jen tweeted she did not change her voter registration, chris tweeted he mailed in his ballot, edith miller tweeted she voted yesterday at the county courthouse dropbox
i tweeted i will vote in person by doing the curbside pickup option, zach tweeted he went absentee for convenience in case he picks up extra shifts and can research candidates, i tweet i trusted my vote will be counted more in person and texas makes it hard to vote by mail, zach tweeted issues with mail in voting crossed his mind, but he is trusting the system

Finally, Veronica shared a picture of her mail in ballot. Great job Veronica!:

veronica shared a picture of her mail in ballot, there is an image that says VOTING INSTRUCTIONS, INSTRUCCIONES PARA VOTAR with a sticker of a ballot with glasses, a yellow and black BALLOT hat and I VOTED below the ballot

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What is your plan for voting?

extend-the-conversation in green above with an orange, blue, and green #CPChatNow logo. what is your plan for voting? in black, a graphic of the word vote with the o being a picture of a wheelchair user in motion

Thanks for reading and be sure to join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow.

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 9-30-2020

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The last #CPChatNow of September was busy as always! Members discussed things such as their art, podcasts, and keeping themselves on track with what they needed to do. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap. All aboard!

First, #CPChatNow mama bear, Erin, talked about her art. Erin would like to use her art to inspire people.

erin tweets she is doing paintings to build an etsy store. erin tweets she is mainly doing landscapes and has backgrounds for be yourself; everyone else is taken and happy fall.
erin shares last week's painting, a painting with a sky at sunset. there is a brown path with dark green landscapes on both sides

Next, talk turned to Chris’s upcoming talk at a CP conference about his podcast, a podcast about his favorite musician, Prince.

chris tweets he is talking about how he is recording and editing his podcast while sharing stories of his favorite guests and episodes, zach asks who his audience is and states that can be helpful in deciding what to share. chris tweets his audience is people with cp, friends and families and healthcare professionals
chris explains his podcast is on his favorite musician, prince. he is going to explain how prince inspired him to put his voice out there and talk about what he loves. i shared i felt prince would love that and that's what he is all about.

Finally, talk turned to something that is a struggle for many, especially during quarantine, staying on track.

erin tweets staying on task is her biggest struggle, zach tweets he has a similar issue due to him jumping from task to task, he needs to remind himself to focus on one thing, erin tweets she makes daily goals and tries to remove distractions, zach tweets he is working at the library to remove distractions

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question inspired by Chris’s podcast: What is your favorite Prince song? Share your answers in the comments!

Thanks for reading! Join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 9/9/2020

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This past week in #CPChatNow was bustling as always. Members discussed personal accomplishments, COVID restrictions in Australia, good deeds, and what social media platform they like. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, we would love to congratulate #CPChatNow mama bear, Erin, on her acceptance to a Master’s program:

erin tweets that she was accepted to the sacred theology master's program she applied to. zach wishes her congratulations and asks her to make time for #cpchatnow

#CPChatNow has had a member joining us from Australia. AcquiDis detailed COVID restrictions in place in the land down under.

acquidis detailed covid restrictions from australia. she tweeted in melbourne there is an 8-5 nightly curfew
acquidis tweets masks are mandatory outside the home with many dying in aged care facilities, she tweeted there are $1652 fines per offense of not wearing a mask or breaking curfew

Next, talk turned to good deeds as I shared the story of my bus driver taking me to the train station at the end of her route. Members shared good deeds others had done for them or they had done:

zach asked members what a good deed someone had done for them or they had done for someone else. zach shared he worked all six days his work was open to cover a staff shortage, erin tweets she send a friend a custom wedding card

Finally, Zach and Chris tweeted about what social media platform they were most active on:

chris and zach tweet about what social media platforms they are active on. zach tweets he is not active on linkedin, but has not been active. he mainly uses twitter and facebook. zach tweets he likes facebook for people he already knows and twitter is better for meeting new people, chris tweets he uses facebook every day and uses twitter to interact with celebrities.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What is your favorite good deed you have ever done or someone else has done for you? Please share your answers in the comments!

Please join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow! Thanks for reading!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 8/26/2020

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This past week in #CPChatNow was intriguing as always. Members discussed recent accomplishments and life events and their reason for joining Twitter. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

I would like to first highlight some cool things going on in member’s lives. Chris has developed a survey attempting to measure what people think students should learn about disability. Please help her out by taking the survey!

chris developed a survey for her masters project about what students should know about disability

Next, Zach shared his progress in the Race Across Ohio. He has walked 43 miles in 18 days towards his 60 mile goal.

zach tweets he has walked 43.75 miles in 18 days towards his 60 mile goal in the race across ohio canton to cleveland event

Finally, Zach asked what prompted members to join Twitter. Members shared various reasons, but they all centered around community.

zach asks why members joined twitter tweeting he joined because a client required he had social media accounts to use for promotion, but he has stayed because of community. chris tweeted she was doing disability stuff
shira tweeted she joined twitter because of #cpchatnow. tonia joined because of the dancers from so you think you can dance having accounts and she wanted to keep up with them

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What is the main reason you use social media? Please share your answers in the comments.

the extend-the-conversation question graphic. What is the main reason you use social media? There is a graphic of a hand holding a smart phone with a hashtag

Thanks for reading! Please join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow.

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 08-12-2020

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This past week in #CPChatNow was bouncing as always. Members discussed adventurous things they had done in the last week, features of architecture, and aspects of their CP they have had to reconcile. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, Zach asked members what adventurous things they had done in the last week. Members tweeted various things that really are not that adventurous, but seem adventurous and risky in this COVID pandemic.

zach says his last few days have been adventurous with a fall at a new library branch and he signed up for the race across ohio. he tweeted that he was ultimately fine after the fall
chris tweeted she got her bacolfen pump refilled. heather tweeted she got an MRI that is rescheduled and she found what she needed at canadian tire

Next, my friend who is an architect happened upon #CPChatNow and we discussed my preference of ramps versus lifts.

i quote tweeted a thoughts of dog tweet proclaiming that stairs are ridiculous. my architect friend asked if i prefer a ramp or lift stating ramps take up space where lifts save space but are ugly and hard to use. i tweeted i prefer ramps because i can use them independently and not get stuck

Finally, Zach asked members what they had struggled to reconcile with their CP.

zach asked what parts of cp people had a hard time reconciling.

Members discussed various difficult parts of reconciling their CP such as other’s perception and physical difficulties:

zach shares he used to be embarrassed about people being different, but regrets from high school allowed him to be ok with being different, chris tweeted they don't tell you about the pain and tweeted she is thankful about her pump, I tweeted I felt like I needed to behave a certain way like walking instead of using my wheelchair

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question inspired by Chris. What would you tell your younger self about CP? Please share your answers in the comments and join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern at #CPChatNow.

orange, blue, and green #cpchatnow logo in the upper right hand corner, extend-the-conversation question in green with What would you tell your younger self about CP? below in black, a picture of a white rock with wisdom in black text sitting on a brown ground, #cpchatnow in white text with a green background

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 7/29/20

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This past week in #CPChatNow was festive as always. Members discussed a new book by a disabled author, online dating, and their oldest friendship. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

#CPChatNow always loves to highlight projects produced by disabled creators. Zach highlighted Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space (Exploded Views) by Amanda Leduc.

zach asks if anyone has heard of amanda leduc's book on fairy tales and disability. blemi tweeted that she is intrigued, zach tweeted the book just came out and he bought the book after checking it out from the library.

Next, Chris asked whether people had success online dating and mentioned he was thinking about joining match.com. Members shared various levels of success, but I wanted to highlight people who have had success to show that finding love with a disability is possible.

chris asks if people have had luck with online dating and said he is thinking about joining match.com. i shared that i am engaged after using okcupid with a picture of me and my fiancee.
lorna tweeted she met her husband on match 11 years ago and that it is a good site for sifting out time wasters and matching.

Finally, #CPChatNow talked about something that’s very important, friends. Members discussed their longest friendship and why they felt it had lasted so long.

zach asks what is member's oldest friendships and the keys to maintaining it. kate tweeted she has a friendship of 14 years and she is 22. she thinks the key is being there for each other, but recognizing they can't talk everyday.
paul tweeted his longest friendship is his wife of 20 years who he has known for 21 years. he tweeted the key is they are different from each other, but that makes it work.
heather tweets she and her twin sister are close with a friend they met at age 4. they have been friends for 38 years. heather tweets it never feels like time has passed when they talk

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What is the key to your friendship with your best friend?

extend-the-conversation question in white at the top of the graphic. a picture of two women jumping on the beach with waves crashing in front of a sunset. What is the key to your friendship with your best friend? in white below them with the #cpchatnow white logo in the bottom left hand corner

Thanks for reading and please join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern at #CPChatNow.

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 7/15/20

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This past week in #CPChatNow was cracking as always. Members discussed various topics like their brags for the day, creating their own podcast, life hacks, and what part of the day they feel at their best.

Zach opened the conversation by asking members what their brag for the day was. He shared that his book is now offered at the library he works at:

zach tweets he spotted his book while working at the library. an image of zach's book on a book shelf between two books.

My brag was advocating to my apartment to finally finish a wheelchair ramp on a sidewalk:

i tweet my brag is advocating to my apartment to finally finish a wheelchair ramp. an image of a wheelchair ramp by a pickup

Travis tweeted about starting his podcast, Off The Crutch.

travis tweeted about starting his podcast, off the crutch. he came up with the name because he uses forearm crutches.

Amanda tweeted a Buzzfeed article with tips for people with limited mobility. This might be helpful for some people with CP.

amanda shared a video from buzzfeed about 35 tips from people with limited mobility

Finally, members discussed what part of the day they felt the best at:

zach asked what part of the day people feel their best at. zach tweets he would've said 7-10 pm in college, but now he said in the morning. i tweeted right after i take a shower, veronica tweeted in the early afternoon.
karen tweeted she feels better at night because she is still sleepy in the morning so she has less balance.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation: What is your favorite part of the day?

the extend the conversation question graphic. a picture of a sunset with a person standing in front of the ocean. extend-the-conversation question in white with what is your favorite part of the day? and the white #cpchatnow logo in the bottom right hand corner

Thank you for reading and join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 7/1/2020

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#CPChatNow opened up July discussing a wide range of topics. Members discussed Canada Day, critical topics such as their favorite type of M&M’s, and if it was difficult to obey their limits. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, I would like to highlight an important conversation The Accessible Stall podcast had about systemic racism and abelism. You can find the episode here.

i tweet about the accessible stall podcast episode on systemic racism

I also wanted to highlight a recent blog post by co-host, Zachary Fennell, about his experience during the Cleveland UCP Race to Empower.

zach tweets about a guest blog post about cleveland UCP"s race to empower

July 1st was Canada Day and Blemi tweeted that it was very different than the normal celebrations due to the COVID pandemic.

blemi tweeted everything is canceled so she was having a low key canada day at home, zach asks about usual activities, blemi tweeted her hometown usually had a parade and rodeo and there are always family get togethers. zach tweets that sounds like fun and a low key day is good sometimes

Next, talk turned to a very important question, what are member’s favorite M&M’s. This was inspired by some delicious Crispy M&M’s I was enjoying.

i ask what people's favorite m&m's were. chris tweeted peanut or nutella.

Finally, members discussed a common struggle for folks with CP, obeying their limits.

zach asks if it is difficult for people to obey their limits. zach tweets his question was inspired by passing on some sub opportunities at work. i tweet i sometimes have trouble with walking long distances.
chris tweets he does not push his physical limitations and it has been a struggle because he used to resent his cp. he also tweets his immune system has never been strong and all 4 sides are affected so he wishes he could be more physically active.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What is your favorite candy?

the extend-the-conversation graphic. the orange, blue, and green #CPChatNow logo is in the right hand corner, extend-the-conversation question is above the question in green with the question of what is your favorite candy above a picture of M&M's on pretzel sticks. #cpchatnow is in white text behind a green background

Thanks for reading and be sure to join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow.

-Devin

#CPChatNow- 6-10-2020

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This past week in #CPChatNow was busy as always, but this week brought new members. Members discussed the Moro Reflex and media representation of CP. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap!

First, members discussed a dreaded part of CP for some people, an exaggerated startle reflex.

amelia asks if a startle reflex is a thing with cp and a german sheppard startled her. i tweeted about dogs and seth tweeted about storms.

Karen tweeted about the name for the reflex, the Moro reflex.

karen tweets some links explaining the moro reflex. amelia tweeted she did not know it had a name. tonia tweeted lots of aspects of cp are rarely discussed

Next, talk turned to different representations of CP in the media. Members discussed the Netflix documentary Crip Camp and various issues of representation in the documentary.

karen asks what people thought of the depiction of cp in crip camp. heather tweets about surpirse of cp being at the low end of hierachy. i tweet about how much of that is how visible cp is
amelia tweeted she was happy to be represented in crip camp, but she didn't feel she could relate. karen tweeted cp comes in so many forms.

Talk also turned to the sadly canceled ABC show, Speechless, and issues related to representation. Members had varying opinions on whether they could relate to JJ.

zach tweets about how some felt they could not relate to JJ"s character. karen tweeted about how CP is so different from each person that many don't use a chair or are nonverbal. karen's main problem was too many subplots. I tweeted my agreement

Karen connected the lack of a ramp in the season 2 finale of Speechless with the abelism highlighted in Crip Camp.

zach tweets about a favorite scene from the season 2 finale when an award show director discovered there was not a ramp. i tweeted about accepting an award in the same situation. karen tweets she won an award in college and was told a ramp would be a fire hazard.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: Have you ever been denied recognition due to physical inaccessibility?

Thanks for reading this week’s recap and join us at 8 Eastern each Wednesday on Twitter at #CPChatNow!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 5-27-2020

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Hello #CPChatNow! As Matt Hardy would say, the past week in #CPChatNow was wonderful! Thanks for stopping by for this week’s recap. This is your co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride.

We will begin this week’s recap by discussing an aspect of CP that is certainly annoying, hamstring stretches. Zach made a video of his different hamstring stretches and shared it in the chat.

zach asking what hamstring stretches people do and sharing his youtube video

Also, Jorge checked in with an update on his plans for graduate school:

jorge shared he applied to UVA, Rice, McCombs, Syracuse, UNC, and wake forrest

Finally, this brings us to a cool story about the invention of an adaptive gaming controller for people with disabilities:

i tweeted a story about an adaptive gaming controller. zach tweeted he is not a gamer, but related to something being annoying as hell like OT

Jen pointed out an obvious issue if people do not play XBOX, they could not use the controller:

jen pointed out that if people didn't play xbox, they couldn't use the controller.

This bring us to our Extend-The-Conversation Question: What common household adapted item do you use?

Thanks for reading and join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow.

-Devin