Best Buddies Training

Oct30

Two weekends ago I went to an ambassador training session for Best Buddies held at Dave and Busters. Best Buddies (BB) is a national organization with chapters in middle schools, and college across the country. They match up a special needs student with a regular Ed Student to go out with, and just hang out as friends. There are also group activities and outings. You can Google them for more info….here’s the link:

http://www.bestbuddiespennsylvania.org/site/c.llK0L9MPIsG/b.1380949/k.406B/WE_ARE_BEST_BUDDIES8482.htm

I am an ambassador for BB, and I am part of Villanova Chapter. During the training I was matched up with a speech coach named Paul, who was a really fun and cool guy. He is an art teacher at Whitemarsh HS. He asked me to speak at his school and I might be speaking at our big fundraiser in November.

It was a Long Day- but really worth it! I got to meet a lot of new people and heard some inspiring stories!

Tuesday Nights

Aug1

Tuesday night I had my ADD meeting. The group is called Adults with Developmental Disabilities. This is a discussion group that meets once a week. There are two facilitators who oversee the meetings. We basically talk about whatever we want to, like work, living situations, relationships, our parents and current events. Some of the members live alone and many say how hard it is. Some don’t like living at home with their parents. (but I do!) We also go trips. There is one for each week and you decide which one you want to do. And then you call in and pay for it. This Sunday I am going to lunch and a play. The play is called Hairspray. Should Be fun!

Bachelor Days

Aug1

My cousin Stacie moved into a condo. It is located in Philadelphia and she has a nice roommate named Becca. Stacie invited me over to watch the last episode of the Bachelor. It was cool because I got to see her condo. The only bad thing was the thousand steps I had to climb up…but it was worth it. I would like to go back again. We made our Buffalo Chicken wing dip…and the 3 of us ate it all up! The finale is usually a two hour event but it was one hour….what…why? Well I don’t know why, but there is going to be a part 2 next week. Brooks dumped Desiree. Did he make the right decision? We will find out next week!!!!! Gotta love reality shows! the picture of me and Stacie is from a few years ago at a church picnic…where we were freezing our tushies off in August)

Gone Swimming!

Jul30

Yesterday my mom and took a road trip down to Delaware to see my friend Aaron !!!!! Aaron is paralyzed from the waste down .

He uses a wheelchair and gets around pretty well . We went swimming at his pool club and had so much fun!!!

The pool club put in a special chair for Aaron to get into the pool. He tried out a new swim belt yesterday and it helped him to float by himself. Great Job Aaron!

I really like being in the pool because I can walk in the water with out help ~ it’s so cool with no walker. I also did a few laps!

On the way home I asked my mom to put the top down on the convertible. It got stuck and I thought we might have to ride home with it ½ up. Luckily she got it down and we cruised home.We liked the pool so much we are going back!

Aaahhh Finally

Jul26

B001

Aaaahhh -finally got this up and running after talking about it for over a year! (thanks Alex for the idea- better late than never!) I plan to write about stuff I’m doing , sharing info , recipes thoughts and exchanging ideas, regarding disabilities and just just plain everyday stuff. With my 1^st post I included pics of me- From when I was born and younger and also what I look like now. Feel free to comment or ask questions- I love to talk about anything.

I my “About” menu I mentioned I have CP.

Cerebral palsy is basically like there are roadblocks in my brain. There are different causes of cerebral palsy, which results in damage to certain parts of the developing brain. This damage can occur early in pregnancy, when the brain is just starting to form, during the birth process, or after birth in the first few years of life. There are different levels of CP, ranging from mild to severe. I have no balance, and my muscles are tight, but I can walk, talk and get around in my walker. I graduated from high school, but learning was sometimes difficult. That’s because the brain hemmorage damaged certain parts of my brain. I don’t let that stop me. My disability doesn’t define who I am, it’s just something I have to deal with…not always easy, but I get through it.