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Such a great story! My wife is a teacher of special needs children, so I'm going to show her this story when I get home from work, she will love it! Welcome!!
Great story! My Dad had cerebral palsy, though it was mild enough (a relative term) and primarily on one side, so he was able to walk and talk and drive.
I think it's important for people to understand that Cerebral Palsy is a MOTOR problem with movement. It does not affect cognitive ability (of course some people have other issues at the same time, even stemming from the same injury, but not from the CP).
So when you've got Cerebral Palsy, most of the time, you're "stuck" in a body that has a mind of its own almost literally.
Here he is with his first new car, which I still have (you can read abut the car in Hemmings magazine here https://tinyurl.com/y8hj2y62 ). As you can guess, it's his right side that was affected, so for photos he'd brace up against my mom and hook his thumb in his belt, tricks like that. And he was right-handed, so had to write with his left. His whole life his writing still looked like me writing with my left, so you never fully overcome your dominant hand I guess!
Great story! My Dad had cerebral palsy, though it was mild enough (a relative term) and primarily on one side, so he was able to walk and talk and drive.
I think it's important for people to understand that Cerebral Palsy is a MOTOR problem with movement. It does not affect cognitive ability (of course some people have other issues at the same time, even stemming from the same injury, but not from the CP).
So when you've got Cerebral Palsy, most of the time, you're "stuck" in a body that has a mind of its own almost literally.
Yes. My son's is severe, but his organs and body functions still work well. But he can't see well, can't talk, can't walk or even roll himself over. So we carry him around when he needs to be moved. He is surprisingly cheerful, and really, just loves the things that are truly important in life: family, friends, simple pleasures, car rides! He has no use for social media, television, computer games, etc. (although he likes watching me crush some iRacing in my full virtual simulator)
We were fortunate enough to build a house which meets his needs well, an elevator, open floor plan, roll in shower in his bedroom, etc.. He is fine cognitively, although its hard for people who just meet him or even his teachers to realize it, until he surprises them. He uses a Dynovox to try to communicate and has been able to figure out how to use it pretty well. His fingers don't work well enough to type or do sign language, so we constantly try to figure out what is best. However, through a few Echo Shows placed around the house, i have been able to allow him to drive his big chair (427 lb motorized chair) over to an Echo, and start a video call with relatives. Its pretty fun to see them interact, since from their perspective, this little boy "face-times" you and then sits and smiles at you from the other end, just wanting to hear your voice. He goes through his device then to ask some simple questions and, if its my dad on the other line, ask him for a ride, and then sure enough, the Mustang shows up a few minutes later and they go off on their routine. My son has taught everyone who knows him about the things really important in life.
I'd give up everything i have and ever could have, for just an opportunity to have a real conversation with him once. But barring that miracle, we will just be the best parents and caregivers we can be. Don't take the quality time you have with your kids for granted. While i have my son at home with me everyday and forever; life can change things for any of us at any point. Go do that thing, that trip, whatever it is, with your family and kids as soon as the opportunity exists.
Another warm welcome to the Forum. It's wonderful to hear you found what many of us here feel to be an exciting car that works so well with your son. Hopefully, you find it's a good substitute for the Porsche when you give your son a ride!
Yes, that sounds like a completely different ballgame - I didn't mean to minimize, I was just trying to give folks that aren't familiar with CP a sense of the spectrum, it's very broad.
It's hard to imagine what you've gone though, and I doubt anyone not in your position ever can. It's so hard to know when they cannot communicate. Odds are if he could tell you a few basic things, they'd be what you want to hear: that he loves you, that he enjoys it a lot more when you're with him, and he's grateful for all you do for him. I'd wager those are safe bets!
About the only thing I can tell you from my Dad that I remember is that he said he was never really aware of the superfluous movement. I think the word is "proprioception" and it is not affected in the same way motor control is, so you don't feel like you're flailing all the time (in other words, it's slightly less annoying than it may look).
Now that I'm talking about it, I remember that the movie "My Left Foot" had the only realistic portrayal of CP I've ever seen. There could be different types of movement, but whatever Daniel Day Lewis was imitating, that's the kind my Dad had. I guess there are different types as well as severities.
I have posts "pending" to address some of the other questions here, but they are in purgatory until the admins release them, i think since i was so new when i started this thread.
Yes, that sounds like a completely different ballgame - I didn't mean to minimize, I was just trying to give folks that aren't familiar with CP a sense of the spectrum, it's very broad.
I understood it as you intended. for clarity for everyone else, Cerebral Palsy is like Autism, in that there is no blood test or true diagnosis of it. it is merely an "umbrella of treatment plans" for similar motor related symptoms. That's the best i can explain it. So just like Autism, there are huge variances in the "spectrum" of the persons.
I have posts "pending" to address some of the other questions here, but they are in purgatory until the admins release them, i think since i was so new when i started this thread.
For the most part, I'm a Porsche guy. I'm on my 5th Porsche, a 911 Turbo (991), having a couple of 911's and Cayman's before that. I also have a special needs son, my kid was born 2.5 months early and suffers from Cerebral Palsy really bad. Kids like him need a lot of motion, and we don't have a lot of amusement parks or traditional "rides" around were i live, so i used to take him Go Karting at a local place. Unfortunately, he has outgrown the tandem seats in Go Karts so he no longer can ride in them. So car rides are the next best thing, and even though he can't speak, he uses his speaking device to ask to "Go for a ride" many times a day. So at least once a day we go for a nice drive around town, and he fits amazingly well in the small cramped rear seats of the Porsche 911. He can't hold himself up, so he needs a tight fit to feel comfortable. Its sort of a match made in heaven for him.
Here he is with my Turbo:
I love the Turbo, excellent car, great quality. I only have two issues with it. 1) its so rare around where i live that I've actually had people follow me home when i was out driving it, and 2) I cannot fit my son's foldable wheelchair in it very well (wont fit in the frunk), so i can't use it to take my son on a weekend road trip, where we might stop and stay overnight in a hotel somewhere.
So i started looking for other options for an additional sports car that hopefully could accommodate my needs without attracting the level of attention the Turbo does. This car would then take the place as my year round daily driver. The Turbo is actually AWESOME in the winter and i had been driving it in snow just fine, it's all wheel drive, but I know that the right tires make most of the difference. So on i went looking for an older model Porsche, probably a 911 Cabriolet (997), as i could load the wheelchair parts in the back seat of that thing if the top was down pretty easy, and then put the top back up, assuming i could find a way for my son to be comfortable in the front seat, and i was looking for a manual transmission to just make it more different from the Turbo.
Then I started thinking I needed to focus more on the utility of what i needed and perhaps should look at alternatives to Porsche. I remembered that Vetts were hatchbacks of some sort. So i looked and found that one was actually on sale nearby, so i went to check it out. Took my son, and his foldable wheelchair with me, and WOW, this thing was a perfect fit for us. The hatchback storage is HUGE, and very easy to access, and the bolsters on the front seat were good enough to hold my son in place. Here are a couple of more pics.
And so i bought it on the spot. Got a great deal on a very pretty, well cared for Racing Blue C7 (2014) with just over 10,000 miles on it. I've driven it enough these past two days to be really impressed with how comfortable this thing is, and while i have always considered the Porsche 911 the most "useful" sports car, I have to admit, the C7 Vette is more useful for me and my son. I'm keeping the Turbo, can't pry that away from me, but this is the car we will be making father/son memories in, and it will get the vast majority of my time. What a car! So here i am, hoping to learn from all of you. First thing will be getting the previous owner's little named plaque off the inside and replaced with whatever should be there, and second will be cleaning up the front as i have removed the front license plate holder and the nose of the car is scruffed up quite a bit from it.
Here she is, cool pic at an abandoned weigh station and some other parking lot.
03-26-2018, 12:01 PM
for clarity for everyone else, Cerebral Palsy is like Autism, in that there is no blood test or true diagnosis of it. it is merely an "umbrella of treatment plans" for similar motor related symptoms. That's the best i can explain it. So just like Autism, there are huge variances in the "spectrum" of the persons.
