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I was born with Cerebral Palsy and have always needed therapy to keep up my muscle strength in my upper and lower extremities so that I can continue to do things independently. Cerebral Palsy is a neurological disorder which affects me physically. It affects my walking, talking and using my body to get around and get things done. Because my Cerebral Palsy affects me in many areas, I have an Individual Education Plan which is better known as an IEP.
In public school, accommodations were made to make my education accessible but the school itself was not very accessible. I had Physical and Occupational Therapy in my IEP but it was inconsistent because of changing schedules and staff turnover. I had a difficult time maintaining my abilities. I was in public school until the age of sixteen when my family and I talked with the school district about Crotched Mountain School . The Crotched Mountain School campus is accessible and all of the teachers are special educators. I would have therapists right in the school. I decided with my family that I would get a better education and more therapies.
I am now twenty years old and I will be graduating in 2011 with a high school diploma. I hope to attend a college in Massachusetts . My current IEP has these goals as well as my goals to increase my strength and endurance. I have Physical Therapy two hours per week and Occupational Therapy one and a half hours a week. My therapists work with my staff in school and in the residence I live in so that I am supported to do daily range of motion exercises. This can take me up to two hours a day.
In Physical Therapy I work on walking with my walker. I am a dancer and use my walker and motorized wheelchair. I want to be able to use my whole body. I tend to drag my feet when I walk and my physical therapist and I practice a lot of knee bending, picking up my leg and kicking to increase my strength to pick up my feet.
In Occupational Therapy we work on skills that help me out every day such as time management and cooking. I could go on. Because of Physical Therapy, I am more physically fit and have increased my endurance which allows me to get more things done in Occupational Therapy.
My therapies are part of my education and both my physical therapist and occupational therapist work with my teacher to help make adaptations to materials when my teacher has run out of ideas.
To me, therapies are important because they allow me to be myself and help me reach my goal of becoming more independent both physically and personally. The sky is the limit!
-- Chelsea Fernendes | 
