CPG Q UARTERLY
Winter 2013
www.thecpgroup.org
A Glance Back
By Robert Watson, CEO and Co-Founder
To all Associates and Partners of the CP
Group:
The CP Group was established 10 years
ago to provide support, mentorship and
valuable connections among adult
professionals within the Cerebral Palsy
community.
David Bauer and I
recognized the lack of any national
support for adults who are out there
everyday living their lives but would
value the support of a like-minded
community.
Today the group is 400 associates
strong representing 43 states and has
an international presence. Our website
www.thecpgroup.org hosts a number of
resources for individuals with Cerebral
Palsy, upcoming events, written
resources, testimonies from associates
and 6 years of audio from our past
national conferences.
A link to the CP Google list server
offers associates the opportunity to
interact with each other, which has
been a truly valuable forum. We also
have Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Our point is you are no longer an
Island. You have found a Continent of
people who understand the challenges
that aging with CP presents.
Inside This Issue
A Glance Back ......................................... 1
Recipe Corner ......................................... 2
Gadget Corner ......................................... 2
An ADA Article for Everyone ........................ 3
Book Review on “Lovers Lame” .................... 4
Does having CP Interfere with having Sex ........ 5
Associate of the Year 2012 .......................... 5
Renew Membership Dues ............................ 5
Can an individual with CP benefit by using
holistic remedies?...................................... 5
Save the Dates ......................................... 6
Happy New Year! We look forward to a
strong 2013 where our numbers
increase, our lives are enlightened and
we are enriched by each other.
If you are not an official associate or
partner of the CP Group, log onto the
web site and visit the mainland, click
on the link Associates and complete
the application.
Board of Directors
Joe Amoroso, President
Edward Willard, Vice President
Eileen Scanlan, Treasurer
James Michels, Secretary
Robert Watson, CEO and Co-Founder
David Bauer, At Large and Co-Founder
Christine Crosby, At Large
Peter Riddleburger, At Large
Winter 2013
Page 2
Recipe Corner:
Hungry Man
Dinner!
By Anonymous
This recipe is delicious, very quick
and one you can use over and over
again week after week after week.
that problem is solved then you
are confronted with the final task
of removing hot burning plastic
from dinner. Depending on your
spasticity
scale
I
would
recommend the same sharp object
you used to kill the dessert be
used to access the meal.
Bon appétit!
Exit house, get in car, drive to
store, open freezer, choose a TV
dinner of your liking. Pay for
dinner, get back in car, go home
put dinner back in freezer.
Preparation of dinner: take TV
dinner out of freezer, place dinner
beside microwave, and attempt to
peel back the plastic covering the
dessert. If peel back process is
not successful take any sharp
object and start stabbing the
dessert area. Place dinner into
microwave, set timer making sure
you do not double click the zeros
to overcook the dinner.
Once
timer goes off, open microwave,
using a pot holder remove the
dinner.
Once the dinner is out of
microwave, stare at it and
contemplate how you are going to
get it from counter to table. Once
Please submit recipe ideas to
Robert@thecpgroup.org
Gadget Corner
The above gadget is used daily to
button my clothes. This item was
originally used in the 17 and
1800’s to fasten the buttons on
soldiers’ boots. Without this
gadget I would be arrested for
indecent exposure.
Winter 2013
Page 3
An ADA Article for Everyone
By Kirk Tcherneshoff
To my colleagues with disabilities,
I have been disabled for over 35 years and
have seen many gains in accessibility during
that time. The passing of the Fair Housing Act
and the ADA have made many of our public
facilities much more accessible. However,
the fact is that we still have a long way to go.
I have served as an ADA expert in over 1,800
cases nationwide for the past 19 years and
only 10% of America’s businesses and housing
developments
fully
comply
with
the
requirements of these vitally important pieces
of civil rights legislation.
All across our
country there are still toilet rooms that are
too small, curb ramps that don’t exist or that
are too steep, and check-in counters that are
too high just to name a few.
I know that many of you have encountered
these barriers and many more and have just
accepted them as our way of life. You have
done as many of us have which is to have
people help you lift your scooter over a curb
or hold doors open for you to get into a
restaurant.
Even if you knew that these
situations must be a violation of the ADA or
some disability law, most people with
disabilities do not know who to turn to or
what steps to take so that their community is
fully accessible to them.
Good news! It doesn’t have to be this way
anymore. The ADA is our civil rights law and
it requires that our environment adapt to us
rather than us having to accept what is wrong.
I work with several wonderful attorneys who
are very swift and savvy about bringing
facilities into full compliance with the ADA. I
survey the facilities thoroughly and prepare
reports so that barriers are removed for all
according to the law. We cannot make these
changes without your help!
People with
disabilities are the only ones that can file
complaints with private attorneys or the
Department of Justice. Our services to help
you are completely free. We will begin to
have monthly teleconferences every third
Wednesday of the month beginning with
February 20th at 7:30 EST this year to discuss
the problems in your community and how we
can help. Robert Watson will be sending out
specific information on the time and phone
number that you can use to call in to our first
teleconference in the next week or so. Please
feel free to invite others with disabilities who
want real change in their communities to join
us each month. I challenge you to work with
us to make America more accessible for all!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kirk Tcherneshoff, President Tcherneshoff
Consulting Inc.
E-mail: kirktconsult@centurytel.net
Conference call information # 218-844-3388
ID number 1,2,3,1,2,3,4,#
If you have a story idea or would like
to submit something you have written
for a future CP newsletter, contact
us at Robert@thecpgroup.org.
Please note: Not all submissions will be
published.
Page 4
Book Review on “Lovers
Lame”
Book reviewed by Gregg Donaldson
L—Lovers Lame is a story
O—Of that
V—Vital
E—Eternal emotion, one that eludes all
R—Rational
S—Sense. The one Mankind calls
L–Love. So it’s a love story between
two couples, told through the eyes
of David Levin
A—A No hold bard narrator. Add to the
M—Mix the backdrops of disability and
E—Employment/Unemployment and
it’s a quick compelling read from
beginning to end.
I wanted to start off this review as
uniquely as David Levin the narrator
does in describing himself, thus the
acrostic poem.
David grabs our
attention by classifying himself as ‘an
observer.” He further states:
“Please rest assured- this is not going
to be another sermonizing activist
screed.
Nor will it be another
‘inspiring tale’ of a crip’ ‘overcoming
tremendous obstacles’ to achieve
‘heart-warming success in life.’ I am
not a poster child, and I am definitely
not a role model.” (pages 7-8).
Instead, he is just a regular ‘Joe’ or in
this case David, trying to make sense of
the events that happen to him. Along
his travels, he has a brief affair with a
co-worker named Lisa, gets downsized, wanders into an employment
self-help group for people with
disabilities named Abilities, falls in love
Winter 2013
with an artist named Jessica and finds
friends two of which are Jonathan and
Christy and he tells their story as well.
I found it a worthwhile read and should
be on anyone’s reading list whether you
are a fan of romance, fiction, or have a
disability or not. Why because Lovers
Lame does explore that basic emotion
we all need to survive, the one we call
Love.
Editor’s Note:
Robert Rudney’s
accomplishments include being a
recipient of a 2008 Kennedy Foundation
Congressional Fellowship and won the
20111 Defense Department Award as
“Outstanding
Employee
with
a
Disability.”
From 1995 to 2009, he headed EXCEL!,
a disability employment self-help group
in the Washington, DC area, (of which I
was a proud member).
He is married with three grown children
and lives in Vienna, Virginia.
Winter 2013
Page 5
Does Having CP Interfere
With Having Sex?
Maybe, but medical professionals are learning
more about the impact of disorders of the
nervous system on sexual function and
reproductive health. As their knowledge
grows, they become better equipped to
provide effective therapies to people with CP
and other types of disabilities as well as refer
patients to appropriate specialists.
A study now underway will examine the link
between
neurogenic
sexual/reproductive
dysfunction and the sexual well-being of
people
with
CP
and
related
disabilities. Additionally, the study will
examine treatment options.
Given the
current lack of information concerning sexual
problems confronting people with disabilities,
this phase of the study could be immensely
helpful to people with CP.
The study will be conducted by Rancho Los
Amigos of California and the Cerebral Palsy
International Research Foundation.
Associate of the Year 2012
Congratulations to Randall Cordle!
Randall is a Walmart Greeter from Griffin,
Georgia. He has worked at Walmart for 5
years as a greeter and sales associate. Randall
has been named careers and disabled
employee of the year (Walmart) nationwide
(May 2010), cover story for Walmart world
magazine (October 2010), featured in
disaboom.com article (November 2009),
Walmart featured speaker, video for Sams
club on service animals (January 2009). He
was invited to speak at a meeting of
advocates for disabilities at Walmart’s home
office in October 2012. Randall wants to build
on his accomplishments and continue speaking
around the country.
Renew Membership Dues
Dear Associates, the month of February has
been designated as membership dues
renewal month. The dues are $25 a year.
Once your dues are paid, they will be
reflected in the associate’s part of the web
page. Your name will have a green box next
to it.
Go to www.thecpgroup.org and pay via Pay
Pal, or mail a check to us here at the office,
The CP Group, 15520 Bald Eagle School Road,
Brandywine, MD 20613. Thank you!
Can an individual with CP
benefit by using holistic
remedies?
By Lynn Watson
I’ve always taken a rebel’s approach when it came
to medication. I have never fully relied on
pharmaceuticals and over the counter medication
because of all the side effects they present. Then
I was introduced to Aromatherapy seven years
ago. At first I was skeptical. How could using
essential oils help me with debilitating arthritic
pain?
Throughout my lifetime, I had approximately
thirty different operations to correct my CP gait.
As a consequence, I developed arthritis in my hips
and sometimes the pain was so bad I didn’t see
how I would ever finish my career.
The oils became a true blessing and I not only
used them for arthritis but for everything else. Do
you suffer from headaches, digestive issues,
allergies, colds, insect bites, burns, insomnia,
restless leg syndrome, or even cancer? My
medicine cabinet only contains therapeutic
essential oils and I love the results I get by using
them. If you would be interested in learning more
about how these oils work, how you can benefit, I
will be on a teleconference the second Tuesday
starting in March and every month thereafter. You
can
also
visit
my
web
site:
www.newlifewithoils.com.
Winter 2013
Page 6
Save the Dates
Regional CP Group Conference
May 18th 2013
Hilton Hotel
Rockville, Maryland
10th Anniversary Cerebral Palsy Group
Conference
October 4th - 6th, 2013
Doubletree Hotel
Crystal City, VA
TheCPGroup.org
15520 Bald Eagle School Road
Brandywine, MD 20613