the NOODLE Open up and say AHHHH!!! Welcome To The Noodle!

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1 the NOODLE Open up and say AHHHH!!! Volume 4, Issue 2 February 2011 Welcome To The Noodle! by Alex Brown Florida Youth Council Megan Atkinson Lizzy Barrows Alex Brown Derek Carraway Nick Grabowski Whitney Harris Ashlen McWhorter Garrett Mayersohn Cinthia Melgar Christopher Regan Josue Tapia Ortiz Sarah York The Florida Youth Council is a program of The Family Cafe Welcome all to the February 2011 issue of The Noodle. The theme for this edition of the ever popular Noodle newsletter is overcoming limitations. People deal with limitations every day. That is part of life. The FYC members were asked to take a look at their own lives and how they have overcome limitations. In this edition Struck Down, but Not Destroyed By Derek Carraway Considering I ve been disabled since the day I was born thanks to a stroke, I guess you could say I have strived my whole life to make the most of my limitations. It hasn t always been easy, but I ve managed to survive and found a way to get through any situation that arises. I could probably write a whole dissertation on this topic, but I ll just share a few ways I ve been succeeding in making the most of my limitations. At an age where most kids are learning to tie their shoes and ride a bike, I just couldn t seem to master either one. It was then when I realized there are alternative ways of doing things. I discovered Velcro shoes that allowed me to be able to put on my shoes with no assistance. I was never able to ride a bicycle without training wheels but we found an adult tricycle to ride while I was growing up that worked just as well. I ve had learning disabilities, and a you will find their excellent responses to this topic. You will also find one member s article expressing his opinion on Valentine s Day, and also responses to letters from the always sassy Ms. Saucey and the slightly twisted Professor Linguini. We hope you enjoy this edition of The Noodle newsletter! teacher I had in 3rd grade sat in a meeting and openly said she felt that I would never graduate, but my mother would not accept that answer and I eventually proved that teacher wrong. With the support of my family and friends, and a few accommodations through my IEP, I did graduate, with honors too! Now I m in college and doing great. So, this is just a snippet of some ways I have been, and still am, making the most of my limitations and disabilities. If you are reading this and you have any sort of limitations, I hope this inspires you to find a way to make the most of your limitations. Think positive, and you ll find a way to get through anything life throws at you.

2 Easy as Peas By Cinthia Melgar When we are young we can t help but think that we are invincible. If we fall, we get up and try again. As young children we don t grasp the idea of having limitations. Once we get older, we come to understand that we do have certain limitations that can t be changed. Things were different for me when I was a child. Not only did I have my own limitations, but the ones my mother instilled in me as well. During school was the only time that I felt I could turn my limitations around and make it fun. At first I neglected the idea to have someone help me all the time, even when I really needed the help. So, I eventually gave in and accepted the help more often. I reached high school and began noticing that I couldn t walk really long distances or stand for longer than 10 minutes. So I had to take my wheelchair but didn t have to use it too much, maybe just to get from class to class, but that was about it. I would sometimes notice it when guys would look at me and give me that pity face like I was helpless. Oh how I hated when guys did that. I began to give it less thought because I noticed that during lunch, if the lady in the register saw me she would tell me to skip everyone in line and go to the front to get whatever I wanted. Sometimes I would even get things for free. Even though they were small things, I saw that having limitations shouldn t stop me from having fun and feeling good about myself. As Senior year approached in high school there were days where my friends would make me feel like a princess. My friends would get me breakfast in the morning, go and get in line to help me with lunch, A Changing View of Limitations By Nick Grabowski and sometimes offer to give me pizza when they bought one on Fridays. During class hours I always had an escort, you may say; someone who carried my books or pushed me (in my wheelchair actually), and opened doors for me. Of course this wasn t just every day, but the days they did offer, it was nice to have someone help you because in their heart you are no different than they are. My life is a lot different now that I have a son and fiancé. It s no longer about going to the next class or getting in line for picture day; it s about cooking dinner, showering Mathew, and keeping our home clean. There are days when I am in so much pain that it seems so impossible for me to do just the simple things, like getting a diaper or showering him. Yet again, the genius mommy came up with a plan: get my wheelchair, grab the new clean clothes and set it up, grab Mathew and put him on me, and wheel myself to the bathroom where I will be taking a shower. Easy as peas. I know I am not unbreakable, but I have learned that as I get older I will most likely have more limitations, and it s up to me and only me to face them and take control instead of letting them take control of me. If my rod wants to get out of place and give me an intense pain then all I can really do is laugh in pain. Why cry and say, Why me? There s really no point. I was put on this earth to do something. It may not be important to others but it s important to me. Just when you think you can t do it, take a deep breath and say Yes, I can! Because everything is Mind over Matter. Things become impossible if you make them. I ve always thought of limitations as something you could go beyond, but after having lived a while, I now see them as something to push towards. I believe it is possible to push to your limitations, however I now don t see it possible to go beyond them without training to do so. It is no longer an issue of me not being able to do it correctly. It is an issue of having the will to continue trying, because generally you won t be able to push beyond them. It s about having to live with the constant failure to do so, until that one shinning day when you re able to go beyond that limitation, even if just for a second. I will be interested to see how my view on limitations continues to change throughout the rest of my life, considering how much it already has: from thinking that limitations were something that I could always go beyond, to my current way.

3 Making a Difference Despite my Limitations By Sarah York I have bipolar disorder, the kind that is often referred to as rapid cycling where the person goes up (manic) and then down (depression). Usually with the right meds and therapy I can stay in the middle on a happy medium. Unfortunately, with my bipolar condition, I require a lot of medication to help keep me on that level playing field. The meds I m on have a lot of side effects that limit some of what I can and can t do. Some of my limitations are that it s hard for me to concentrate and it makes going to school or working a challenge, but I m overcoming by volunteering at the YMCA near my house in the afternoon to help first and second graders from other countries with their reading, instead of working. It s called ESL or English as a Second Language. The kids are really great and bring a smile to my day. I m going to miss them when summer comes. I am in the process of applying at several camps here in Jacksonville to become a Don t Let Your Disability Stop You By Megan Atkinson I for one have never let my disability get in the way of the life I want to live. Sure, I ve gotten frustrated, but I have not given up. I learned that Cerebral Palsy makes me different from other teenagers, but it also is a part of who I am as a person. My limitations add to my personality. If I didn t have a disability I have no idea where I would be today. I may not be able to run or play soccer, but I can use that time not being able to do something or I can get out in the community and make a change for people like me. I have met tons of good people because of my ability to forget what I can t do and focus on what I can. I have learned that I would like to work with teens when I get older. I use my disability as an advantage to meet the right people so I can achieve my dreams of becoming a Doctor of Psychology. summer camp counselor so I can still work with kids. Since a job can be challenging for me, I m working with Vocational Rehab to start my own business. I would be my own boss and control my own hours. So if I needed to take a break I could. I would like to sell candles. I would be a reseller for a candle business in south Florida. I can t wait to start that. My mom and I help others with mental illness by running a NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illnes) Connections support group in Jacksonville. We really enjoy it. Sometimes three or four people show and sometimes no one shows, but just being able to be there for others who are going through the same types of problems I m experiencing and helping them sort of makes all the trials and tribulations I ve gone through worth it. To know I can make a difference in someone else s life is a great feeling. Whether its through the support group or at the Y helping those kids, or even my work with FYC, it s good to know that even though I have these limitations and may not be able to do everything I want to do, I can still make a difference in someone else s life. At the end of the night when I m taking my handful of meds, that s what I think about and that s what gives me strength.

4 Living with Asperger By Chris Regan Living with Asperger Syndrome has presented many challenges: social, academic, and attention-based. Throughout my life, I ve had to discover techniques to overcome my limitations any way I can. I now sit in the front seat of every class I m in. I take notes on a special Quickpad that acts as a special laptop. I observe people who I might like to be friends with and I end up talking to them. I advocate for myself when I feel I don t understand something. I m definitely a far cry away from where I was when I got pulled out of fifth grade and then homeschooled for half the year. Thanks to my success in recent years, people have started seeking me out for assistance because they see me as a model for Limitation: Negative Connotation By Alex Brown The word limitation has a negative connotation. This connotation is not without merit. The World English Dictionary defines limitation as something that limits a quality or achievement. If someone has a limitation it means that they are limited in what they can do. With that being said, what if a limitation just pushed someone to work even harder? Pushed someone to be even greater than ever thought possible? Sometimes that is what happens. Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientific minds to ever live, was believed to have Asperger s Syndrome and Dyslexia. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the President of the United Stated, even though he was paralyzed from the waist down from Polio. All throughout history people with disabilities that had limitations have risen up and overcome it all to change history. While the word limitation does have a negative connotation, it does not mean the results of a limitation have to be negative. People all throughout history have overcome their limitations and gone on to achieve more than they thought possible. success. They want to know what they can do better to help themselves out, since I ve done so well. I ve actually become a mentor to some of them, someone they can turn to for guidance. It s actually hard to remember that I was in the same position as them only seven years ago: a shy person entering the public school system for the first time in his life. I have my parents and my psychologists to thank for helping me to get where I am today. They stood behind me 100% and never gave up on me. Even when I was struggling deeply and felt like I was failing, they stuck it out all the way. Now, I am truly full of self-confidence and determination. I feel I can take on anything now! No Limits By Garret Mayersohn We all have challenges and limitations that we have to face every single day of our lives. The question becomes: how do you make the most of your disability and all that comes with it? And I think that the answer to this question is relatively simple for me. First, I have had to know that I am physically limited, but if I think outside the box a little bit I am able to perform physical tasks that would normally have been next to imposable. It also helps that I got a new power chair last year that is able to stand me up! I have a 3.14 un-weighted GPA, which is something people in The ESE department did not think was possible. In addition, I am also overcoming a Math disability, which is also something the ESE department never thought possible. I am on track to earn my regular high school diploma in I am a tireless advocate for individuals with limitations, both physical and intellectual. To top it all off, I live as close to a typical teenage existence as possible and I have a mix of typical friends and fellow friends with disabilities. Bottom line: don t ever let anyone tell you can t do something. The sky is the limit!

5 Overcoming the Personal Battles By Ashlen McWhorter As an individual living with a disability, the countless challenges that have been thrown my way have contributed in molding the strong person I have become. The limitations that used to frustrate me daily, I now view as a personal battle, with myself as the warrior in my own epic tale. The cliché statement what doesn t kill you makes you stronger holds true once again. While limitations can seem painfully unfair and obnoxious, they can also be turned into something very positive. As for myself, despite my many physical limitations, I have always tried to participate in most everything that my peers have been involved in. For activities that posed a greater challenge, I enjoyed creatively devising ways that enabled me to participate right alongside everyone else, which sometimes involved taking unique approaches to the situation. I might not have done everything exactly the same way that others did, but that didn t really matter. What truly mattered was that I was able to do it too! I was never left out of things as long as I could keep my creative and enthusiastic mind conceiving more great ideas, my weapons in the battle to overcome my physical challenges and any barriers that I faced. For example, every student in middle school looked forward to class skate nights with anxious anticipation. It was a chance to hang out with friends from school and party on a Friday night. Of course, like everyone else, I too was eager to make plans to attend the class party, even though the weakness in my legs makes skating incredibly difficult. I used to fear that my friends wouldn t want to stay with me on the rink as I clung to the wall, desperately trying to steady myself. My friends really were capable skaters and surely they would not have had the patience to skate so slowly next to someone as clumsy as myself. This was a serious concern for the child that wanted nothing more than to participate in life like every other kid. I didn t want to miss out on anything in life just because of my condition. Of course, I would not let myself miss out on anything, so I quickly devised a plan. Maybe wheels-on-my-feet was a bad idea, but I had other wheels that weren t: my wheelchair. I brought my chair on the skating rink and ended up having the time of my life as my friends and students I had not even met yet asked if they could please push my chair while they skated. In that way, I was able to fly over the rink just as fast as everyone else and I didn t miss out on any of the fun. Now I can apply that solution-oriented mind to other aspects of my life beyond overcoming my physical limitations. There are problems that arise throughout life, in school, in work, with family, with friends, etc. Now I have become a capable problem solver which has helped me greatly in all my endeavors. Getting out there in the community and in front of peers and not letting myself miss out on anything has also helped me make the best of my limitations in the form of disability education and awareness. When people see me participating in skating and the presidential fitness challenge in gym, many times they ask me why I even bother. I could just get a doctor s note saying that I didn t have to participate in running the mile, or I could simply hang out with other friends in the arcade at the skating rink instead. Yes, it s true that I don t have to do a lot of things that I choose to do, but I do them because they are important to me to convey the message to the world that people with disabilities really are more like everyone else than they are different. In this way, my limitations can be positive, in the fact that they end up helping me to educate others about people with disabilities and bring more awareness to the cause. I hope that as people see me out and about in the community, becoming an independent individual, and participating in common activities despite my limitations, they will see that people living with disabilities can be active, productive members of society and they will come to the understanding that those with disabilities aren t really as atypical as they once thought.

6 My View on Valentine s Day By Josue Tapia Ortiz tine s Day, and she will say thank you. Valentine s Day is upon us. Chocolate hearts, fruits shaped like flowers, the one true day that we are actually nice to the opposite sex. To me it s a little much. I mean, one day? Why should we have to be nice for one day? Shouldn t we be nice all the time? Yes, women can be a little unbearable to me being a male, but really, why the one day act? But hey, Valentine s Day has its perks too. I m visually impaired. I can t see the beautiful dress my girlfriend wears, or really tell how she got her hair done or her nails done, I can tell how good she smells. Yes, I know it sounds weird, but goodness, Valentine s Day is the day of many beautiful smells. Herbal Essences, Dove, Ivory, and for the extreme scents, there is the Vickie girls, which are the girls who take this time to use Victoria s Secret fragrances. Ahh the wonders of Valentine s Day. Valentine s Day is the ultimate day to talk to girls from my side of the park. No matter what you say, you re a sweetheart for doing it. You look good because you can walk up to a girl and be like, Happy Valen- Overcoming my Physical Limitations By Lizzy Barrows When I was a little kid I never realized I was different from other kids. I was born with Prader Willi syndrome and I spent the first year of my life in and out of hospitals. After that I thought it was a normal routine to go to speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and developmental day classes. I thought every family spent their day doing these kinds of things. It wasn t until elementary school that I realized I was different. It took me longer to get around school and I had an aide. A lot of the kids used to ask why I had an aide. I explained it was to make sure I could keep up and stay on task. I also had a word processor to help me do my work due to my sloppy hand writing. The kids were all curious and actually thought it was cool that I had an aide, and a word processor which made my work readable. Kids curious about my aide and word processor made me want to do my work and keep up with the class. At the same time you re got to think maybe her beloved forgot and you were the only one who walked up and told her, making her feel pretty and important. For that moment you re not the guy with the disability who is always nice, you are the guy who made her feel important on Valentine s Day. Yes, that s a little selfish, but that s Valentine s Day for you. Hahaha. There are also the crazy candies they sell during Valentine s Day. I love candy, and being visually impaired gives me a good sense of taste too. Mmm chocolate cherries and chocolate strawberries, and those hearts with the stupid one-liners that usually make you look stupid to the opposite sex when they read it. Ahh the wonders of Valentine s Day. Wow, I can sit here and pick and complain about how I don t like Valentine s Day, but this is the way I see and understand the way it goes. My disability allows me to see it and enjoy it in the ways I explained, but to me it s enough to feel comfortable with my view.... P.S HAPPY VALENTINE S DAY As I got older, I realized one of my biggest limitations was not being able to do the things kids my age did, like go to the mall, hang out in the food court, or just hang around with kids, because snacks were always available. You see, with Prader Willi syndrome I never feel full. It is a compulsion for me to want food if I m around it. Due to my compulsions I try not to put myself in situations where food is easily accessible. Another limitation I have is my mobility. Over the last four years my feet have been casted five times due to stress fractures and tendonitis. I cannot walk any distance without injuring my feet. It used to be just my left foot, but last time it was my right foot and it took a cast and a boot to heal the fractures. I will have a new power chair in the next few weeks. I am very excited about the chair because I will be able to be independent and go where I need to go. This is going to open new doors and new possibilities for me!

7 Living without Limits By Whitney Harris I must say that the word limit is probably one of my least favorite words, and that is for obvious reasons. I have met very few people in my life that like limitations, as in only being allowed one cookie or one slice of cake. I used to not like being told that I could only play for five more minutes, that I had to be home by 11 PM, and that I could only spend $100 on Christmas presents. Some limits may have been for my benefit, but it s like having your cake and eating it too. I believe if you have limits in some aspects of your life, you have to have them in all others. So, how can someone live their life with no limits? Easy. Practice responsibility and accept responsibility. You don t Dear Saucey! have to wake up in time for school therefore limiting your sleep, but you have to accept responsibility for going in to school late. No need to limit yourself to one scoop of ice cream as long as you know that two scoops might make the scale go up. When it comes to having a physical disability, limits aren t my cup of tea either. If I choose to run a 5K, I don t want to be limited on my time. I realize that no one wants to wait around, but I m slow and having a time limit may discourage me for signing up for a race. Try looking at limits through my perspective. It may help you to realize that limits may be necessary to be more adventurous or to shed a few pounds. The sky is the limit, but only if you let it be! Dear Saucey, How do the Noodle s topics get decided on? Can anyone suggest a topic? Truly, Amanda Amanda, The FYC makes so many decisions, it s hard to keep track! We communicate to each other in many different ways, such as , conference calls and face-to-face meetings, so whenever there is a Noodle deadline coming up we start thinking of topics. Usually it s a friendly debate with the suggestions coming from an FYC member. Sometimes topics are completely thrown out because we don t feel like it s interesting enough or we don t think we could write anything about it. We write our Noodle because we love sharing our opinions and stories with our friends. So if there ever is a topic that you d love to hear the Florida Youth Council write about, let us know! We ll gladly throw it in the pot for the next big Noodle topic debate! Love, Saucey Dear Saucey is a letter-answering member of the Florida Youth Council that is here to help all our loyal readers with problems or questions of any kind. The questions do not have to be FYC related!

8 Professor Linguini s Lab Dear Professor Linguini, I am fed up with my washer and the sockeating monster that always eats one sock per load of laundry. I have counted it up and I have lost 40 socks this last year. This is ridiculous. Do you have any advice for me? Sockless Samuel Samuel... your name is too long. I am going to call you Sam. OK, Sam you have come to the right person, because I am a professor in things that aren t really there. My response may seem humorous, but my advice is sure to help if followed to a tee. Now let s take a look at your issue, Sam. First off, let me now express my sincere apology that you are sockless. I hope it is not still cold where you live. Now let s get down to your problem of the sock monster eating your socks. The sock monster is a very prevalent problem and he caused me much grief when I was younger. He would always eat my left foot sock. Never the right foot sock. I never had a left foot sock.... Oh how I used hate the sock monster. However, it s through my past problems with the sock monster that I found the answer. The sock monster is highly allergic to... sardines. Yes, sardines. All you have to do is throw a can of sardines into your laundry and the sock monster will be so sick that he How Do I Become Part of The Florida Youth Council? The Florida Youth Council is a group of youth (between the ages of 15 and 17) and emerging leaders (between the ages of 18 and 30) with disabilities or special health care needs that live in Florida. The Florida Youth Council is all about getting youth and emerging leaders involved in self-advocacy, peer mentoring and other activities that will improve the quality of life for youth and emerging leaders with disabilities in Florida. The program empowers youth and emerging leaders to decide what issues are important will leave your dryer and move to another dryer. He won t come back for about three months. The first time you realize your socks are missing again just throw another can into your next load. It is fool proof, although the clothes smell a little fishy afterwards. Haha, fishy! I amuse myself. There you go Sam. Now, I am off to find the abominable snowman. Now, for everyone else who is dealing with things that are not really there, such as unicorns, zombies and the dog who ate your homework, feel free to send me, the great Professor Linguini, a letter. I will offer you a humorous response in between my plans for the World Party Time. Because I am very busy and I don t trust , you can send your questions to my assistant at abrown@ familycafe.net. Until next time... haha... to their generation, to express those issues in their state and local communities, and to develop strategies to solve them. We are seeking a group of enthusiastic, motivated youth and emerging leaders to participate. If you would like to take a leadership role in advocating for youth and emerging leaders in Florida, please visit The Family Café website at www. familycafe.net and choose Florida Youth Council from the Main Menu. The program is open to application year round. We hope to hear from you soon!