PSU Magazine Fall 1990

By necessity, that interdependence has included a parti al reliance on pu blic funds, which over the years have pai d fo r pe rsonal attendants, the van in which Bob drives her to work , and her co llege educati on. It was in 198 l , when Pres ident Ronald Reagan proposed to cut the same Vocati onal Rehabilitati on funds th at were putting Laurie through PSU , that she dec ided to travel cross-country to demon– strate that others with her condition were capable of accompli shing great th ings, and simpl y needed funds to help them help themse lves. " I wanted to earn a degree so I could get a job to support my needs. Otherwise, I'd be on public ass istance my whole li fe," she said. Accompanied by Bob, she spent eight to 12 hours a day in her motori zed wheelchair on her way east from Oregon, getting a lift only in a couple of locations where the terrai n was too steep. She held news con– ferences along the way, met with senators and congressmen, and endured - actually reli shed - rain, thunder and lightening. Although she could not get in to see the Pres ident in Washington, D.C., she did meet with his liaison on handicapped affairs, as well as the Deputy Director of Social Security. She proved her point that "disabled" did not mean "helpless." But to actually change public perception, she said thi s point needs to be dri ven home continuously through words and action. C erebral palsy in volves di sorders of the central nervous system resulting from brain damage, espec iall y before or during birth. Some– times it causes mental retardation, but in most cases it does not. Most of the people who have cerebral palsy suffer phys ical diffi culties - from mil d to severe. It is the most widespread lifetime phys ical di sability in the United States, affecting an estimated 700,000 people. Years ago, Laurie said, society treated people with cerebral pa lsy as if the condition were something shameful. Parents di verted the eyes of thei r curious children and told them not to ask questions of "those poor people." Peopl e with CP PSU 22 were in stitutionalized much more th an they are today. With time, attitudes have changed. Laurie looks upon her condition with a sense of humor, recalling the bumper sticker on the car of her old vocational rehab ilitation coun sellor: "Hi re someone Laurie was f eatured in a photo (with Santa Claus) on the front page of The Oregonian newspaper last December after a local charity organization gave wheelchairs to several people with cerebral palsy. To her, the photo was condescending. "It was like ... how do I say it ... the 'cute little gimp girl, "' she said. with cerebral palsy - they're fun to watch." "I still get patroni zed a lot," she said . "But the younger kids are becoming much more aware - they ' re not staring as much as they used to." The bi ggest problem is with the elderly. She still occas ionally gets patted on the head - as if to say "poor dear" - by a well -meaning older person. Laurie groan s just thinking about it. Even the press is behind the times, she says, by using words such as "v ictim" and "sufferer" to describe persons with cerebral palsy. Sometimes the publicity is as well meaning and naive as a pat on the head. Laurie was featured in a photo (with Santa Claus) on the front page of The Oregoni an newspaper last December after a local charity organizati on gave wheelchairs to several people with cerebral palsy. To her, the photo was condescending. "It was like ... how do I say it ... the 'cute little gimp girl ,"' she said. She is even somewhat uncomfortable with the official terms that have emerged in recent years to describe, in an unoffending way, peopl e with di sabilities. " Physicall y challenged" doesn' t work. "We ' re all phys icall y challenged," she said. " Physi– cally compromi sed" doesn 't sound ri ght e ither. "Too negati ve," she add s. "Just call me Laurie." To say that she has adapted to her condition is an understatement. Her office at home and in Salem is arranged so that her phone and computer are near or on the fl oor, where she is most comfo rtable workin g. She types with a rubber-tipped pointer held in her mouth . She also draws and paints that way. Her artwork appears in a 1990 "Very Special Arts" calendar di stributed throughout the world, and she is starting to market her own Chri stmas cards. Laurie wants to see more people with cerebral palsy become involved in their communities and the job market as much as poss ible. The Americans for Disabilities Act which was signed into law thi s Jul y, and whi ch has been compared to the 1964 Civil Rights Act in its banning of di scrimination against people with di sabilities, will have an impact, although it may take a while. "I don' t see any resolving (of discrimina– tion problems) for at least two years, but it does give us the same rights that we should have had 30 years ago. At least it is a step in the right directi on," she said. A stronger enabling force will be the will power of people with CP to reach for the best in li fe. If it has worked for Laurie Schwartz-Knee, it can work for others. Said Laurie, " I'd never accept sitting at home and doing nothing. I couldn 't. I' d go bonkers." D (John R. Kirkland , a Portland free- lance writer and photographer, is a frequent contributor to PSU Magazine.)