Young Boy With Cerebral Palsy Finds His Voice

Nick is a 10 year old with cerebral palsy. He wants to write books when he grows up, however, he can barely say a word. His little Dynavox MT4 is the only thing he has that helps him communicate.

Nick loves to write, using the assistance of his mother and a special symbolic language. He has already written two award winning stories. The stories may take hours to create, but his family says that they are worth every minute.

Many people don't realize that Nick was the runner up in a writing competition for Subway and was also placed in a PBS contest. He wishes to share as much as he possibly can with people, despite his disability. Nick says that he likes "to read and write my stories for other people. I read two of my books to the children at the library story hour.

However, there can be challenges in writing even the most simple story. Nick's family says that they are extremely proud of his accomplishments and the progress that he has made.

Nick is currently being home-schooled by his mother, Karen. This competition has validated the potential she has always known was inside her son.

"He was competing with other typically developed kids and he won the prize, I felt like Nick was in some good company and I was very pleased. Nick's award winning Subway story was called, "The Race to Red Onion Ranch" and was selected from more than 1,400 entries.

For more information about cerebral palsy, visit http://www.ucp.org/