(6/28/11) - From an early age, there were high expectations for Harper Turman. With the right tools, he’d speak. With the right supports, he’d have hobbies. And with the right planning, he’d enter the world of employment.
How quickly those expectations and dreams became a reality for Harper, who has Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. This past spring, the 18-year-old stood alongside his peers at the Class of 2011 graduation. His mother Nicole (and PEAL Board Member) notes how important Harper’s supports have been - and how crucial it was to have a plan."
(6/23/11) - Often, it takes a lot of trial and error before figuring out one’s life course. That describes 21-year-old Nicole McGuirk’s journey toward adulthood, through and through.
After years of exploring different interests, Nicole is finally doing what she loves. With the help of Mary Remington (former teacher and Nicole's aide), Nicole volunteers one day at the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Oakland, another day helping with Meals on Wheels and Fridays are spent at the Aviary. Although she now has a nicely structured week, the journey to get there wasn’t easy.
“From the time she was a teenager, it enveloped us 24 hours a day. You don’t want to miss a beat,” said Mary Ann McGuirk (Nicole’s mother). “I started asking everyone I could think of; do they have something Nicole could do?”
(5/25/11) - When Josie Badger, 27,
was asked to describe herself as a sound at the 2011 Ms. Wheelchair
Pennsylvania competition, she said, “The wind. Always present, sometimes
a whisper, but always there.” For years, Badger (who has muscular
dystrophy) has been using that gentle voice to empower youth with
disabilities throughout both Pennsylvania and the nation. And now that
she’s won the crown of Ms. Wheelchair Pennsylvania, she will continue to
increase public awareness of the achievements and needs of mobility
impaired persons.
