Celebrating the stories of our students during CP Awareness Month
Close your eyes, now open them! Imagine entering a setting that is not only unfamiliar to you but is filled with individuals who don’t understand how to communicate with you. You may also be unknowingly judged for your capabilities and feel uneasy in environments outside of close friends and families. Now see this from the point of view of a child or young adult. For many of our students, this is their reality every day. Established in 1882, we have a rich and longstanding history in West Philadelphia of serving and fostering an environment of empowerment for children with cerebral palsy. The HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy is nestled in an upbeat walkable section of University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (4400 Baltimore Avenue).
Our team of expert nurses, therapists, dietary specialists, social workers, administrative staff, and beyond collaborate daily to enrich our students’ lives. Our mission is to advocate and encourage a safe learning environment to assist them with living fulfilling lives.
In March, nationally, the cerebral palsy Community, as well as our supporters, wear green to symbolize the celebration of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month! Every year we raise money and awareness to help educate the public about the wonderful work that happens at HMS every day. This month, Our Campaign was specifically crafted to highlight our students’ voices and shine a light on the wonderful human beings that they are! Through this campaign, we challenge you to take a step back and truly hold space for those whose physical abilities may differ vastly from your own. People living with cerebral palsy are so much more than meets the eye, and through this campaign, we can’t wait to show you a glimpse of how amazing the students and staff at HMS School are.
This year our theme for CP Awareness is “What Do You See When You Look at Me: Look Closer, See Differently.” as we roll out this campaign throughout March, please be sure to follow our social media accounts and get our email updates linked below:
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You don’t want to miss a beat! In the meantime – keep reading if you’re interested in learning more about our students, what cerebral palsy is, and some of the physical limitations others may place on our students, but HMS enables them to overcome daily!
What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Great question! Cerebral palsy looks different for everyone and is often unique to the individual. “Cerebral” means having to do with the brain and “Palsy” means weakness or difficulty moving muscles. Many factors cause cerebral palsy to occur. The most common is due to brain trauma in early infancy and can happen before, during, or after birth. Approximately 1 million people of all ages have cerebral palsy in the U.S. and over 18 million have cerebral palsy worldwide! Cerebral palsy can affect all five senses, the nervous system, and how the brain processes information.
What Does Cerebral Palsy Look Like?
As the most common childhood disability, early signs usually appear in the first few years of life. According to the US Department of Health Services, some of the signs include but are not limited to the following:
- Developmental delays
- Floppy or stiff body parts
- Weakness or instability in the trunk of the body
- Speech delays
- Trouble eating or swallowing
What Does Living with Cerebral Palsy Feel Like?
Only someone living with cerebral palsy can truly give insight into what it feels like. To start, it requires more concentration to make body parts move; your body may become fatigued more easily due to this, especially when using adaptive technology like an eye gaze communication device. You may process information more slowly, and it can take a few moments to understand what is being said and find or think about an answer. Patience is key!
Most children and adults living with cerebral palsy have vision impairments. CVI, or Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment, limits an individual’s ability to focus on objects in any environment due to damaged parts of the brain that process vision. At HMS School, our specialized instructors are experts on all things CVI and utilize techniques to eliminate distractions in our school environment to help our students learn more effectively.
Why Do We Celebrate Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month?
As you can imagine, our students are faced with challenges involving health and mobility in addition to the normal things that happen in childhood, like growing, learning about your body’s many changes, establishing trusted relationships, making friends, and just wanting to be a kid. Despite all these perceived challenges, HMS fosters an environment where each of our students is encouraged to have fun with interactive programs that are designed to be interactive.
Our students aren’t afraid to take risks either; after all, we have a large teenage population! They speak up for themselves, learn new ways to gain independence, as well as have hobbies and interests unique to their personalities. If that isn’t worth celebrating, we don’t know what is! Since the 1950’s we have been the biggest advocates for children with cerebral palsy and the only school of its kind around! When we are presented with the opportunity to brag about the students we serve (especially in March), we are taking it!
This month’s goal is to have you open yourself up to understanding the abilities of people with cerebral palsy instead of focusing on their disability by taking a closer look. Extend a helping hand, listen, cheer, and volunteer, to rid yourself of the stigmas you may unknowingly have. HMS School is proud to be a resource for our families as we partner to enrich and uplift every student attending our school.
How Can I Get Involved?
We are extremely grateful to have such a dedicated community full of students, families, staff, financial contributors, and advocates who love us! We are thankful and can’t do the work that we do at HMS School without all of you! If you are interested in supporting our goal of raising $10,000 for our school here are some of the ways to help us!
- Donate an amount of your choosing to help us reach our financial goal.
- Volunteer with us – we have opportunities in various departments!
- Partner or collaborate with us by sending an email to Development@hmsschool.org
- Like, share, and comment on our content via our social media!
- Talk about us with your family, friends, and coworkers!
- Check out our career opportunities as they become available!
- Refer us! If you know someone who could benefit from our school and services. Please reach out to our Admissions department – Vice President Laura Boyd, MSW, LSW