I have cerebral palsy with a severe speech impairment. I am 75 years old and live in a retirement community after working for twenty years as a psychologist in state institutions in Pennsylvania and Iowa. I have also worked as a vocational counselor in a Milwaukee workshop, and as a team and research psychologist in institutions for retarded persons. I want to use my Ph.D. in counseling psychology, to continue to help other people with disabilities.
I use a motorized wheelchair to get around. It even takes me downtown, to church, and to shop. I have written a book, Journey Into Personhood, published by the University of Iowa Press in 1994. It details my memoirs of the challenges life brought me as a person with cerebral palsy.
My very supportive parents encouraged me to get my education and to start a career which brought many difficulties as well as triumphs. All through my life I have struggled against adverse attitudes towards the handicapped. This has given me a great interest in doing something to educate people about physically handicapped people. I am now writing short stories. I hope to explain the reasons for our differences and so decrease prejudices about disabled persons through my short stories.
Jesus Christ as a living person means a lot to me. I feel that he has given me many wonderful people, who came into my life at the right time and in the right way. My struggles to be a person are by no means over, but whenever I reflect on my life, I am very blessed by God.
My poems have been inspired by religious retreats through the years.
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Thank You!
Invitation:
Freelance writers, poets, seekers, and lovers of God,
if you are interested in corresponding with me,
I will be happy to answer you.
My main interests are: writing short stories, discussing psychology,
history, autobiographies, and traveling to foreign countries.
I would like to exchange opinions and experiences with you.
Send e-mail to: rcw999@aol.com
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