A Failure SYSTEM

I need to find a new place to live as soon as possible.  I am living with a relative but I can’t stay for a long period.

For years I have been receiving services from the Division of Development Disabilities in New Jersey (DDD). I contact DDD regarding to this problem and I asked them for help.  Unfortunately the process is taking too long.

I mailed the following letter that to my case manager from DDD back in the summer.  They were aware of the situation before the letter was written.

On September 1 20010, my parents will be moving back to the Dominican Republic (DR). Once they leave I will not have a place to stay.   Since the DR lack of resources for people with disabilities to attend school I can’t move back with my parents.   I also have student loans to pay. Financial aid doesn’t cover my entire tuition.

Since I moved to New Jersey at age fifteen, I have accomplished a lot of goals. Months after I moved, I was placed in Cerebral Palsy Center in Clifton.  The major focus of the school was to teach the students independent skills how to prepare a meal, clean a room, count money and so on.

At that time, my mother and I didn’t have any idea of what school I should go to. I was evaluated by the child study team of the district. According to them I should attend a special school.

Later on, my mother and I got involved in an advocacy group for parents with kids with disabilities. Five years later, thanks to my mother and the parents’ advocacy group we found out that I was placed in the wrong school. I transferred to a regular high school.

But my age was my biggest obstacle. I was already 20 years old and the limit age is 21.  We requested permission to the board education

In high school I had the opportunity to improve academically. Since the freshman year most of my reports cards were “As” and “Bs.” I graduated from high school on the honor roll.

After graduation I attended Passaic County College. I started taking ESL courses English As a Second Language because my English was a little poor. I had difficulties with class schedule, homework and I felt frustrated as a result, I dropped out of college.

Then I tried to find a job. The only job that I found was working in a workshop for people with disabilities but I didn’t feel happy to be working there. I wanted to do other types of work such as computer data, receptionist or file clerk. I was told that I didn’t qualify for that type of job. A year later I stopped working at the workshop.

I went back to college to complete the courses that I needed it. I took one or two courses per semester. One of my English professors became my mentor. Thanks to my family and his support I was able to success in college. While I was there my mentor encouraged to write personal essays, poems, articles and doing translations from Spanish to English. I didn’t know that my writing skills is strong. I also completed the ESL Program and took college level courses.

On May 2009, I graduated with an associate in liberal arts. On September first I transfered to William Paterson University. Now I am communication major. Also last year, I worked as intern for the state of New Jersey.

Growing-Up Dominican and Disabled

By Juana M. Ortiz

The first impression is the one that counts. Judging others is common because having a good physical appearance is essential in order to fit into society.  I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic (DR).  In 1972 a couple of months after I was born, I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.  According to the doctor, the left side of my brain was affected due to a delay during labor.

As a little girl, I didn’t have the opportunity to attend to a traditional school. Special education or services to teach a child with CP didn’t exist in the DR.  Although, I still had the desire to learn, to have friends and to live the same way that the kids of my family and neighborhood lived.

I grew up hearing people asking why I was walking that particular way, or if somebody put a curse on me. On a few occasions, I was outside and people stared at me like I was from another planet. What was even worse was that some kids made fun of me because of the way I walked or the way that I talked.   I have had to learn to live with these types of situations throughout my youth. All these experiences were the hardest part of living with CP in a society where children with physical limitations were not well accepted.

Some people in the DR follow the Santeria or Voodoo beliefs. These two practical beliefs are not recognized officially as the Roman Catholic religion, which is the major religion faith in the country.  In other words, people though that I was borne with CP because a person who follow the Santeria or Voodoo put a curse on me.

At that time, accepting myself, as a person with Cerebral Palsy, was the biggest challenge that I had to face, even though I had a lot of support from my family. There were times when I felt bad for myself, and I went to bed at night and cried because I couldn’t do the same things that the kids my age were doing.

The next day I’d wake up like nothing had happened to me the night before. I‘d wake up being the child that I was before I went to bed, without telling anybody how bad I felt. I hated when somebody outside my family showed any expression of sympathy or sorrow and I didn’t want my family to start showing the same expression either.

It is time to stop stereotyping, and start creating awareness about how people with physical limitation should be treated. Home is the first place to initiates the awareness about this issue. Frequently, when a child is born with some type of physical limitation such as cerebral palsy or any other type of medical condition, the family tends to over protect him or her. Fortunately, I am an exception.

I am the oldest of three children and only girl, I was raised the same way as my brothers with no special treatment if I did something wrong I was punished. My parents’ friends used to tell them that I should not be punished but my parents didn’t pay any attention to their friends’ suggestions.  We were treated equally, always.  This has helped me become the person I am, regardless of what other people thought or said about me.