{"id":2367,"date":"2016-12-12T11:47:43","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T16:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/?p=2367"},"modified":"2023-09-13T11:17:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T15:17:21","slug":"excellent-resource-and-writer-cerebral-palsy-guidance-alex-dias-granados","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/excellent-resource-and-writer-cerebral-palsy-guidance-alex-dias-granados\/","title":{"rendered":"An excellent resource (and writer): Cerebral Palsy Guidance and Alex Diaz-Granados"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alex<\/a>

Alex Diaz-Granados, Miami-based freelance writer, online reviewer, aspiring novelist and regular contributor to Cerebral Palsy Guidance<\/p><\/div>\n

Added Sept. 2023 – an excellent resource (link)<\/a> <\/strong>on cerebral palsy from the Birth Injury Center.<\/em><\/p>\n

As a career development<\/strong><\/a> and diversity (all areas but with an LGBT \u2013 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) deep expertise<\/strong><\/a>, I often get community contacts via people who discover my website and blog. One particular recent fascinating contact is Alex Diaz-Granados, a writer for the website \u201cCerebral Palsy Guidance.\u201d Since \u201cpeople with disabilities\u201d is one the critical diversity constituencies in need to more full inclusion, I discussed cerebral palsy, including its intersection with the LGBT community, with Alex.<\/p>\n

STAN:<\/strong> Alex, can you give me a brief description of what Cerebral Palsy Guidance is about?
\nALEX:<\/strong> Cerebral Palsy Guidance (CPG)<\/strong><\/a> is a website that provides information about cerebral palsy (CP), a disability that affects approximately 764,000 children and the adults in the U.S. alone. CPG was created primarily as a resource for parents of children with CP to give them information about the disability, what treatments are available, what kinds of medical and legal assistance exist, and to dispel some of the myths that surround CP. That having been said, though, we also want to reach the general public and increase awareness about cerebral palsy, which is the most common movement disorder that affects kids.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STAN:<\/strong> Wow, 764,000 people affected is a huge number! Alex, Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in this work?
\nALEX:<\/strong> Well, I\u2019m a Miami-based freelance writer, online reviewer, and aspiring novelist \u2013 and I happen to have cerebral palsy. I was a preemie, and I acquired CP shortly after birth when a nurse placed me in an incubator \u2013 and took a bit too long to turn on the oxygen supply. It was only a momentary lapse, but thus, there was some damage in the motor control region of my brain. Luckily, I fell in love with the written word as a young boy, and I decided that I\u2019d be a writer when I was 14.<\/p>\n

As to how I got involved with CPG: I was asked to write a blog for the site in January of 2016. I was writing movie and book reviews for the now-closed Examiner.com at the time, plus I was gearing up to start writing my first novel. But CPG\u2019s chief writer, Leigh Egan, emailed me not long after the New Year and asked me if I would like to be a regular blogger and share with readers what it\u2019s like to live with CP. I\u2019m not a researcher or a legal expert, mind you, but I do know about the challenges of daily existence as a disabled person in 21st Century America. So, I said \u201cyes,\u201d and here we are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STAN:<\/strong> Alex, could you tell me more about the intersectionality of Cerebral Palsy with being LGB or T? Why is this important to discuss?
\nALEX: <\/strong> I\u2019m not LGB or T, but some of my friends are, so I am aware of the challenges they face today. I can identify with the LGBT community\u2019s struggles to gain acceptance in a society where some people still believe that sexual orientation is an anomalous \u201clifestyle\u201d or \u201cchoice\u201d rather than an innate trait. People with CP, whether they\u2019re gay or straight, are still sometimes looked upon as freaks or \u201cdamaged\u201d individuals who should be shunned. Disabled people, of course, aren\u2019t vilified or \u2013 as in the Pulse shooting in Orlando \u2013 targeted by zealots as LGB and T people are, but we still face discrimination and mockery. Look at that disabled New York Times reporter that President-elect Donald Trump made fun of during the campaign. Trump scornfully mimicked his physical disability because he didn\u2019t like the man\u2019s reporting or his probing questions! So for me, the intersectionality of individuals with CP and the LGBT community isn\u2019t about sexual orientation. It\u2019s about human rights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/a>

Alex Diaz-Granados (second from the left) enjoys a dinner party for a close friend<\/p><\/div>\n

STAN:<\/strong> What can allies do to educate themselves about the Cerebral Palsy \/ LGBT intersection and what actions can they take?
\nALEX:<\/strong> I think that dialogue and participative interaction is the best way for people to understand each other. I\u2019m not sure that disabled people in general have a negative worldview about the LGBT community \u2013 some people with CP are LGB or T, too. Maybe a small percentage of individuals with CP may have some prejudices about gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender persons, mostly because of their religious upbringing, but others, especially millennials, are more accepting. But by and large I think both groups (disabled and LGBT) get along well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STAN:<\/strong> How can people learn more?
\nALEX: <\/strong>If anyone wants more information about cerebral palsy, its causes, treatments, and what resources are available, there is Cerebral Palsy Guidance. CPG is one of the best sites on the Web, with well-written and researched articles by a dedicated staff. You can find it at https:\/\/www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

STAN:<\/strong> Thank you for the insights, Alex. Keep up your great work and I look forward to staying in touch and seeing your first novel.<\/p>\n

* * * *<\/p>\n

NOTE: FYI – here is a link to Alex’s LinkedIn Profile<\/strong><\/a> to learn more about him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Added Sept. 2023 – an excellent resource (link) on cerebral palsy from the Birth Injury Center. As a career development and diversity (all areas but with an LGBT \u2013 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) deep expertise, I often get community contacts … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1234,1227,1228,1229,1231,1233,1230,356,449,1052,1232,237],"class_list":["post-2367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-info","tag-alex-diaz-granados","tag-cerebal-palsy","tag-cerebal-palsy-guidance","tag-disabled-people","tag-donald-trump","tag-examiner-com","tag-human-rights","tag-lgbt-community","tag-people-with-disabilities","tag-physical-disability","tag-pulse-shooting","tag-sexual-orientation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.totalengagementconsulting.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}