Ballet, Piano Lessons, and Swimming

My Disabilities

I have right hemiparetic cerebral palsy, autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, dermatillomania, as well as some other disabilities. Each affects me quite differently, but they do all affect me. I also have a very determined mindset on anything I do, especially when it’s something I’ve been told I can’t do (even though I can). I’ve had many hobbies and interests, and I’ve had a variety of experiences, good and bad, when trying these hobbies with my disabilities. 

Ballet

When I was younger, I wanted to take ballet lessons. My mom signed me up and informed the teacher about my disabilities. You’d think that the teacher would be fine hearing about my disabilities, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the teacher told my mom they didn’t have enough slots open—which turned out to be a lie. A couple of hours later, I found out someone else in my neighborhood had just been called and gotten the slot from that same ballet teacher. My mom knew right away that I was discriminated against without even an option to try and see if I could dance.

Piano Lessons

I’ve always loved music, so when my older brother started taking piano lessons, I wanted to learn how to play too. My mom and I weren’t sure whether his teacher would teach me how to play because of my disability, so my mom found a teacher who agreed to give me a shot. I’ve now been playing piano for a decade, and I’m thankful I was given a chance to learn and grow in music.

Swimming

My brothers and I began swimming lessons when we were in elementary school. I joined a club swim team in fifth grade. It was a pretty small team and anyone with swimming experience who wanted to join could. During this time, my weakness on my right side was more visible, and I was pretty weak overall. When we started to go to swim meets, I was extremely anxious, both for the competitive nature of the event and due to how many people would be there. Luckily, I had my parents, brothers, friends, and coaches who helped give me support, and I grew in my skills and confidence. 

Two years later, my family moved, and we had to join a different team. This new club team had us try out and asked us to swim all four main strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle). I got a spot on the team, which was so great. However, since this team was a lot larger, I had a harder time connecting with the coaches and getting help specific to my disability. I had to learn to speak up for myself and began to communicate more with my coaches about how cerebral palsy affects me. I also joined my school team, and in my junior year, I decided to quit the club team and just focus on my school team---this has been the right decision for me because it has allowed me to focus more on school and not overwork myself in swimming. I’ve learned more about how my cerebral palsy affects my disability and how to speak up for myself.