How I'm Stomping on the Barriers Cerebral Palsy Throws My Way
Living with cerebral palsy has its ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. There are many things I want people to understand about my condition. Just because I have this condition I believe God has blessed me with doesn’t mean it has me.
There are many great things about having cerebral palsy. Where do I start? Well, for one thing, since I live in Florida I like to go to Universal Studios now and then. I can get on every roller coaster first. I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter rides; I would often like to go twice despite my mother’s wishes to stay behind. So, I enjoy the perks of having a disability when you visit a theme park at the busiest time of the year.
Another thing I enjoy about having cerebral palsy is having the advantage of coming up with fresh ideas for Halloween costumes. One year when I was about 8 and in a body cast, my mom and I came up with the idea of me being a zombie in my wheelchair. We had my face painted, and I passed out candy to the children since I couldn’t go out trick-or-treating because of my cast.
Another thing I enjoy about having cerebral palsy is being unique — you stand out and people are curious to know your life story. To me it’s a perfect feeling to see you’ve made somebody’s day and you taught them a precious lesson about life — that not everybody with a disability wants you to feel sorry for them. I want you to know what disability could bring in in your life, which is many blessings. Although there are days when cerebral palsy is tough, and I feel like the world is crashing, I often remember how it could’ve been worse for me, and I probably wouldn’t be here today.
As a young child, I was able to do many things. I was able to travel out of the country to Mexico and the Bahamas. I was able to copilot an airplane and fly all over the Everglades through an organization called Challenge Air. I was able to play sports. I played softball on a team for a few years, and I really enjoyed getting to meet new people with disabilities and explore the world, playing as a team. It was a life-changing experience. I have been playing basketball on and off for couple years, and that was fun, but I prefer softball. I published a book at the age of 16.
The point I’m trying to make here is if you have an obstacle, don’t let it defeat you. You have to stomp on your barrier no matter what the world brings you. That’s why I started my own Facebook page called Stomping on Cerebral Palsy With Tylia, so I can allow myself to be heard and inspire others with cerebral palsy to stomp on it, regardless of what comes your way. That is my main goal in life — I’m just stomping on CP one step at a time.
Tylia L. Flores is a twenty-eight-year-old born with Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Despite her condition that affects her mobility, she does not allow it to affect her will and determination to make a difference in the world. Through her many life challenges and obstacles, she discovered her passion for writing. Tylia’s goal in life is to share her stories with the world. In doing so, she hopes to help others with disabilities realize that they, too, have the potential to make their dreams come true. Tylia is not only an author. She’s a radio show personality and a disability activist. Tylia has written about disability-related topics for Yahoo Life, Your Tango, The Mighty, ReadUnwritten.com, Words Between Coasts Project, Wednesday, Spilwords, and Goble Thrive. Worth Living Among her other appearances are Disability on the Spectrum and Why I was Afraid of Sexuality. Previously, Tylia was nominated to Diversabilities list of the most influential Disability Impacts of 2022. Additionally, Tylia holds the position of chairman in the creative director role for the North American Association Of Cerebral Palsy Advocates. She serves as a mentor for the Disability EmpowHer Network as well. Tylia also works for Write It Up Publishing as a sensitivity reader focusing on disability representation. Tylia has also been involved in many movie press releases for Samuel Goldwyn Films Come as you are Piece of me which was the short film directed and written by award winning filmmaker Bruna Cabral as well as the film adaptation of the book Calvin can’t fly by Jenifer Burnes Tylia is also a keynote speaker at 2020’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness conference. She has also been a guest speaker at Northeastern State University Broken Arrow where she talks to college students about disability and inclusion in education. She has also been a guest speaker at Plantation Middle School, where she discussed inclusion and disability with classmates. Tylia is fully certified in Education for All: Disability, Diversity, and Inclusion through Cape Town University. She’s also certified in Understanding Diversity and Inclusion through Purdue University. She’s also certified in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. Tylia hosts the Stomping On cerebral Palsy radio show with DJ Ty on Asheville FM with DJ Mouse during the Come On In the Kitchen segment once a month she also helps the staff behind the scenes, help bring awareness to disability awareness and inclusion within the radio broadcasting industry .
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