The Power of Acceptance
By Paul Palmer, Board Member of Community Mental Health Association of Michigan
I was born in 1963 in Marquette, Michigan. I went to a catholic grade school. It was the only school in the county that would take a special needs child. My special needs are the result of being born with cerebral palsy (CP). CP is a group of disorders that affect normal movement in different parts of the body. This was during a time before schools were required to provide 504 accommodations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 at no cost to students. I did not use a wheelchair until the age of 33. My speech has been a challenge all my life. People thought since I had a speech challenge, I was dumb. As a child, I believed those false perceptions of those around me, especially my family.
My parents divorced and my mom and dad each remarried. My mother’s husband, my stepfather raised me. My mom and stepfather were close to me. I think of my stepfather as my dad. He’s still in my life today. My mom passed away about ten years ago. He has been, and always is, around me when I need him. He is one of my true champions. Through his love and encouragement, I was empowered to begin the journey of accepting my CP.
I developed a friendship with a peer that had CP. My friend brought me to the attention of Michigan’s Governor James Blanchard. In 1987, at the age of 24, I was appointed, by the Governor to sit on the Client Assistance Program (CAP). At that time, CAP was under the Department of Education. CAP is now one of Disability Rights Michigan’s (DRM) federally funded programs. It was my first taste of advocacy.
In 1990, I was asked by the Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service (MPAS) to sit on the Developmental Disability Advisory Council (DD Council). I served a four-year term as the first chair of the DD Council. The DD Council works to change service systems to be more responsive to the needs, wants and desires of people with developmental disabilities. I met my first wife while serving on the DD Council. I served from 1990-1993 as chair of the MPAS Board. In this position I oversaw the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) Council. I was also serving as chair of a Regional Coordinating Committee for Marquette County. I would fly into meetings I had to attend in Lansing once a month. The State of Michigan paid for these flights and my accommodations.
From 2010 to present I have been serving on my local Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham (CMHA-CEI) Board and on the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan (CMHA) Executive Board. At CEI, I met Frank Taylor. He is a Success Coach at Lansing Community College (LCC).
One day I walked into Frank’s office at LCC and asked him what my GPA was. He said a 2.9, He said, “Paul you are not dumb”. I was ready to hear and accept his words, and my GPA validated his confidence in me. Slowly I began to understand I needed assistance with writing and taking tests. I engaged the services of a scribe. I did not realize, how much assistance I needed.
On September 17,2011, I married Sharon, a wonderful woman, beautiful, kind, generous and a writer by profession. Sharon has CP with speech challenges like me.
Now, in my service to the community, I am accepting my CP. I meet my challenges on a day-to-day basis. I am currently attending Lansing Community College (LCC) studying Political Science.