My name is Tianyou (Tony) Zhang, and Tianzuo (Tom) Zhang is my twin brother. We are immigrants from China who have CP (Cerebral Palsy, a general term for a group of permanent, non-progressive movement disorders that cause physical disability).
It is difficult for disabled children to get adequate treatment in China because it is overcrowded, and doctors have so little time for each patient that it is impossible for them to give adequate attention to each individual patient. That is the reason why my family moved to the United States when Tom and I were five years old. It was difficult for all of my family to agree on the decision of leaving China and taking up a new life in America because my parents were unsure whether we could be successful there due to the language and cultural barriers.
Despite these concerns, we finally moved to Houston on the last day of 2001. At the time that we arrived, we understood neither the English language nor American customs, we had little idea about what kind of treatment we could receive for CP, and we only had a few friends whom we could ask for such information.
One day, a few months after we had moved to Houston, we decided to visit one of our family friends who also had a child with Cerebral Palsy. Our original goal was to find out more about possible treatments, but instead, we met someone who has been crucial to our success ever since. We were extremely fortunate to have met Elaine Hime, who sympathized with our troubles and understood what it was like to have disabled children. Elaine agreed to help us in our quest for treatment and understanding. She provided us with much information about programs designed to aid children with disabilities; she also brought a translator with her the second time she visited so that the language barrier could be bypassed. She gave us a multitude of forms to fill out, many of which were those from hospitals that had doctors who specialized in treating children with Cerebral Palsy; among these, there was a form from the Shriners’ Hospitals for Children.
At the same time, we were searching for a suitable school that my brother and I could attend. With the help of Elaine, we got in contact with the Houston Independent School District, and they agreed to evaluate our ability to learn. After the evaluation, HISD determined that we had no learning disabilities, and thus we were not required to enroll into a special education class; HISD also suggested two schools which we could attend.
When we visited the first school for the purpose of discussing our physical conditions and needs with the administrators, they insisted that we be enrolled into the special education class even though the evaluation by HISD showed that we would be able to attend regular classes. Since we did not have the means necessary to negotiate with this school’s administrators, we asked Elaine to represent our interests at the conferences. After a few months of deadlock in which we were growing extremely frustrated with the administrators, we decided not to attend and instead to divert our attention to the other school. We were enrolled into the ESL program at Roberts Elementary school in August 2002.
Also around the same time, the West U. Little League Challenger Division, a recreational baseball division for children with physical and mental disabilities invited us to join the program. My parents decided to let us join the program because we needed to familiarize ourselves with the new environment. This decision would be important to our success down the road. At the end of our first season at West U. Little League Challenger Division, we were invited to join a select group of players in their trip to Washington D.C. We were also fortunate enough to tour the White House, play tee ball on the South Lawn, take pictures with the incumbent president, George W. Bush, and receive baseballs signed by the former president. All in all, it was both a rewarding, and somewhat challenging experience.
Since then, my brother and I have been largely successful with both school and treatment. The doctors at Shriners’ Hospitals for Children have been treating me and my brother’s Cerebral Palsy. We have received a few Botox surgeries over the last decade, and more recently, the doctors have replaced my Ankle-Foot Orthotics with blue rockers which helps to both keep my knees straighter and to avoid dragging my feet along the ground.Through hard
work and determination, we have been able to surpass most people in terms of academic achievement, and we have been able to slowly improve our physical conditions.
Now we feel that it is time for us to give back to the community by supporting an organization dedicated to the cause of helping children with illnesses and disabilities realize their potential. We believe that through this foundation, we will be able to reimburse the community for all the support that they have given us, give other people with disabilities some hope in their future and give myself and my brother a greater purpose and fulfilling life.
Our ultimate goal is to be able to mitigate the stigma against people with disabilities, because it is unfair to them since they are being debased for something that they cannot control. Some of these disabled people are capable of magnificent things, yet they are unable to display their talents for fear that they will be criticized for their physical or mental disabilities. We hope that this organization will be able to spread awareness about the stigmatization of disabled people as well as give them a chance to be successful.
It is difficult for disabled children to get adequate treatment in China because it is overcrowded, and doctors have so little time for each patient that it is impossible for them to give adequate attention to each individual patient. That is the reason why my family moved to the United States when Tom and I were five years old. It was difficult for all of my family to agree on the decision of leaving China and taking up a new life in America because my parents were unsure whether we could be successful there due to the language and cultural barriers.
Despite these concerns, we finally moved to Houston on the last day of 2001. At the time that we arrived, we understood neither the English language nor American customs, we had little idea about what kind of treatment we could receive for CP, and we only had a few friends whom we could ask for such information.
One day, a few months after we had moved to Houston, we decided to visit one of our family friends who also had a child with Cerebral Palsy. Our original goal was to find out more about possible treatments, but instead, we met someone who has been crucial to our success ever since. We were extremely fortunate to have met Elaine Hime, who sympathized with our troubles and understood what it was like to have disabled children. Elaine agreed to help us in our quest for treatment and understanding. She provided us with much information about programs designed to aid children with disabilities; she also brought a translator with her the second time she visited so that the language barrier could be bypassed. She gave us a multitude of forms to fill out, many of which were those from hospitals that had doctors who specialized in treating children with Cerebral Palsy; among these, there was a form from the Shriners’ Hospitals for Children.
At the same time, we were searching for a suitable school that my brother and I could attend. With the help of Elaine, we got in contact with the Houston Independent School District, and they agreed to evaluate our ability to learn. After the evaluation, HISD determined that we had no learning disabilities, and thus we were not required to enroll into a special education class; HISD also suggested two schools which we could attend.
When we visited the first school for the purpose of discussing our physical conditions and needs with the administrators, they insisted that we be enrolled into the special education class even though the evaluation by HISD showed that we would be able to attend regular classes. Since we did not have the means necessary to negotiate with this school’s administrators, we asked Elaine to represent our interests at the conferences. After a few months of deadlock in which we were growing extremely frustrated with the administrators, we decided not to attend and instead to divert our attention to the other school. We were enrolled into the ESL program at Roberts Elementary school in August 2002.
Also around the same time, the West U. Little League Challenger Division, a recreational baseball division for children with physical and mental disabilities invited us to join the program. My parents decided to let us join the program because we needed to familiarize ourselves with the new environment. This decision would be important to our success down the road. At the end of our first season at West U. Little League Challenger Division, we were invited to join a select group of players in their trip to Washington D.C. We were also fortunate enough to tour the White House, play tee ball on the South Lawn, take pictures with the incumbent president, George W. Bush, and receive baseballs signed by the former president. All in all, it was both a rewarding, and somewhat challenging experience.
Since then, my brother and I have been largely successful with both school and treatment. The doctors at Shriners’ Hospitals for Children have been treating me and my brother’s Cerebral Palsy. We have received a few Botox surgeries over the last decade, and more recently, the doctors have replaced my Ankle-Foot Orthotics with blue rockers which helps to both keep my knees straighter and to avoid dragging my feet along the ground.Through hard
work and determination, we have been able to surpass most people in terms of academic achievement, and we have been able to slowly improve our physical conditions.
Now we feel that it is time for us to give back to the community by supporting an organization dedicated to the cause of helping children with illnesses and disabilities realize their potential. We believe that through this foundation, we will be able to reimburse the community for all the support that they have given us, give other people with disabilities some hope in their future and give myself and my brother a greater purpose and fulfilling life.
Our ultimate goal is to be able to mitigate the stigma against people with disabilities, because it is unfair to them since they are being debased for something that they cannot control. Some of these disabled people are capable of magnificent things, yet they are unable to display their talents for fear that they will be criticized for their physical or mental disabilities. We hope that this organization will be able to spread awareness about the stigmatization of disabled people as well as give them a chance to be successful.