Cara: Webmaster

Cara has been running Abilities4u for two years now. She is now 14 and likes to read, write, and sing. She has mild cerebral palsy, and many of her poems and stories are from her own experiences. She is going into the 9th grade. Email her at catcrazy92@yahoo.com.

Kayla Tsukino: Author of "Chatting Online With A Disabled Person"

A little about me: I am a young woman living in south Daytona. I have short brown hair, and matching brown eyes. I stand at 5.2, but most of the time i'm seen in a manual wheelchair. I live with my man George, and am currently holding down a Job at the Holly Hill Pizza hut. I haven't known Cara long, but she and I share one major thing in common. We are both disabled with different verations of the same disibility.

When I was three months of age, my so-called father thought the only way to stop a baby from crying was to beat them until their skull broke. As a result I ended up with seven skull fractures, and massive clotting. I am now missing 30% of my brain. The side effects of this loss gave me cerebral palsy, or one version of it. Unlike Cara, it doesn't affect my body the way it does hers. The form I have is called Hemipresis.

Hemiprisis has two meanings actually. Hemi meaning half, and persis meaning perlisis. This means half of my body is weaker then the other forcing the stronger half to work twice as hard to make up the difference. I have poor circulation and muscle pain as well as all the other symptoms associated with CP. I also am blind, because in the "accident" I had lost my optic nerve, the nerve that carries signals to my brain, telling my brain what things are.

These disabilities haven't prevented me from living, and I have many interests which include; Reading, writing, Role playing, chatting on the phone, and swimming. I can also shoot pool and throw darts, and bowl even though I haven't done either in a long time.

You can read Kayla's article, Chatting Online With A Disabled Person, on the articles page (click on the link to the left).

Kylie Reno: Author of Asthma: From Her Point Of View

Kylie is 14 and going into her first year of high school. She loves music-her favorite band is From First To Last. She is learning guitar. Kylie is one of Cara's best friends, she loves helping Cara with the Abilities4u website! She has written some of the important info on disabilities for you and is always willing to give Cara a hand when she needs one with the site.

To read Kylie's article Asthma: From Her Point of View, click on the articles link to the left.

Kathleen Downes: Author of When Should I Start, and Research Assistant

Kathleen Downes is 13 years old. She was born with Cerebral Palsy spastic diplegia, and splits her time between using a walker and a motorized wheelchair. She is one of Cara's best friends, and shares a passion for disability activism, writing, reading, and spending time with her friends. She has penned several unpublished(just for fun) volumes of poetry, as well as countless stories & articles. Joining up with Cara on the website is a dream come true. Words can not express how proud she is of Cara's work. It is her hope to become a special ed teacher and to help others. Cara, congratulations on achieving this wonderful support center. I enjoy assisting with Abilities4u, and I know this great team will keep it prospering for many years to come.

Kathleen has researched many disabilities for Abilities4u, and I would not have half the disabilities I have on the site today without her help. You can read Kathleen's article When Should I Start on the articles page to the left.