Tappan Hill Student Shares His Experiences Living with a Disability

Tappan Hill Student Participates in Conference Panel Discussion

Chris Thompson Presents on Panel with Other Young Adults

As 22-year-old Christopher Thompson finishes the last year of special education, he shared some of his experiences and wisdom in a recent panel discussion during the Community Support Network’s 2022 ‘Virtual’ Transition Institute.

He was one of four self-advocates from New York in a Jan. 20 online panel discussion led by Samuel Habib, a 22-year-old New Hampshire college student who is filming a documentary tentatively called the “Disability Road Map.” Samuel, who has cerebral palsy and a rare GNA01 neurodevelopmental disorder, showed a preview of the movie, in which he and his father document his life and advocacy journey. It includes interviews with disability advocates in which he asks important and probing questions about living independently, intimate relationships, finding support staff, and self-advocacy for inclusion and full adult lives. 

After the film, Samuel posed similar questions to Chris, a student at SWBOCES’ Tappan Hill School; Claire Polin, a member of the Westchester Institute for Human Development’s Hear our Voices Team; Hannah Badain, who works for an advocacy organization in New York City; and Brendan Klein, who runs the self-advocacy organization at WIHD, which includes the Community Support Network. Samuel is a multi-media assistant and presenter at WIHD.  

Chris, a Tappan Hill student since 2013, is an avid music producer, writes his own lyrics and enjoys playing basketball. When Samuel asked him what motivated him to become an activist, Chris said he wants to help people with disabilities lead full, successful lives. He typed his answers on his communication device and Mariela Adams from WIHD read his answers.

“Living with a disability has made me aware of the challenges we face – access to buildings, how other people see us, getting fair treatment,” Chris wrote. “I want to help people get what they need to overcome challenges to be successful and have a satisfying life.

“When I was younger, I sometimes got angry, and I had a hard time controlling it,” he added. “As I have grown up, I have learned how to deal with disappointment with better control. I have learned to see that other people need help. Helping them makes me feel good about myself.”

Samuel asked Chris how he has built up his network of support and therapists. Chris said that SWBOCES has provided him with a lot of physical therapists who have helped him learn how to control his body and movement with his cerebral palsy. He thanked Joanne Ottomanelli, whom he worked with at Eastview School in White Plains. She has since retired. He described Margaret Pape, who recently retired from Tappan Hill, as his “best PT and trainer” and “the greatest women’s basketball player of all time.

“I love her. She saved my life and plays music, relaxing and gospel and rap and pop and rock and reggae,” he said, adding that she helped him from 2016-2021.

Chris said outside of school, services can be hard. For example, it took a long time to get a new wheelchair when his broke. His mother is his caretaker and a great mom, and his father is a great dad and taught him sign language.

“I hope that in the future I can be more independent. I graduate school this June,” Chris said.

Samuel asked Chris and other panelists about dating, which everyone said is a challenge. Chris said he was in an unhealthy relationship with a woman that he had to end. “I tried being helpful to her, but I’m just a young guy,” he said. “It was too much. I ended up having to break all communication with her. I feel much better now.”

Here are some other challenges and successes the young advocates described:

  • It can be difficult to find support staff, and if you manage your own staff, you are on your own if someone can’t make it to work.
  • Hannah moved into a townhouse last year, which she owns, after hiring a housing navigator, receiving a housing subsidy and receiving a $3,000 stipend from the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
  • Transitioning to adult health care can be hard. Physicians who see adult patients may not have as much time to address health concerns. Some adults with disabilities feel like they are being talked down to, but it is important to speak up, be confident and remind providers that you can communicate your needs.
  • College is very different than K-12 education. There is a lot less handholding and students with disabilities are responsible for explaining their needs.
  • Volunteering is a great experience. It is important to help others and show them what they are capable of, and to connect with the community.

Samuel and the panelists received positive feedback from people watching the discussion. “You are inspiring other young adults with disabilities to what’s possible. You are giving hope to parents who watch and see that there is a future for their own children,” said Naomi Brickel, who directs WIHD’s Community Support Network and public policy initiatives.