National Adult Literacy Database

May 15, 2000

The following stories were written by students at the Neil Squire Foundation, offering Education, Technology, and Career Development for People with Physical Disabilities.

I was born July 16, 1964, and am now 35 years old. I was born in Vanier, Ontario. Around the age of 12, I developed a form of Muscular Dystrophy. I was no longer able to walk and needed a wheelchair. I had two older brothers, Paul and Robert, who were born with the same disease. They passed away. I used to live at home with my mother, Jean. When my disease became too much for my mother to care for me, I went to live at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Sometime after this I needed help to breathe and was put on a respirator. When I became too old for the Children’s Hospital I was moved to the Elisabeth-Bruyere Health Centre in downtown Ottawa.

Play an audio version of this story

All About My Life

by Denis Jacques

My best time of the year is summer.
To be outside, to sit in the sun.
It is nice and warm
Listening to the birds.
I like to go to the park to relax
and to listen to music.
The breeze feels cool.
I like to go see a movie during the summertime.
And go see my mother and father.
Twice a week I go to my mothers.
Once a week to my dads
I come to Neil Squire once a week to learn to read.
I go to my Moms for supper too and to my dads.
And the weekends I like to go out shopping to Place D’Orleans,
To different stores. I like window-shopping.
To get there I use Para Transpo. It is a bus for people
Who have trouble walking.
I have to go back home to the hospital after shopping.
My attendant comes with me everywhere I go.
We do everything together. We play games, computer games together.
I have a volunteer. We play computer games every two weeks.
He comes in twice a week.