National Adult Literacy Database

October 23, 2006

The following story was written by Mike Szabo, from Calgary, Alberta. Michael has been coming to the SARAW Program in Calgary for over 2 years. Without the Program Michael couldn't have written his story. He has cerebral palsy and is non verbal. He can answer yes or no questions. Coming to the SARAW Program lets Michael communicate and express himself. On the Writing Program there is a Word Predict list, this is very beneficial to Michael as it helps him recognize words and it's easier to enter a number than having to type the whole word as it can be difficult for him due to his disability. It has taken over a year for him to write about himself as he only attends 2 hours a week, but time is nothing - it's what you can achieve. Michael is more confident and his family is very proud of him.

Story

by Mike Szabo

My name is Michael but I like to be called mike. I was born 1976 and i have a twin brother Andrew. I have cp [Cerebral Palsy] but that doesn't hold me back. I lived at home with my mom until a year ago i now live in a new home and share it with two other boys. I enjoy attending Bow valley college as it gives me my independence and that makes me feel good. My life is good, i spend a lot of time meeting people but the most important thing to me is my family.

[This story was taken from Learners in Action, Summer 2005, published by Movement for Canadian Literacy's Learners Advisory Network.]