According to the CDC, 1 of every 345 children in the U.S. live with Cerebral Palsy. Senior Christopher Elders is among those people. Cerebral Palsy affects the nervous system which can result in complications with hearing, speaking, movements, seeing and even thinking. 

Elders currently has a communication device called the Dynavox-I13. This device allows his aides to pre-record messages and arrange them based on themes and category pages he navigates through. Due to movement impairment, Elders uses his eyes to control the device. An infrared laser bounces from his pupils back to the device allowing it to follow his eye movement and make selections. 

“He has about 37 different messages that he uses regularly, and then he has additional categories. [It’s] almost like a dictionary or wordlist that he accesses if he is trying to think of something,” Speech Language Pathologist Shelby Lenhart said. 

According to sciencedirect, people who have Cerebral Palsy may struggle with reading and spelling; however, Elders can do both. 

“He can go to an animal page, a house page, sports page, different categories almost like a library, there are pictures and words. His device is arranged with pictures and also text because Chris can read, so he has words in there too,” Lenhart said. 

Elders is not limited to just his device to communicate with people. He will look up to symbolize yes and shake his head left and right to symbolize no. He also uses his facial expressions as well as vocalizations and body movements to convey what he is feeling or needs to say. 

Elders had numerous devices before the Dynavox-I13 that have helped him to communicate. On his old device, instead of using his eyes he would use his head to control the screen.  

“Chris had a switch right here [on his headrest] that he could hit the switch and then it would move across the buttons [on his screen] and when it got to the button he wanted he would hit the switch again” Lenhart said. 

It was not always known that Elders was able to communicate with those around him. 

“It was when he was first in preschool that we realized that Chris could communicate with us and that he understood what we were saying to him. He had a really reliable yes and no. He could tell us yes or no, but we knew he needed something further to provide for him to help him communicate because he does not have any vocal speech, but he is definitely communicating to us all day long,” Lenhart said. 

Like other technology, the device does need to be fixed sometimes. After a while of using the device, it may need to be re-calibrated. To re-calibrate the device, Elders must follow the circles that appear on his screen in different areas allowing the device to sense the movement of his eyes making it easier for him to navigate.  

The device arrived at the school on March 11, 2020, just two days before the COVID lockdown began. Elders and Lenhart were unable to practice how to use the device; therefore, Elders had to learn on his own for the most part. After the heavy lockdown for COVID was lifted, Elders and Lenhart would meet at the junior high to practice. 

Despite the challenges Elders faces, those around him say that he is a very upbeat and happy person. He enjoys telling jokes as well as spending time with his dad. His favorite joke is the tornado joke. 

“What is a tornado’s favorite game?” Elders said, “Twister.” 

For his twenty first birthday, Elders will be going to Las Vegas. 

“I am going [to Las Vegas] to see the Steelers play the Raiders,” Elders said. 

Elders expressed his excitement  as he talked about his trip to Disney. 

“I went to Disney Halloween. I had a nice day. I love Disney fireworks,” Elders said. 

With Elder’s senior year coming to an end, he is beginning to prepare to go to Crossroads Training Center. Crossroads is a center for people who have a disability that affects their everyday living. Elders is focusing on what will happen after high school. With people he knows at Crossroads Training Center, his aid notices the joy that fills Elders as the next part of his life begins.