(Hosted & Produced by Marlon “Shymar” Molinos)

The View From Chair Level is a talk show that discusses various topics from the viewpoint of Marlon Molinos an individual living with Cerebral Palsy since birth. The goal of this show is to inspire everyone to look past your limitations and find creative ways to accomplish your daily goals. A free mind is limitless and you are the only one that sets your own limit

Featured Song: DAVID GUETTA feat. ZARA LARSSON - This Ones For You

Anyone living with Cerebral Palsy (CP) needs a team that can work together to watch over their health long-term. This team may include an orthopedist to treat muscles and bone disorders, an occupational therapist to help develop therapies that help with everyday activities, a mental health provider, and a social worker to help with accessing services.

Having a team who has your back is great to have.  The team can give advice on ways that can help you navigate your life living with C.P. My team consists of my family (Dad, Mom, 4 siblings.) as well as my peers from Special Olympics whom I consider as my extended family.  You need to have that support system in place because living with cerebral palsy or any other disability, in general, can cause a high sense of insecurity in an individual with a disability. We are more aware of the things that we are lacking in life as we try to navigate it. Everybody has their insecurities, but believe me having a disability that is so obvious makes a person question their self-worth at times because we are often prejudged about our abilities, or lack thereof before we are even considered for a potential job or activity.

I know everybody has their insecurities and you might be asking yourself why is this guy bringing up insecurities so much? And the reason for that is because we are so aware of how people see us, that we feel more pressure to prove ourselves to the other individual. People say life isn't fair and often times that is true. It's our challenges in life that shape who we become as people in the community. When you're presented with a disability you have to ask yourself a question. Do I sit here and soak and let life pass me by, or do I get up and live life to the best of my ability? I chose the latter.

Having a support system, or "team" that has your best interest at heart is always the best thing to have. No one should navigate life on their own. Having a team gives you confidence, support, and humility. The reason why humility is in there is that when a person discovers they have a disability, they feel that the world owes them and that they can't do things without expecting support. I will say this again life isn't fair, so it's up to you to make do with what you have. If you feel you don't have that support system like family members and not many friends then make some friends. Find people who will tell you straight your face if you're doing things wrong, or if you're doing things right. People and the world don't owe us anything. We are living in this world like everyone else. We just have to live life differently than everyone else. You do have the right to feel the way you do as far as feeling like everyone owes you, but if you want to continue to have that support, you need to be able to work with each other and accept the differences that everyone has.  We can only survive if we have support and without the support then we can survive.

A team doesn't really have to be just family. I do have some friends with disabilities who may not have a supportive family system, so to them, I say find another form of support for yourselves. Remember we can't live life on our own. We need friends and support in order to survive, so remember, always have a heart and be considerate of others because, without their support, we will not survive. Life is not always gray. It's colorful and vibrant and yes we often never get what we want, but we often get what we need. We are never given anything we cannot handle, so remember, if you feel like you can't do things and if you feel like an activity is hard to do, find a different way to get it done.

"It doesn't matter how disability or situation is acquired. What matters is how you overcome, survive, and thrive with it. – Marlon R. Molinos