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Cerebral Palsy - Back to News Menu
Man with cerebral palsy hailed as hero with award
By Michael McNarney, Associated Press
SCRANTON, Lackawanna County - July 12, 2005 - When a photographer walked into Robert Walsh's office at the Lackawanna County administration building recently, the ribbing from his colleagues was fast and furious.
"You've got a big head now!" said one. "You're going to have to increase the size of the doorways here."
It's not the first time Walsh has had his picture taken, and not the first time his co-workers in the county information technology office have joked with him.
He smiled and laughed, but didn't say anything. Walsh has cerebral palsy and cannot speak, nor can he use his arms and legs.
Walsh is at his desk every day, writing computer databases for the county. He communicates via a 128-button keyboard on his wheelchair, a keyboard that he types on with a staff attached to a band that he wears on his head.
That keyboard can be connected to a PC at home or at work, and has a voice synthesizer built-in.
Walsh, 34, was recognized earlier this year by the National Association of Counties as a "county hero," a county employee who goes above and beyond the call of duty. The Lackawanna County commissioners will honor him at their meeting later this month.
Mary F. Rinaldi, the county's clerk of judicial records and a big booster of Walsh, said she nominated him earlier this year after she read about the contest in the association's newsletter.
Her connection to Walsh is more than their shared employer.
Walsh lives with his parents, Joseph and Catherine. They are utterly devoted to him, tending to all his needs at home as well as driving him to and from work every day and taking him home for lunch.
By necessity, Robert Walsh is a man of few words, even with the synthesizer.
He has preprogrammed some key phrases and answers to common questions, such as "I graduated from Marywood University with a bachelor's degree in computer science" and "I sent my resume to the commissioners in March of 1997."
But for other questions, minutes can pass while Walsh pecks out an answer.
The advent of electronic mail and especially instant-messenger programs, with their short back-and-forth conversations, has opened up a whole new world for Walsh, his parents said.
"I have to more or less scream and yell to get him off of here," Catherine Walsh, standing next to her son's computer in his home office, said.
At work, Robert Walsh dresses the IT part -- khakis, blue button-down shirt, county ID tag on a lanyard around his neck.
And when a visitor asks how he likes the razzing by his co-workers about all the attention he gets, a computer voice replies: "They are very friendly."
Cerebral palsy widespread in U.S.
Beacon News staff
More than 500,000 Americans have cerebral palsy, and the number of people it affects has remained essentially unchanged for the past 30 years — despite advances in prevention and treatment, according to the United Cerebral Palsy Association.
Cerebral palsy is a chronic disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination.
It is caused by a brain injury or abnormal brain development that occurs in the womb, during birth or within the first two to three years of life.
Most people with cerebral palsy experience uncontrolled reflex movements and muscle tightness that causes poor balance and coordination. Mental retardation, seizures and hearing problems are associated with cerebral palsy, and about 75 percent of those with cerebral palsy have some degree of cognitive impairment.
The disorder cannot be cured, but various treatments can help those with cerebral palsy improve their physical strength and prevent complications.
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