A View From a Seat

By Christopher Miller

My name is Christopher Miller, the view I happen to have is a view from a wheelchair. I live with spastic cerebral palsy which affects my mobility and speech. I believe that people with disabilities need to be involved in the political process. I just happen to have A View from a Seat. My journey through life is one with hills, valleys, curves,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christopher Miller
• Release date: May 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781959898092

Christopher Miller

Christopher Miller is the author of the novels The Cardboard Universe, a Huffington Post Best Book of the Year and finalist for the Believer Book of the Year Award, and Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects, a Seattle Times Best Book of the Year. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

Book preview

A View

from a Seat

Christopher E. Miller

Copyright © Christopher Miller 2022

All Rights Reserved

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

Acknowledgment

It is wonderful to see this book finally published. I would like to acknowledge my scribes, Joan and Cheryl for typing my manuscript. I would also like to acknowledge Michael Avella for illustrating the jacket of the book. To my friend, Hoffer, thank you for always being there when I needed you. Finally, I need to acknowledge my wonderful parents, Carole and Jeff Miller without them this journey would not be possible. Words cannot express the true gratitude and love that makes my life possible.

About the Author

As a disability advocate transformed into a political scientist advocating for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and their families, Christopher Miller decided to share his story, A View from a Seat. Christopher is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. He has dedicated his life to improving access and opportunities for individuals living with disabilities. The goal of the book is that the reader will gain some knowledge about the importance that we all play in life with little ups and downs. But the larger goal of the book is to give insight and calm the fears about the unknown regarding disability issues.

He is currently working at Disability Rights New Jersey as an assistant to the policy director. Disability Rights New Jersey is a member of the National Disability Rights Network. Christopher has graduated from Partners in Policy Making and has his Associate’s Degree from Brookdale Community College. He graduated cum laude from Monmouth University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a minor in Public Policy.

Christopher Miller is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and a member of Pi Sigma Alpha. He served as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities and was also a member of the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD). During his career at Monmouth University, he had the opportunity to attend The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, where he interned at The Administration for Community Living.  It was here that he got to present to The Chinese Ministry on Civil Affairs, ACL’s counterpart in China. This experience really changed the perception of persons with disabilities.

Away from advocacy work, Christopher currently lives at the Jersey Shore, where he enjoys the sand and sea. He was honored to be the Grand Marshall of the Disability Pride Parade. He also can be found on his family’s boat fishing for fluke.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Introduction

Preface

CHAPTER 1 A Snapshot of the Sheriff

CHAPTER 2 A Sparkle of Dreams

CHAPTER 3 I Made it to Monmouth

CHAPTER 4 From the Jersey Shore to DC

CHAPTER 5 Fly Hawks!

CHAPTER 6 I'm Going Places

CHAPTER 7 My Voice Matters

CHAPTER 8 Voice on Wheels

CHAPTER 9 Advocating for a Piece of the Pie

CHAPTER 10 Why We Need Personal Care Assistance

CHAPTER 11 The Importance of Person First Language

CHAPTER 12 Rolling Through

CHAPTER 13 Rebuilding: Body and Soul

CHAPTER 14 My Voice, My Journey

Epilogue

Ode to My America

True to the Red, White and Blue

Introduction

This book has been on my mind since I was young. It had many names, but I settled on ‘A View from a Seat’ because I think it describes me very well. I am an author, who lives with spastic cerebral palsy, which affects my mobility and speech. I need assistance with everyday tasks such as dressing, bathing, and eating. I use a motorized wheelchair for my main mobility. To write independently, I use assistive technology, which is explained in greater detail in the book. Right now, I have a wonderful assistant typing for me. I developed the concept for my book by living my life day in and day out…

I started as an advocate for persons with disabilities and later transitioned into a political scientist, advocating for the rights and dignity of people with disabilities and their families. After that, I decided to share my story, ‘A View from a Seat,’ hoping my readers would gain some knowledge about the importance of life and how little bouts of ups and downs should not take away from the joy it brings. However, my larger goal with this book is to give you an insight into how you can calm your fears about the unknown regarding disability issues. I recognize I am not the end all, be all source when it comes to CP or other disabilities; I’m just one person with spastic cerebral palsy.

My family is my biggest support. Without their love and encouragement, I wouldn’t be writing this book or advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. My grandma, who ended up moving in with us later in life, was always fun to be around. She always had lemon drops and Hershey chocolates for me to eat when I visited her in her room. My grandma was a nurse for many years; she would always babysit my brother and me on New Year’s Eve, which was always a wonderful time for the family. I always enjoyed hearing stories about her childhood and where she grew up. Interestingly, when I was deciding to be a political science major, we didn’t end up in the same party, but I think this is where I learned the importance of listening to all sides of the issue without judging anyone. We had fun, betting on the Yankees and the Mets. She was a diehard fan of the Mets. To this day, I find myself rooting for the Mets and thinking how I would lose a dollar every time they won.

To my nieces and nephews, I strive to be a great uncle who’s always there for you all. I hope you all know you can talk to me, not only about the good stuff but also about the not-so-good stuff. Whenever you need advice, you can come to me, and I promise my ears will always be open for you. Watching you grow up has brought me great joy; having you all at my rallies and demonstrations means the world to me. I hope I have shown you that people with disabilities may be different, but that doesn’t make them less of a person. Having individuals with disabilities in your life should be taken care of and valued, which will benefit both you and them.

I always advocated for the student body throughout my primary education years. I even had a column in the student newspaper called Miller Time, where I would write about timely news stories. I would always end it with ‘this is Miller Time’, meaning this is my opinion and mine alone. One day I came into the office and found a teddy bear with tape over its mouth. It dawned on me instantly that it was a direct result of a recent article I had written about a teddy bear for Valentine’s Day called ‘The Crazy for You Bear’. This bear was sold with a straightjacket and commitment papers. Even without the training I have now, I knew this was offensive because I felt offended. I wrote an article outlining my disagreement with the bear, and a couple of days after its publication, I found another teddy bear with tape over its mouth in the office. This experience has stuck with me. I did not bring it to the attention of school administrators because I wanted to keep it between that individual behind it and me. That is when I realized the power of the pen, which continues to push me forward to this day.

Preface

This may be difficult for some readers, and I have no intention of doing that, but it just so happens that this is how I write. I would like to thank my family for always supporting me and helping me along the way. Thank you to all my current and former direct support caregivers. Without all of you, I would never be able to write this. Thank you to my assistant for typing this right now because, without you, it would have probably taken me two years to finish this short story. Now that all the acknowledgment is out of the way, it is time to get down to business.

A bit about me: I am 37 years old, and I happen to live with spastic cerebral palsy, which affects my mobility and speech. As a result, I need assistance with everything, including activities of daily living (ADLs), such as dressing, feeding, getting me in and out