Accounting, Advocacy, and Alpha Delta Pi: Laynie Stevens’ Campus Life

In this episode, Laynie Stevens shares her journey as a college student with cerebral palsy, her leadership as past president of Alpha Delta Pi for students with disabilities & her advocacy work on the Lafayette Mayor-President’s Awareness Committee. As she prepares to graduate with a degree in Accounting, Laynie reflects on accessibility, inclusion & student representation. 

Transcript

Mary Baudoin, Host  (00:08):

Thank you everyone for joining us today for this episode of This Ability podcast. I'm joined today with Laynie Stevens. Laynie, thank you so much for being here today.

Laynie Stevens (00:17):

Thank you for having me.

speaker 1 (00:19):

You're welcome. So tell our audience a little bit about yourself.

Laynie Stevens (00:22):

So I am a student at UL. I'm majoring in accounting. I am from Lafayette, Louisiana. I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy, which I was born with. I plan to get my CPA and become a productive citizen.

speaker 1 (00:39):

That's awesome. All things going well. Knocking on wood here that you'll be graduating this May, correct?

Laynie Stevens (00:46):

Yes.

speaker 1 (00:47):

Huge knock on wood.

Laynie Stevens (00:48):

Please, please, please, please.

speaker 1 (00:51):

That's awesome. That's awesome. So I wanted to ask you if you could share your journey as a student at UL and how you've navigated college life as someone with cerebral palsy?

Laynie Stevens (01:02):

It was very hard at first. I found the campus to not be very accessible and there were a lot of challenges as a person with a disability. But I just had to come up with ways to get around and to do my everyday life and try to make it as normal as possible. For example, I have a scooter that I ride around campus, which makes it way easier for me to get around and do what I need to do and in a timely fashion. It's been hard, but I think I've figured it out and just take it day by day and figure out what to do as the days go by.

speaker 1 (01:43):

I'll talk to you a little bit more about accessibility on campus in a few minutes, so we'll definitely come back to that topic. But I did want to ask you, what inspired you to pursue a degree? What or who inspired you to pursue a degree in accounting and what's been your experience like in the accounting program here at UL?

Laynie Stevens (02:03):

Okay, so actually this is not a typical reason to be an accounting major, but it was actually my mom. When I was in high school, she was like, "You're really good at math. You should think about it." And I'm like, oh. And I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I came to college, what I wanted to major in, what I wanted to do. And so I just started with accounting because sounded like a good thing to do and I just stuck it out. My experience with the program has been good. It's a very rigorous program, so it's definitely made me question my sanity at certain points in my life. But I mean, the professors are amazing, the staff is amazing. You're amazing. So it makes it all the more better to be a part of.

speaker 1 (02:50):

You're also a member of Beta Alpha Psi. What's been your experience as a member?

Laynie Stevens (02:55):

I love Beta Alpha Psi, and it's actually because I met most of my lifelong friends, which I feel comfortable saying now through Beta Alpha Psi, and that's just been wonderful. I was worried about making friends in college and what that was going to be like, but it gave me an outlet to find people who were also majoring in accounting, who had the same goals and interests and put us all in the same room. And then it just made it to where we're able to connect and do great things.

speaker 1 (03:26):

That's awesome. And you've also been on a few conferences, correct?

Laynie Stevens (03:29):

Yes, yes. We have mid-year meetings, conferences, and we have annual meeting conferences. I've been to two mid-year meetings and one annual conference. The last annual conference was in Orlando, Florida.

speaker 1 (03:43):

Nice.

Laynie Stevens (03:44):

So I actually flew for the first time on a plane. That was interesting.

speaker 1 (03:49):

Well, as someone who uses a chair to get around, what was that experience like for you?

Laynie Stevens (03:54):

I'll be honest, it was stressful because I set up to do TSA cares, all that kind of stuff. Well, the morning of our flight, around 6:00 A.M... We were supposed to leave around 10:00 A.M. I get a text from our advisor and he's like, "Hey, our flight got canceled." And I'm like, oh, my goodness. So then they had to move airlines and move everything around. So it was just very stressful. And I felt like all the work that I had done to prepare the TSA cares and everything kind of went out the window because we just had to get there. We just had to do what we needed to do. And so that was a little frustrating.

(04:30):

We got it done. We got it done. And I will say everyone with the airline was very nice and very sweet. My mom wanted to stay with me to just help me get through security just as long as she could and then hand me over. That was a little bit of an issue because why our flight had gotten canceled is they had had some kind of technology breach, something happened, it was global or all across the United States. And so they were going to print my mom a pass to where she could come and be with me. And then whenever it was time for her to leave, she could leave. Well, because the system was down, they couldn't print that.

speaker 1 (05:05):

Oh, my gosh.

Laynie Stevens (05:05):

And so the lady told my mom, she was like, "It's okay." She was like, "Just go upstairs, go to security. Tell TSA that I, and said her name from downstairs, I can't print the pass, so you're going to have to..." Okay. So we were like, okay, that's fine. So we get upstairs to TSA, and they're like... The lady's like, "oh, you know..."

(05:22):

Well, my mom was like, "The lady downstairs told me to do this, yada, yada."

(05:26):

Well, she was like, "I can't let you through if you don't have the pass."

speaker 1 (05:29):

Oh, my God.

Laynie Stevens (05:30):

So then she had to go back downstairs and leave me. And I'm almost crying because I'm like, what if we leave and I don't get to tell you bye? And the plane plummets from the sky. As the person with anxiety, I'm like... She looked at me and she's like, "Laynie, I'll make it back to you, I promise." And I was like, okay, I won't think about my mom because when she says something, it's going to happen. So I'm like-

speaker 1 (05:53):

Love it.

Laynie Stevens (05:54):

Hopefully they help her and everything's okay because she's going to make it here the easy way or the hard way, and let's hope it's not the hard way. And then we were actually about to board the plane, and I told my advisor, who's actually one of my professors at the time, I'm like, "Can we please wait?" And he seemed a little frustrated, but we waited and she got it and everything. And then actually crazy by the end of it, apparently my mom had a meltdown when I left. Poor thing. I mean, this was probably the farthest I'd ever been from home, trying to do it by myself.

speaker 1 (06:25):

Sure. And as a mom myself, she's probably worried about your accessibility, getting to the other airport.

Laynie Stevens (06:33):

Oh, she was worried sick.

speaker 1 (06:34):

And in transportation.

Laynie Stevens (06:35):

She was worried sick.

speaker 1 (06:36):

Making sure everything is accessible for you.

Laynie Stevens (06:39):

Well, I'm about to board. I'm literally at the airplane and a lady comes running that boarded us in and she's like, "Hi, I just want to know a man would like to give you his first-class ticket." And I'm like, oh. I was like, okay. And we were actually all supposed to sit together because that's how our tickets were. But because of the last-minute transfer, all of our tickets, we got what we got and we didn't... Yeah. We were scattered. And so I looked at Dr. Met, and I'm like, "I don't want to leave you guys." And he's like, "Well, we're split up anyway." He was like, "You really should..." And so I felt so bad, but I'm like, "Okay, I'll do it. I'll do it." That was my first time ever flying, I got to fly first... Because I was, oh, we're about to take off.

(07:23):

And the tears started falling. I'm like, oh, my God, I'm on an airplane. Oh, my God. And the flight attendant, poor thing. She saw me and she's like, to me, "Are you okay?" I'm like, "Yes, I'm okay." But I was like, "Please, can you find the guy?" I didn't know who he was. Please. I want to tell him thank you. And I ended up finding him when he got off and he was like, "Did you have..."

(07:42):

I was like, "I had a great time. Thank you so much." So that was a really amazing experience. And then, I don't know, I do look young for my age.

speaker 1 (07:54):

You do. Yes.

Laynie Stevens (07:54):

And so I don't know if it was-

speaker 1 (07:54):

But you still are young.

Laynie Stevens (07:55):

I am. But when I say young, I mean, like 12-year-old status. And so we get to... Our layover was in Houston, we get to Houston. And the flight attendant's like, "The pilot would like to see you." And I'm like, "Okay."

speaker 1 (08:11):

Am I in trouble?

Laynie Stevens (08:12):

Yeah. I was like, okay. And I got to go in the cockpit and take pictures and do the whole thing. It was fabulous. But the funny part was they thought both of my professors were my parents. We had a layover and they were like, "Oh, but mom and dad, come take a picture." And both of my professors were like, "No, it's okay. We really have a flight to catch." And then when we left, my professors were like, "I wanted to tell that we weren't your parents. But then we were kind of in a rush." But yeah, it ended up okay. But it was stressful. If you've ever done... I don't know if you've ever done TSA Cares.

(08:44):

But they call you and they ask you, are you traveling? Where are you traveling to? Are your flights... Are you traveling by yourself? Are you traveling with someone? So I answered... All of that was covered. And so I was just a little frustrated. And then actually my mom told me, but when I got on the plane, she stayed to watch me take off. And she goes, "Wait." The lady at the front desk of the airline, she goes, "Wait, what was your name?" And my mom said her name. And she's like, I thought I saw her. And she pulled up my TSA Cares after the fact. So she's like, "I'm so sorry." But she's like, "I remember seeing it and then just..."

(09:19):

It's a lot going on at an airport. You got things you got to do. But it ended up working out. Actually interested in flying by myself. But I'm a little nervous because I just don't know how it's going to go.

speaker 1 (09:29):

I think you can do it, Laynie.

Laynie Stevens (09:29):

Thank you.

speaker 1 (09:30):

I know you can do it.

Laynie Stevens (09:33):

Thank you, thank you. Thank you.

speaker 1 (09:33):

If you could travel anywhere in the world, so this is just a fun question, where would you go?

Laynie Stevens (09:38):

Okay, I really want to go to Paris [inaudible 00:09:41].

speaker 1 (09:41):

Nice.

Laynie Stevens (09:42):

To see the Eiffel Tower and stuff like that. Contrary to popular belief, but actually, even though I traveling kind of heightens my anxiety, I like to travel. I've done quite a bit of traveling because my dad, he does a oil field pipeline x-ray. And so he travels for work. And so my mom and I will go visit. I mean, we've been to Tennessee.

speaker 1 (10:02):

Y'all have taken a lot of road trips?

Laynie Stevens (10:03):

Yes.

speaker 1 (10:03):

Road trips. Road trips.

Laynie Stevens (10:04):

So that's why when they were like, "Oh, we're flying."

(10:07):

I'm like, "Mm, okay."

speaker 1 (10:09):

So talking about your experience here on campus, I know that some places on campus are a little more inaccessible than others. What would you say would be your biggest physical challenge here at UL? Is there one particular building or rea-

Laynie Stevens (10:26):

As far as buildings, the one that I can think of right off of my head is Hamilton Hall. I talked about this when I did my accessibility workshop presentation. But is it accessible? Yes. But is it really? No. And I'll dig further into that. The whole front of the building has stairs. And then the other part of that has a ramp that you can go into, it doesn't have a door opener. And for some reason, they made the platform very small. So I'm on a scooter, so I need room to be able to open the door and get my scooter. And so I couldn't even do that. So they do have a handicap accessible in quotations, entrance. But the thing about that is it's all the way on the back side of the building. So it basically makes you be away from-

speaker 1 (11:13):

Civilization.

Laynie Stevens (11:14):

Yes. Civilization, yes, basically. All the people that walk, you basically have to go a separate route and nobody's around. And as a person with a disability, that's a little bit scary. Because it's like although I am very independent and I can do things myself, I can fall, things can happen as can with any person having to go away from all the people to get to where you need to be. If something were to happen to me, that's just not a very good feeling to be, oh, I'm all the way in the back of the building. How is anyone supposed to know that I am here? So that was the first concern. But it's basically just a door and it's locked from the inside. And the thing about this door is that it almost looks like they painted... It's tinted, but it almost looks like they painted black paint over it. If you just look in it, you can just see yourself. You cannot see inside. And the same goes if you're inside, you cannot see outside of the door. So no one will know if anyone's at the door. So basically-

speaker 1 (12:15):

That's a little ominous.

Laynie Stevens (12:16):

Yes. So I had a science class... Two science classes, I think, in that building. And basically what I had to do was, it was in an auditorium, I had to basically wait until class almost started, and then I had to knock on the door and hope that the professor that stood right there lecturing would hear me and could open the door. Most of the time it was fine, but there were some times where I'd have to sit outside for a good 10 to 15 minutes before... And I'm banging on this door like the police. At one point, I'm like, oh, that hurt my hand, how much I had to bang on the door. So that is one thing that comes to mind that just-

speaker 1 (12:54):

And they have not fixed that situation yet?

Laynie Stevens (12:57):

No. They have not-

speaker 1 (12:58):

... take a stroll by Hamilton Hall-

Laynie Stevens (13:00):

Not that I'm aware of. That they have fixed it.

speaker 1 (13:03):

I'll see what's going on with that. If it's a building that has classes in it, it should be-

Laynie Stevens (13:09):

Another building. This was actually more of a fix, but [inaudible 00:13:13]. I had a Calculus class in there that did not have door openers as well. But then after... I don't know who it was. I don't know if it was me. I don't know if somebody reported, but after I did my accessibility workshop, my presentation, a couple weeks later, I'm going to class. I'm like, wait a minute, there's a door opener.

speaker 1 (13:33):

Nice.

Laynie Stevens (13:33):

So they put one, which was fabulous. I was like, oh, my gosh, my complaints have been heard and one problem solved. Check it off the list.

speaker 1 (13:41):

That's good.

Laynie Stevens (13:42):

8,000 other problems. That was really neat. I've noticed that there's been changes around campus that have been in my favor, which I appreciate. And some of them, I haven't even complained about, or at least to anyone I thought that could make the change to make something happen. But then it's changed. So I don't know how they're getting my... If they're aware, if it's my complaints or if someone's just seeing that the struggles I have on campus and they're just like, oh, that's not right. And telling someone to fix it. Yes. Or I don't know, but however it's getting fixed, that's just lovely. But-

speaker 1 (14:17):

That's good. I'm glad to hear it. Well, we'll see if we can get on Hamilton Hall. Have you had any physical barriers outside of the UL campus?

Laynie Stevens (14:26):

Oh, some of it is the city. And when I say that, I mean, I'm finding handicapped parking is becoming further and further away from the entrance where handicapped parking is actually supposed to be closer to entrance, that's an issue. What I've found a lot with shopping center is they don't put... Which I understand it can be redundant. They don't put ramp in front of every business. What I've found is I'll have to go... I'll park in handicap parking, but then I have to go pretty far down before I can find a ramp to go up. And then I have to backtrack to where I wanted to go to a specific store that I passed up trying to get the ramp.

(15:04):

I consider myself to be a nice person. I try, and this is one thing that aggravates my mom to no end, but I'm very... I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I'm always trying to do that. So I'm like, well... And my mom's like, no. Everyone knows that they should not park there, but they do it anyway. That's something that's very... It's frustrating as well as, one thing my mom and I have really had trouble with is going to the store, Walmart or Target. Basket, people put their basket in the blue lines where it's supposed to be... And the one thing that gets me is the basket return is right there. Right there.

speaker 1 (15:40):

You're so right.

Laynie Stevens (15:42):

And not that this makes it right, but okay, let's say the basket return was all the way... Okay, I can kind of see, okay, you don't want to walk. I get it, I get that. But when it's right there, I'm like, okay, to give a different perspective, because a lot of people think, oh, a ramp. And that is true. I do not have a ramp. However, my mom takes my wheelchair and she puts it next to me on the passenger side so I can get out and get in my wheelchair and do all that.

(16:07):

And it just makes it easier because if I didn't use that little area, I would be taking up a parking spot, which people get very mad at you when you do. And so it's just to realize that there are different things that people need to use that area for.

speaker 1 (16:23):

Yes.

Laynie Stevens (16:24):

That are still very valid, especially the ramp. Oh, gosh. And I think about you and your daughter often. I'm like, I would be so mad if I went into the store and got everything that I needed and then you couldn't get her back into how are we supposed to get her back into the-

speaker 1 (16:39):

Right. And it's happened before. I'll have to put Lexi off in the parking lot by herself, go in my van, back it up, and configure the van to where I can unfold the ramp, which makes it very awkward, but it's like I have to leave her by herself. It's like, I don't like to do that. And then-

Laynie Stevens (17:00):

And it's something you shouldn't have to do either.

speaker 1 (17:01):

Shouldn't have to do. Because that's the whole point of having an accessible view, being able to get her out. People have to realize too, it's the clearance area that I need. It's probably a good two to three feet to bring her around-

Laynie Stevens (17:15):

Around. It's those people not thinking about... And I guess some of them think... Because I've seen your vehicle, you put stickers on the vehicle so people know that you have a ramp and they'll still do it anyway.

speaker 1 (17:27):

Yeah. People apparently can't read or see the big purple princess sticker.

Laynie Stevens (17:35):

I've seen it. It's giant. I guess they just choose not to see, I guess.

speaker 1 (17:38):

I agree with you. Something else we had talked about a while back, I remember you telling me about even the display of merchandise within a store. Sometimes it's difficult to get around that. So it's definitely something I want our audience to know is that if you have your own store, or if you go to a store that's not very accessible because of the merchandise, the way it's displayed, feel free to talk to the manager about that because-

Laynie Stevens (18:05):

And I've done it before. I've talked to a manager before about it because like I said, giving people the benefit of the doubt. And I'm not really a person of conflict either. They have all kinds of displays in the middle of the aisle, and then it's so big that it makes it to where I can't pass either way. So it's like I'm stuck and I have to find a way to go around. And it's even been bad enough to where... And on this particular day, I couldn't even go to one part of the store that I really wanted to go to. And my mom was like, "Do you want to say something?" And I guess I just got a wild of hair that one day, and I'm like, "Yeah." And so I talked to the manager about it. But yes, absolutely. And the thing that sucks about it is when I was talking to the manager, especially when you are discussing these big companies and corporations, if it's not the manager that can control what you do with that, it is the-

speaker 1 (18:54):

It's coming down from corporate.

Laynie Stevens (18:55):

Yes. Which is actually crazy to think, oh, corporate tells you where to put this table, and so you can't move this table. You know what I mean?

speaker 1 (19:02):

Right.

Laynie Stevens (19:02):

And I will say, I've had people come and move stuff for me, so I can do that. And that's great, and I appreciate the help, but it would just make it one step better if they didn't have to do that to begin with.

speaker 1 (19:16):

And I will say this too, for those that own a store or boutique or restaurant, if your shop is accessible, if you have it set up and displayed to where it is easy to get in and out, your business would probably be more frequented by people who have wheelchairs. So just something to consider.

Laynie Stevens (19:35):

I told the lady too, and the manager when I was talking to her, I'm like... I had products in my hand. I'm like, "I shop here. You're losing my money. You're making me not want to come here and shop here." And so that's when she was like, "Oh." And I'm like, "Yeah."

(19:50):

Yeah.

speaker 1 (19:52):

All right, let's change gears a little bit and let's talk about how you're balancing everything from your academic responsibilities, personal life, any type of advocacy work that you do for disabilities. Tell me how you manage to do all that and stay sane.

Laynie Stevens (20:09):

It's hard. It's so hard. I'd be lying if I told you, oh, I do it and everything's perfectly fine. I probably have a breakdown probably once a week at least. And then I gather myself up and then I'm like, oh, I can do this. And then I move things around. No, it's difficult. It's hard, especially because you mentioned about advocacy, but I'm also on the mayor president's committee for systems with disabilities, so I do that as well. And so it's difficult, especially as someone who has anxiety, and then also someone who... I'm a huge procrastinator, huge procrastinator. So when work starts piling up, I start to get overwhelmed.

(20:52):

And what I do is I have to prioritize, which I guess everyone does this, but prioritize at the time with what's going on. If I have three exams that week, then it's all about school this week. Got to put advocacy and personal life on the back burner. And so you just make adjustments as you see fit and just do the best you can. And then sometimes I've even had a test is coming up and I'm not as prepared as I'd like to be, but the world goes on and, oh, I made a C. Okay, that's okay. We continue to go forward. And so you just do what you can.

(21:28):

And personal life, it's hard for me because I'm very much work-life balanced. I'm huge about my free time, personal life and all that. So one thing that does frustrate me is when I have a lot going on, I have to, okay, no, this week, can't go out with friends, can't do this. My mom and I... I do live here on campus in the dorms, so my mom will come meet me for lunch and dinner, and I'm like, okay, if we're really in that crunch time, can't be doing all of that.

speaker 1 (21:57):

Exactly.

Laynie Stevens (21:58):

That's something that's hard for me to do, but really it's just has to do with discipline of myself to be like, okay, no, you need to be at the library. You need to study. There's other things you have to do. And it's hard to tell yourself. I'm like, oh, well, I feel like I'm missing out. I have huge FOMO. Huge FOMO, fear of missing out. But it's to realize, okay, okay, we didn't get to do that this week, then we move it to next week. It's fine. It's okay. And the world will continue to spin.

speaker 1 (22:31):

That's right. It does.

(22:32):

What advice would you give to other students with disabilities who are navigating college life?

Laynie Stevens (22:39):

It's so cliche, but don't give up. Because if you want my honest opinion, I can't believe I've made it this far. I mean, we talked about how rigorous the accounting program is, and again, assuming everything goes to plan, I'll be graduating this semester, but I have had moments where I literally, I thought I was done. I'm like, I can't go anymore. I can't do anymore. I'm tired. I am. I just want to not do this anymore. Because as someone with a disability, and it's true for even those who aren't disabled, but sometimes it just feels like everything is a fight, even just everyday things.

(23:23):

And so I came to a point in my academic career, personal life, everything was just meddling together and nothing was working. And I'm just like, it just should not be this hard. I'm tired and I have a great support system. I have my mom and my dad and all great friends in my life, and when I tell you I was this close to dropping out and being done. And I feel like not many people talk about it. They just talk about the success that they have after. And it's like, no, I was a step away from being like, okay-

speaker 1 (23:57):

To hear you say that, I mean, you're being honest and truthful and real. That been days where...probably weeks where it's been really rough, but you've managed to get through. So congratulations.

Laynie Stevens (24:09):

Thank you. Thank you.

speaker 1 (24:10):

As you approach graduation, what are your career aspirations and what do you plan to do with your degree in accounting?

Laynie Stevens (24:18):

So I would like to get my CPA, certified public accountant. However, I'm trying to be flexible with myself. I've been in school for a very long time, so everybody goes to school until they graduate high school. And then I took a gap year and I had surgery on my legs and all that kind of stuff. And then I started college during COVID. And so I've been in college for... I'm graduating, this is my fifth year. I have these aspirations, I want to do them, but I'm also trying to give myself grace that if I don't get around to doing the CPA, is also very rigorous. It has about a 50% pass rate for the exam. So I'm trying to give myself grace and say, if I don't make it, that's okay.

(25:02):

And trying to find comfort in that my degree still matters. If I don't get the CPA, I still have my bachelor's degree in accounting, and that is enough because I feel nowadays... I mean, the job market is so competitive, and I feel like people feel like they have to do everything that they can to give them a cutting edge. And that's true. But also, the accomplishments that you've completed already having a degree count for something and should count for something.

speaker 1 (25:32):

Absolutely.

Laynie Stevens (25:33):

But yes, I'd like to get my CPA, and I'm not huge on public accounting if I'm being honest. But just because it can be the long hours, it can be very demanding. I think I want to start out in public because they really say the experience and knowledge that you get from working in public, I mean, it's the type of knowledge that you can only get from doing that.

(25:57):

It opens doors and that kind of thing. So I really do think having that type of experience will be helpful for me. Yeah, we'll see what the future holds, I guess we'll see what happens. They also suggest doing the CPA exam right out of school, and I'm nervous to take a break or go into the workforce, because that's what happens. You go into the workforce and-

speaker 1 (26:18):

You forget some things. Yeah.

Laynie Stevens (26:20):

Yeah. [inaudible 00:26:20] aside, we have meetings and people come talk to us. And recently, Becker a CPA review course came and talked to us and they were talking about once you exit, once get out of the school mindset, it is so hard to get back.

speaker 1 (26:34):

Let's talk about your CPA diagnosis for a minute. Does it affect you just physically or were there any kind of neurological delays or anything that CP affected-

Laynie Stevens (26:45):

As far as I'm aware, I believe that it is just physical. However, the older that I get, the more I'm starting to see things with my health come up. Something recently that has come up within the past couple of years is I started getting very tired, so tired that I could not stay awake. This started happening probably when I was in high school, junior, senior of high school, and I just kept going. Because I thought, oh, you're in high school, you're staying up late, and then you're waking up early. And then I got into college and I was falling asleep taking exams. I'm like, this is not normal.

(27:22):

So I went to my neurologist about it, and I don't think I really have a diagnosis other than just being excessively sleepy. But I've been put on Adderall and that seems to be helping keep me awake and stuff like that. I've never had seizures, so that is something that has not been an issue for me. But I always keep a neurologist on retainer, if you will, because I never know. I mean, tomorrow could happen and I could start having seizures. The other thing that I consider, I guess to be neurological is my anxiety. I've had anxiety probably since I was about eight years old.

(27:57):

It's getting better now. I mean, it was rough there for a minute, and anxiety is normal. Sometimes I wonder if the anxiety is just because I have so much on my plate, I'm worrying about regular things that normal non-disabled kids and people worry about, and that I'm worrying about things that normal non-disabled people don't have to worry about. So it just kind of piles up. Or if that anxiety aspect is part of a psychological or neurological thing of that could be a part of my brain that's damaged that causes the anxiety and things like that. It's just kind of working it out.

speaker 1 (28:34):

Do you know what age you were diagnosed with cerebral palsy?

Laynie Stevens (28:38):

Two.

speaker 1 (28:38):

So did your parents talk to you about how it was discovered and things like that?

Laynie Stevens (28:42):

So I actually know the whole story. So originally I was still a baby. I don't know how old, maybe I'm being generous, six to nine months old, and I couldn't sit up. I couldn't do anything like that. And so my mom started noticing. Well, she took me to the pediatrician and they were like, "Oh, yeah, we should get this looked at." I believe it was a neurologist. Because we used to have to travel to New Orleans, and I think it was United Way is where I was diagnosed. But one of the neurologists, my mom took me and he literally looked at my mom and he said, "oh, she can't roll over and sit up because she's obese."

(29:21):

Oh.

speaker 1 (29:22):

Yeah.

Laynie Stevens (29:23):

Which he wasn't wrong. Okay. I was a chunky baby. He wasn't wrong, okay. But what he was wrong about was the reason I couldn't sit up and roll over wasn't because I was obese, but the reason that I was obese was because I could not sit up or roll over or do anything. That went on for a while, and my mom kind of thought it was a crock. She's like, this is... Okay. It's more than obesity. I mean, I was chunky, but it's more than that. Just kind of kept going back to neurologists. And then finally someone, I think it was ordered at MRI, and then that's when they saw, and that's when I got my diagnosis.

speaker 1 (29:59):

Who or what has been your greatest source of support throughout your journey?

Laynie Stevens (30:05):

My mom and my dad, without a doubt. And pretty much all of my family. I do have a great support system. I mean, my mom is my best friend. She's just-

speaker 1 (30:13):

Oh, that's good to hear.

Laynie Stevens (30:13):

It is good to hear. But it can also be a little bit dangerous when you get in the teenage and then you-

speaker 1 (30:22):

Oh, yeah. You start talking about dating and hormones coming around-

Laynie Stevens (30:28):

Where it's like-

speaker 1 (30:29):

Going out.

Laynie Stevens (30:30):

Yeah, we have this line of she's my best friend, but she's also my mom. And you have to keep that in mind. She's amazing. And I mean, I think most of it happened that way is because we're each other's best friend, because I didn't have very many friends growing up. And then my poor mom, I mean, she did have friends, but most of the time was spent with me. Just I feel like we feed off of each other and in a way that that's good. But in a way of the older I get, the more I see, oh, we need to work on that. We need to work on doing things separately as individuals. And so it's finding that balance of her still being my best friend, doing everything together to realize there's some things we have to do by ourselves.

speaker 1 (31:10):

Yeah. We're wrapping up the end of the interview now. So I want to ask you one final question. If you could share one message or one topic with our audience, what would it be?

Laynie Stevens (31:21):

I guess it goes back to never give up. That's a huge thing. Realize that you are going to be different and there are going to be things that you're going to have to do that other people don't have to do and try... The critical thinking, I feel like is huge. There's things that you cannot do or there's things you can do. It just has to be adjusted. So the critical thinking is, I can't do it this way, but I can do it this way. How do I make it to where this is something I can do? And to just accommodate yourself and to try to think of ways that you can do things that will be different from the average individual, but will make it to where you're still able to live your life and you're still able to do things, which I think is huge.

(32:01):

I mean, because it happens in my everyday life. I thought about it recently, moving out like an apartment. You can get a handicap accessible apartment, but there are some things that you're going to have to work on. And one thing I've noticed, a lot of apartments have microwaves that are high up. I don't know whose idea that was, but that's not very handicap accessible. So to have to think, how are we going to fix that? How are we going to make it to where my apartment is accessible for me? And also, you have to think of it in a way that it's an apartment, for example, so you can't make very many changes to it, or at least permanent changes. So you have to think of solutions that will be not permanent, but work for you.

speaker 1 (32:40):

Exactly.

Laynie Stevens (32:41):

So I feel like it's very much about critical thinking. You're always trying to think of something new, how to help yourself and how to live. And as a disabled person in an able-bodied world, I think that's just... Don't give up and continue to work towards what you want to work towards, whether it be your independence or advocacy or whatever fits you [inaudible 00:33:05].

speaker 1 (33:04):

Sounds great, Laynie. Well, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring-

Laynie Stevens (33:09):

Thank you.

speaker 1 (33:09):

Story with us.

Laynie Stevens (33:09):

Thank you for having me.

speaker 1 (33:10):

Well, everybody, this is going to wrap up this episode of This Ability Podcast. So thank you for listening.