The Palsy Podcast - Episode 17 - Etienne LeSage

Ciaran is joined on today's episode of The Palsy Podcast by Etienne LeSage. Etienne is an ICF-Trained life coach and minister from Canada. Etienne talks about his work as a minister, and growing older with Cerebral Palsy. Etienne talks about his experience of post-impairment syndrome and how he came to work as a life coach. You can find out more about Etienne here 

https://risingdisabled.com. 

https://www.skool.com/rebuilding-with-disability-1432/about 

@risingdisabled 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Palsy Podcast with me here in the show. I'm a playwright, screenwriter, and podcaster for social. See how Marky is so palsy awareness of months to market, I've decided to interview interesting people who have so palsy from Wales and beyond every day in Mark. If you like this episode, please stay tuned for World throughout the month and like and share. Now enjoy this episode of the Palsy Podcast. Hello and welcome to this episode of the Palsy Podcast and me, Kieran Fitzgerald, or should I say bonjour bienvenue podcast? Oh Croy Sorry, the Palsy Podcast. So we got English there, we've got Welsh, but we've also got French. Because today I'm not joined by someone from Wales or even someone from the UK. Hey, I am joined by someone I've different actually. Uh Etienne Lesar. I hope I pronounced that correctly. Perfectly, I'm impressed. Thank you very much, my French that I did in school is coming in handy. Thank you so much for joining me at relatively short notice today.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Hey, it's such a pleasure. I'm excited. I'm excited. I always like to get to meet, uh love to meet uh brothers and sisters with CPs. And now uh I got an invitation from someone in Wales. It's like, wow, I gotta jump on this. So thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Thanks so much. Because I had a bit of a gap. I was worried that this whole project was going to collapse because I couldn't fill it with things. But um the first thing I want to ask you is what I kick off all of these with. Is like what was your experience growing up with cerebral palsy?

SPEAKER_01 2:20

So um I was a premature baby, and I was born in 1977 when technology was was not that evolved, and I was born in northwestern Quebec, far from Montreal, which is the you know the big the big medical center. So um the government flew me and my mother to Montreal. Uh and and uh I was born there premature. Um uh I was weighing only two pounds, and uh I stayed in the hospital for two months until doctors told my parents who had to phone in every day to see if I was still alive, that I was out shopping on St. Catharine Street. So they they knew that I would be that I would be okay. And um, I would say that my early childhood was was was very happy. I was always a joyful baby, and uh I started to walk maybe at three years and a half. My parents were were getting ready to maybe get a wheelchair for me or something, but um I started later later as uh than expected, and um uh it was a it was a great surprise. No one in the family thought that I would walk. Of course, I walked differently. My gate, my gait was different, but I didn't know I was a different boy until I started school.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Like, what was there a moment where you realized that you were different, that you were just it's it's the way, it's the way other kids were looking at me.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

And and they were calling me names that that had nothing to do with my name, which was not something that happened with my friends in in the street when I was playing out. Uh, but you know, when they called me crippled freak and and and and other names that are that are quite painful, I was like, whoa, uh oops, uh, I I'm I'm not like them. And uh that was um, you know, kids can be mean sometimes. Adults too, but adults are more polite. But but kids, you know, they they have less filters, and and so it was um it was difficult. Of course, when they realized that I could that you know my strongest muscle is uh is the mouth. Yeah, the the that that okay, um I I was I was able to make some friends, but still the teasing was um was that must have been difficult to deal with.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

You must have had to build up a lot of strength to be able to put up with you know name calling and things like that.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yes, I guess what helped me in elementary school is that my mother was a school teacher where I was going. So I think they knew that they they shouldn't they they shouldn't mess with Ziane's sons too much. But but but it's when I went to high school that that okay I didn't have the protection of mom anymore. And this is when it got it got tougher.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

And in the United Kingdom that we have you know most kids who have CP are put into mainstream schools. Was that the case in Canada? Did your parents have to fight to get you in mainstream education?

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Uh no, because well, um, before kindergarten, I was going to a specialized daycare where I didn't really belong. But back in the days, they put they lumped all the kids with different disabilities together. So that's like mobility, hearing, sight, and cognitive. And and and frankly, I didn't know what I was doing there. Uh, but I liked the afternoon where I would go to normal kindergarten and then then that that that'd be fun. Uh, but no, I was uh Kieran, I was always a very strong student in school. I was lucky. I I I think school is not made for everyone. Now we know that there's different kind of different kinds of intelligences, but mine was really good with school. So I was not only teased because I was a disabled person, but I also because I was a nerd and they were jealous of that, you know.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

So so so there would be I think that's something that I used in school, like intelligence to like outwit people, outsmart people, and like using it as a defensive mechanism or just yes, uh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Uh that came in uh a little later with you know for me, but first sadly, um I think disability made me into a people pleaser. And so and my one of one of my one of my gifts was like empathy and like and like I was so perceptive, people would say, man, you can read my thoughts, and this is really good in relationships because people like to be understood, yeah. But it's it's later in life that you have to learn, okay, no, I cannot just please other people. It's like no, no, no, no. I I can use this strength, but but I have to be true to myself too.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Especially if that people pleasing is having a negative effect on you as a person. You've got uh, you know, trust your instincts, and that's I'm trying to then other, but it is difficult to master that, I think.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, well, be patient with yourself. It it's it's a kind of a lesson of a lifetime, you know. And now I I I look at you and I I I I think I have a few years over you. Uh, you know, I I'm I'm I'm 48. You look like you baited milk, you're so young. Thank you. I'm 30. Uh well, I'll be 31 on Saturday. Oh, oh, happy birthday!

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah, yeah, and it's just at some point, uh we just want to stand up for ourselves. Uh well, no, sorry. I show up for ourselves, you know. Whoops, I just use an ableist expression. See, uh we have to watch ourselves too. I meant like show up for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

If you absolutely it's but it's so easy to fall into those little kind of ableist expressions, like uh no judgment store, because it's your second language, and I really appreciate you doing that in English. But yeah, we've got to like be bold and advocate for ourselves and learn to advocate for ourselves because I think so often our parents had to do so much for in terms of fighting when we were kids, now taking that on. There's a lot, I think. So that's moving on a little bit from school. Like, did you go to university? What did you study in university?

SPEAKER_01 9:41

So I I wanted to study in the media and I wanted to be a radio host because I was kind of born with a microphone. But but my father convinced me to have a job where you could sit down so that you wouldn't fall and you wouldn't trip and you wouldn't yang yang yang yang. So I listened and and I studied computer science. It was one of my hobbies, and I became a team leader in software development for the Canadian federal government. Uh um, so that was my first career before I took the plunge to become a minister. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

And what sort of things were you doing for the Canadian government? What was your role? And what kind of software were you developing?

SPEAKER_01 10:33

I was I was developing all sorts of software that they would use to administer social programs, uh um uh to do budgeting, uh uh to communicate with the Canadian public and to offer services. And uh for for various for various departments, uh uh was involved with statistics a lot, so always like dealing with demographics and trying to make our computers smart because our computers are not smart until the the programmers are as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Like I really in my my brother is a computer scientist, and I know he works for the I don't know if you know the NHS in the UK, which is the the health service, but like it sounds really complicated, but it's so important to keep these systems running because they're vital to the way society functions. And like having gone to talk about your work as a minister, what strikes me is that you and quite a lot of other people I don't want to give something right, want to help people. Is that has that been a big part of your motivation through the different jobs you've done during your career?

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Um, I've always been a people person, and I first felt my call to ministry when I was 17. And and as most as most French Canadian people, most people, Quebecers, most uh people from Quebec, uh, I was raised Catholic. So that was kind of an issue for me because uh because I wanted to have kids, and uh I was always against forced syllacy. So so and I and I thought when I was 17, uh my spiritual directors didn't guide me properly, and that's why I chose I I chose to go the computer science way, but then when um when I found in my 30s, when I found uh um another denomination that really fits everything I believe in, the United Church of Canada, and is really, really big on diversity. Uh that uh my call came back. You know, I you say that I was ambushed by the Holy Spirit, and then now I was able to say yes, but I was kind of it was a bold move to leave uh uh a job for the government. They gave me a five-year leave of absence. I sold my house in Ottawa, and and I moved into a basement apartment in Montreal and I went to seminary, and oof, they they the people thought in the government, oh, he's gonna come back, but no, no, I didn't. And uh yeah, um, I was just made to be a a minister. It is it is so me. Uh, but then I had to stop that too. Uh well, I'm still a minister, but not in churches anymore because those old buildings are not accessible.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

I was I was going to ask you, like, what were the barriers to you becoming a minister? Did you face any discrimination on your journey? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Well, well, yes. Okay, so first of all, uh people uh in my denomination, and it's not just my denomination, I think it's it's a general institutional problem in society, okay? Uh, it's that everyone was seeking me for my gifts, for what makes me, you know, for how I stand out uh in in a good way, but they would always ignore my limitations and put me in physical situation that would be so hard and causing me a lot of stress. Like it's fine if you ask me to go preach at a national convention and and and but then if if if you don't make sure that I'm able to get to the pulpit, well, we have a problem. If you don't make sure that I'm able to go to the bathroom, we have a problem. They don't think, they don't know how humiliating it is to pee yourself, uh big, you know, uh, and so so things like that. So I kept saying, okay, it's good that you recognize what I'm good at and that you're seeking me. But if you ignore if if you ignore my my physical limitations, then I don't call I don't I don't call this as brotherly love and and and respect. My own ordination was not accessible. And you know, I had asked uh for months, let me help you. Uh can we can can we visit sites together? Can I give you tips on what I need? And they would always say, no, no, no, no, we've got it covered, but but people don't get it.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

Surely in that situation, whatever the organization is, I I work in theater, I'm playwright, and surely the organization has to listen to the person with the lived experience if they want to change. Like, say I'm working with a certain theater, I tell them what I need and they put the access in play. Like, do you think there's a long way to go in terms of accessibility within the church, or do you think it was that particular that was the problem?

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yes, because I I also think when I was um uh uh in my last church, I think people were hoping that that, oh, we're gonna become a mega church with them. But then when my disability kind of changed because of that post-impairment syndrome, they weren't talking about, yes. Yeah, which which we we had talked about during interviews. I said, yes, I'm you know, you want me to be your minister, fine, but we should we should talk about what we do if if if it my my physical condition ever changes, and and they said, oh no problem, no problem. But when it did, it was a problem. And um we're always uh put in the position of having to figure out everything. And uh I I was I was faced with a lot of resistance to do things differently so that we could be effective and we could meet our objectives. I find that individuals are really nice and they want to listen, but when you talk to bigger groups or the bigger the institution, they go back to their policy and and and and and and they're they're they're really rigid and they don't think about win-win situation. Asking for accommodation is not a burden if if when we find the right thing, we can actually be successful together. It's not charity, you know?

SPEAKER_00 18:06

So it's about collaboration as well between the organization and the individual. And like it shouldn't be all on the individual to say, oh, I need like you're right in what you're saying, it's about collaboration, and it shouldn't be met with negativity or from side of the organization. I mean, it should be an opportunity to broaden like the knowledge of what different people need. Because, you know, I think everyone, whether they're disabled or not, they've got access requirements, they need certain things to function every day, whether they're disabled or not. So it should be everyday life, I think.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

I like to hear you uh say something like that because what I started teaching to people is that if we live long enough, if we're blessed to have a life that is long enough, uh we will all end up experiencing disability, whether it's from birth, whether it's from illness as the result of an accident or just aging. So you and I, Kieran, we just have a head start on them. But but but but uh and they should listen to us because we have some experience. But when I when I present this, I say, buddy, whether you want it or not, you'll be disabled one day, and you'll be happy that when it's your turn to become disabled, you won't get excluded because we will already have thought about it.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Exactly, and that's what we need to change. I think I'm gonna move on slightly, but it's on a similar theme, it's about that thing of post-impairment uh syndrome, like in many countries, like in in the UK and Wales and England, sober palsy is still recognised as a non-progressive condition, and also in the UK, it's recognised as primarily a childhood condition. There's not a lot of research in terms of adults with CP, and a lot of adults uh experience post-imperiment syndrome. You've dealt with that yourself. Like, what was that like to you, and how did you deal with it? Not just physically, but also the psychological side of it.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

So I I so I didn't know that this would happen to me because everyone told me, no, no, it's cerebral palsy is a state, it's not a disease, it will not change. So I planned my life accordingly, but oh oh, surprised when you know, um, so in my life, I had to learn, I'm currently learning how to walk again for the third time. And and and I'm getting there. I'm I'm very hopeful. But you know, so in in many times in my life when my disability changed first was like, oh, I need a cane when I'm 16. Oh, uh, whoops, I can't cross a street anymore when I'm 40. So, oh, I need a walker, and then oh, whoops, my dog jumps on me, I fall, I break my hip, I have to, you know, so the the the these things happen. And so every time my resilience, my my life skills that I developed were enough, except for the last time. When I have a lot of time at work and and and and a lot of hard time at work and realize, oh boy, I can no longer pretend I can perform exactly like a non disabled person. You know, I hit the wall, and and and what are we? Going to do with this? What's happening? What's happening to my life? So we don't have any help for that. Because I don't know about the UK, but in Canada, the only social services you have about disability is medical, trying to fix you. And if they can't, how to put you on government, government financial assistance plans that are that are like legislated poverty plans that they keep they keep you poor at home and they forbid you to contribute to society, which is completely counterintuitive. We disabled people have a lot to give to society. So I couldn't find any help anywhere. I went to therapists, but they said, like figuring out what to do with your life now is not a therapy gold. Some people sent me to psych emergency and they said, What are you doing here? You're disabled. We don't have yes, we know it's hard, but it's like you're not psychotic. You're not, you know, I was very depressed because I didn't know where to go. And and and then I found out about coaching, which is actually what I needed, Kieran. I needed a coach to help me figure out where I wanted to go with my life because my my inner mechanisms were not enough anymore.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

And and do you think you needed a coach at that time who understood what it was like to experience that transition, that loss of function, that post impairment syndrome? Do you think it would have helped to have known someone who had been through it, done it? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

That's that's what I want. I wanted, friend, because I was getting all sorts of general advice that was not applicable to my kind of life with all sorts of apolist self-health bullshit, uh uh and and and uh, you know, all sorts of things things like, oh, you've just got to try a little bit harder, be positive, your CPU, like these things that non-disabled people say, that is really unhelpful. As if we don't try, we're the masters at trying hard. We could teach them trying hard, but at some point, it doesn't help anymore. At some point, we have to, I don't know where you are in your journey, but uh I sense that you and I will become friends and and and I'll I'll learn more about you. I would say that uh but but but there comes a time where you you can no longer be like like the stereotypical way of seeing disability in Canada, it's probably the same thing it in your corner of the world, is you're either a pitiful disabled person or you're this superman. You know, we call we call themselves the super cripples that you inspire everyone and who's like you know, it's the Paralympic, like like sports, and and but this puts so much pressure on us to to to always be the victorious person to to inspire everyone, where we don't give a damn about inspiring other people, we just want to be appreciated for who we are and a chance to contribute, right?

SPEAKER_00 25:36

And like we shouldn't have to prove ourselves every day that we deserve basic treatment like anybody else. Exactly, and yet and yet I sometimes feel like comparisons with other people, like oh, you're not doing it, but you we should be valued as individual, the individuals that we all are, and and and and we should value ourselves as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:06

It's not just about other people's perception, what stops us also and what's unkind with us is is is what we think about ourselves. One of the first things I I work on with my coaching clients is okay, let's let's take a look. You know, it's it's uncomfortable, but let's take a look at really what you think about disability that is actually not helping you right now. Because you deserve only stuff that helps you. There's tons of stuff that will help you, but you gotta get rid of uh of what is keeping you stuck. So that that that's kind of the the first step. Like it's our even sometimes our own ableism, you know.

SPEAKER_00 26:53

So what do disabled people have to unlearn then? What would you say is the biggest thing that disabled people have to unlearn about the kind of I would call it institutional ableism that we come across in everyday life? What is the main thing that you come across with your clients that you work with?

SPEAKER_01 27:14

I'm thinking of two things, and if you want, I can also give you an example of where I discovered I was an ableist like like this week. Please, please. So okay, so okay, so first of all, I was part of a political convention online, and and to make sure it was inclusive, there was to be like sign language interpretation.

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Okay, so I was there, and I don't need signing sign language, but I was there, and then I saw some person um signing and and and with the name of the moderator, and my thought was oh, they are having technical issues because I can only see this the the interpreter, but it's only 10 minutes after that I told myself, oh, it's in you you you silly ableist guy. You know, it was not the interpreter I was looking at, it was the moderator. So I I I I I never figured out that it was possible that a person who primarily speaks in using the sign language is the actual moderator of a political debate. I had never seen that, but it is possible. So I kind of chided myself for that. And and I I felt a bit ashamed after that. I told myself, well, be kind, it's yang, it's sing, it it's it's we always have to work on it, you know. It's like absolutely ableism is one of the isms that is the most hidden because we don't talk about it, we talk about racism, sexism, uh, you know, but ableism is so ingrained in us that that we so when when if you find out that you have some of it inside, be kind. It's it helps to name it and and and then you grow.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

And and not be hard on yourself for just recognize it and then right, how can I adapt my behavior to be more inclusive, to be more.

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Absolutely. I I'd like to tell you two things, if you don't mind, that I believe we need need to unlearn. You ask me that question. It depends. It depends if I'm working with someone who's been disabled for a long time, or or someone, someone who's newly disabled. So that ableism things, it's it, you know, it's it's good for even for people who've been disabled for a long time. But the newly disabled people, what they struggle the most about it is that, oh no, I I'm used to not needing help. And now I have to need help. Well, I've experienced that also uh when I used to be able to dress myself, but not anymore. I need to have a caregiver to come and and to dress me when I get out of the shower. That means that a lot of people in my town have seen my butt cheeks. And you know, and and at first it's it's a bit uncomfortable, but then you realize, oh, because I'm receiving help, I have a lot more energy to go help other people after. Like if I would stuck to try to dress myself, I would be so exhausted that I would have no energy to speak to you right now.

SPEAKER_00 30:47

And prioritizing what's important in your what you want to do, what you want to reach rather than like independence doesn't mean doing everything by you also independence means finding a way working that works for you that you can reach the best.

SPEAKER_01 31:08

I don't think that independence exists. Nobody is an island, nobody is fully autonomous. We were not created to be like that. It's like we're talking about interdependence. I want to be able to depend on people, and and because I need good relationships, I want people to be able to depend on me too. Interdependence, not full autonomy. It's like we're not, we're not nobody's living alone in the woods.

SPEAKER_00 31:37

And and I wanted to, it's not on the question sheet, but off the back of that, you mentioned being a parent, being a father. How much is that fed into that? Like how what was that journey like for you?

SPEAKER_01 31:51

Um, can you sorry, can you repeat that? Be did you say being a parent?

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Yeah, did you mention before that you were a parent?

SPEAKER_01 31:59

I wanted to have kids, I still don't have kids. But but my so so I'm getting married in July, Kieran.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Congratulations!

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Yes, yes, yes. Uh, I'm getting married. I never thought I'd get married at 48, but hey, my journey was a bit longer because I'm I'm I'm actually marrying another man, you know. Congratulations! Thank you, thank you. And now he told me last week that he wants to have a kid. I'm like, oh boy, let's get married first. And and we'll see. I think I'd be a great dad, but but yeah, I'm worrying more about the age thing, but we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Well, keep me updated, please do keep me updated on the journey and how like and and in terms of your your religion, how important has that been in your life and what was your journey to becoming a minister in the United Church of Canada like?

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Wow. Well, first, uh it's like I had um um if you know Christian beliefs a bit, like if we talk about Trinity, I won't get preachy with you, but I was kind of mad. I I I was I was mad at God, but I was I but Jesus was my friend, and I'll tell you why. You know, I was trying to find out, you know, when doctors told me at eight years old, uh I asked them, What are you going to cure me? And they said, Well, you've got cerebral palsy. We don't we don't get cured from that. And when I realized that, oh shit, I will be the I will be different for the rest of my life. My heart was broken, and I decided I was, um, I had to blame someone, and it so I I said, Well, creator. And but I was a good, but but Jesus was a a good friend because because he knew what it was to suffer, and he was he liked people who were different. And even like even like in scripture, he falls down all the time, and someone is helping me up, and he's so yo, so I really identify to that part. Yeah, and and going through seminary, well, you can't have a disability and go through seminary and and and be and and work hard at becoming at peace with your disability spiritually because because you have to help other people too. And now I think I I made sense of it, you know. I think I think I feel like um just like even having a disability, I think we're create all created in the same image because we are creators too. We create things, we are vulnerable the same way, the same way God wasn't Jesus, and we're interdependent. So so so with that with that image, it it it fits with me.

SPEAKER_00 35:03

And what kind of response have you had as um someone who's gone into the shirt female congregation if they accepted you as a minister? And what's your relationship like with the people who always always very good?

SPEAKER_01 35:22

I married a lot of people, buried a lot of people, you know, and and baptized people, and and uh uh a lot of people who were different. Uh a lot of LDBT LGBTQI people came to me, people with disabilities, even homeless people. I worked, uh work with them, all sorts of people who felt they were in the margins, they kind of recognized oh, there our leader is is is also from the margins. Our leader is going to understand, and even like aging people, yes. Until I asked to change my work schedules and things, yes. Uh you know, I can't. I I uh I was I was I was popular, but when I started asking for accommodation, then oh uh really it it it it it changed, yes.

SPEAKER_00 36:18

Have you managed to put push back against some of those, you know, no criticisms?

SPEAKER_01 36:26

Yes, um um yes, uh, but mainly uh teaching a lot. So I think if I was still in church, I'd say that, like, hey, we're all gonna we're all gonna be disabled one day. So let's open, let's open our minds and our hearts now, because everyone's gonna win if if if we're more sensitive to that. We can choose to be, it's like if you choose to ignore it, if you put your head in the sand, you know, it's gonna be a lot harder when it's your turn. And and people were starting to open to that too. But we have to take care of ourselves. It's like I thought, I thought now I think I'm able to help more people as a coach than being in church and being exhausted with all those stares and and and you know, going all the visits to the hospitals. And now big because I want to be kind to myself, I I I work from my home. So my work as a coach is perfect for that.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

What kind of difference are you making to the people that you coach? What improvements in people's lives you say?

SPEAKER_01 37:41

Uh well, first, if we're a newly disabled person, we need to accept our disability. This this is hard. Uh, people don't look for accepting their disability, but if you don't, that it's it's kind of it's a big stumbling block. And and we don't accept it all in one time. But I can I like to talk about the gifts of disability because we don't talk, we talk about inconvenience, but we don't talk about what disability gives us, like the superpowers it gives us. We become more aware of ourselves and what's inside. We we we become wiser, we have more empathy, which gig in turn is gonna give us better relationships. We become more creative, we can adapt. So then when unexpected things happen in life, we're better. And employers are seeking that. People who are creative and able to think, you know, so that's how I sell myself when I'm on an interview. We're more resilient and we're good at cutting the crap, like prior prioritization and really deciding when you don't have a choice but to decide what you can do and what you have to let go, you become very good at not wasting time on things that are not that important. And after that, we realize that the person that we were that we were before getting disabled still exists. There's still other ways to express the same values, the same things you like. There's it, but we have to do this work, and a coach is a thinking partner, so it helps you see things you might not see.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

You wouldn't have seen yourself.

SPEAKER_01 39:32

Um but the coach, the coach is finding your answers. You know, I'm not telling people what to do, I listen to them and I ask damn good questions, and and we get where we need to be. And then suddenly people are hopeful and they say, Well, okay, I'll be able to have a chance even with this disability. And I look forward to see how my life is going to unravel. That's what everyone wants that.

SPEAKER_00 40:01

That is so important as well. I think it's brilliant work that you're doing, and thank you so much for sharing that with me today. The last question I want to ask you, which seems somewhat moot because you've shared so much already, but like, what is one thing that you wish people knew about cerebral palsy?

SPEAKER_01 40:25

Well, I've already told you about the gifts. So I would say, I would say if if I spoke too fast, like go back and listen to those again. And if you dismiss them as important, the as unimportant, they are very important. They it's like those are those are qualities that most people will will take 80 years to develop. But not you. You know, at first it might be a little harder because the challenges are there, but but once you've discovered that about yourself, you find strength, you find calm, you find hope. You tell yourself, well, okay, whatever's gonna happen because uh I plan properly, it's gonna go well. Uh so I wish that we don't talk just about the limitations of disability, but also the promises of disability. We're all going there. It's and it's a desirable, yeah. Some people will say, okay, you exaggerate, but the end result is is something you want. And it's just our way, our own way to get there. And I'm also I'm also excited. I I wanted to tell you that I am working on some on some group coaching uh uh offering that's gonna start in a few weeks. And uh I'm um I think I want to offer a spot to your audience if they would like to be part of my first cohort. Uh that'd be very, very exciting.

SPEAKER_00 42:09

But uh wow, thank you so much. So if people are interested, how do they get involved?

SPEAKER_01 42:18

But well, my website is risingdisabled.com. You can go there, you will see some videos, some blog articles, uh, some information about an online community we have on school. This is all free. You'll get information also about my one-on-one coaching if you want to spend time together, if you want me to be your personal coach. And uh uh you can also sign up for my freebie that's called Seven Tips to Develop uh Seven Tips to Develop a Positive Relationship with Your Disability. And and that's what give you, we'll put you on my email list, and you'll be informed when I roll out my group offering in a in a few weeks. But if you mention this podcast, um I'll have uh I'll have something something special for you.

SPEAKER_00 43:14

Etienne, thank you so much. Merci beaucoup, it's been a pleasure talking to you. I've learned so much, and I hope uh anyone listeners who've experience in disability or CPA will will take advantage of what you're offering because you're a very, very special man, and I really want to thank you for your time today.

SPEAKER_01 43:39

Oh it's it's a pleasure. Is there a way you can you can leave the details on your podcast the uh um episode description in in case some people didn't have time to note down what I said or yes the website maybe?

SPEAKER_00 43:56

If you can when we finish recording, if you can put them in the chat and then I'll add them to the description when I upload the app.

SPEAKER_01 44:05

Wonderful. Well it's been a pleasure for me too. You know, Kieran, I always get excited when uh when when uh people with CP like me get um just just just want to serve I believe in serving leadership and uh I thank you for this service that you're you're doing for all of us and it always feels good to know that we're not alone.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

So that's what I want to do with this podcast and and hopefully people listen will stay tuned for the rest of the month uh to see if I can complete this task of interviewing an interesting person who has CP every day in March. Um please subscribe and like and comment and stay tuned for the next episode of the Palsy Podcast. But for now thank you thank you I believe in you Kieran you you'll you'll get there thank you very much for listening to this episode of the Palsy Podcast with me, Kieran Fitzgerald I want to thank my guests for joining me and I hope that you'll stay tuned to the next episode and more throughout my thank you