According to UCP (a.k.a. United Cerebral Palsy)...
"Cerebral palsy is a term
used to describe a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement
and
muscle coordination.
It is caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually
occurring during fetal development; before, during, or shortly after birth;
or during infancy. Thus, these disorders are not caused by problems
in the muscles or nerves. Instead, faulty development or damage to
motor areas in the brain disrupt the brain's ability to adequately control
movement and posture.
"'Cerebral' refers to the
brain and 'palsy' to muscle weakness/poor control. Cerebral palsy
itself is not
progressive (i.e. brain
damage does not get worse); however, secondary conditions, such as muscle
spasticity, can develop
which may get better over time, get worse, or remain the same. Cerebral
palsy is not communicable. It is not a disease and should not be referred
to as such. Although cerebral palsy is
not 'curable' in the accepted
sense, training and therapy can help improve function."
Note: The information taken
from the UCP website is in regards to cerebral palsy; it is not an endorsement
of the KOB program.
In 1975 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Public Law 94-142, was signed by President Gerald Ford. This law mandated that all children were "educationally" equal.
In the fall of 1977, Anthony, a student with cerebral palsy, was anxious about leaving his special education class to be included in a "regular ed" class. Anthony feared the reactions of his new classmates, the stares, and the questions about his wheelchair. After a few days in his new classroom, Anthony appealed to his special education teacher, Barbara Aiello, asking to return to the safety of her class.
Aiello's response to her student was that if he would return to his new class, she would help Anthony with the problem he was experiencing. To help Anthony, Aiello turned to the most nonthreatening, bridge-building venue she knew -- puppets.
That fall the first "Kid on the Block," Mark Riley, was conceived. Aiello used Anthony as a model for her puppet character while her friend and co-worker, Ingrid Crepeau, made Mark's wheelchair out of galvanized pipe, a garden hose, and an old leather coat purchased at a second-hand store in Washington D.C. Mark Riley made a solo appearance for Anthony's fifth grade class in October 1977.
During the presentation, Mark talked about what it was like to have cerebral palsy. Anthony's classmates had many questions, "Why do you wear headgear?" "Are you sad that you have cerebral palsy?" "Can I catch it?" Mark Riley had succeeded in breaking down the barriers of fear and apprehension between people with disabilities and those without.