Josh Blue

1. Josh Blue & Cerebral Palsy

2. Josh Blue is- • Husband • Father • Writer • Comedian • U.S. Paralympics Soccer Player • Avid Outdoorsman • Artist • Person with a disability called Cerebral Palsy

3. Cerebral Palsy • Is not a disease • Is a group of chronic conditions that affect body movement and muscle coordination caused by damage to the motor control centers of the brain. • It occurs in developing fetuses and children up to age three. • Usually happens during pregnancy, childbirth or after a traumatic birth. • Is not progressive and does not get worse • It is not communicable, inherited or a primary cause of death. • It is not “curable” buttreatments such as treatment, training and surgery can help improve function and abilities.

4. When asked how he acquired CP Josh replied “The facilities weren’t the best, and there were some complications. When I came out, I was a Comedian.” • Josh Blue was born in Cameroon, Africa on November 27, 1978 while his parents were there teaching in a mission. • He grew up in St. Paul Minnesota • And graduated from Como Park Senior high School in 1997 • He went on to attend The Evergreen State College with focus on creative writing.

5. Growing Up….. • Blue knew people would be staring at him, living in Africa and being white made him stand out, but his disability made it even tougher. He came to the conclusion that it was just human nature for people to look. But Josh didn't want to be stared at just because of his disability, so he set out to be noticed for a different reason . He appreciates where he came from and what he has been through, but his attitude is not one of complacency, he always asks ‘What’s next?’

6. Blue on Everyday Living “I don’t think I’d know I had Cerebral Palsy if other people didn’t tell me” Josh Blue obviously does not require the use of a wheelchair, and is a very talented athlete, he never needed to write because he “just dictated to someone else and they wrote it down.” He now uses speech-enabled voice recognition software on his iPhone, which Josh described as “pretty liberating” because he is not “depending on somebody else.” Josh’s professional success has in part relied on physical accommodations such as Dragon Dictate software, but has predominantly relied on accommodations in people’s attitudes.

7. How Others Can Help Out • We are often taught to be politically correct and it is generally not socially acceptable to make jokes about people with disabilities or to laugh at them. But Josh Blue expects and NEEDS people to laugh at his jokes about his disability, and in order to do this, his audience must make accommodations in their social rules for what is acceptable. He relies on others to make adjustments in their attitudes and ways of thinking in order to do his job. To help him all we need to do is laugh. • People with CP often need numerous accommodations in both the work place and at home. In order to accommodate deficits in fine motor skills, individuals with cerebral palsy may need alternative access to telephone and computers, grip aids for writing or other utensils, or someone who can take notes in school or work. • More mainstream aids include automatic door openers and parking close to work and home to accommodate gross motor impairment, and a flexible work schedule in order to manage symptoms of fatigue.

8. Blue on Comedy • He got his start doing comedy at open mic nights while in college. • His ability to make people laugh with his good natured self-deprecating humour led to great reactions with audiences. • Initially he had “a lot of explaining to do before he could start his routine” • His biggest challenge was “ having to make the audience comfortable with him and his disability”. • As Blue’s popularity grows his audience knows what to expect from him- jokes. • Blue credits other comedians and the industry for being so liberal and helping to accept his unique humor. • Comedy created the forum stand-up that he can express himself through and empower others with disabilities to succeed also. Being on The Ellen DeGeneres Show was a great boost of confidence. It encouraged him to make other appearances on Mind of Mencia Live with Regis and Kelly and winning Last Comic Standing: Season 4!!

9. Blue on Soccer • Blue got his start playing soccer as a child in Cameroon, with unconventional balls such as "petrified donkey turds" . • Later when he lived in Colorado a friend told Josh about the US Paralympic soccer team, it took him awhile to overcome his thoughts of not being good enough before Josh finally got the courage to tryout. • He was accepted and became a member of the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Team.

10. Blue on Family • Blue is a father and currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with his family. He says having children has been a real boost to his comedic career and has supplied him with countless funny kid stories. Being a dad has been his biggest achievement. • He longs to be home with his family, it is very difficult for Josh • because he is gone with his comedy • and soccer. • Although Josh Blue needed • accommodations in school, such as • someone to take notes, and had to • attend physical therapy as a child, • his parents “did not treat him differently • from his other siblings”. • His friends growing up, however, took more • time to get used to his disability and how he defended himself with • humor.

11. What We Learned • Common courtesy is to always be yourself. Do your best to stay calm and relaxed and try to avoid tension-producing situations. (Tension can increase muscle rigidity, which can make it more difficult for a person with cerebral palsy to do things.) • Be sure to ask simple questions, that can have simple “yes” or “no” answers. • Try not to treat someone like a 3rd person, speak directly to the person (instead of having someone else to answer for them.) • Apply the “Golden Rule,” treat everyone how you’d like to be treated. • Fatigue can also be a real problem because simple tasks (such as getting dressed, walking, talking or eating meals) require more effort for a person with cerebral palsy. • Don’t rush someone with CP to speak, give them your undivided attention and patience, especially if the person is having difficulty speaking. • Just because an individual with cerebral palsy may often have difficulty speaking clearly, it does not mean the person is mentally retarded. This is a common misconception. That, or “drunk”...as Josh often jokes about. • Allow the person to make choices for themselves. • What we learned throughout our research is that CP is not caused by a disease. • We shouldn’t have been, but we were also surprised to learn that most people with CP learn just as quickly as anyone else, and most can do many things. Often even better than abled people.

12. Our Questions for the Class • Have you ever observed or met someone with cerebral palsy? If so, what was your first impression? • Did you wonder what they had? • Be honest, did you falsely judge them? • How did you treat them?

13. Our Group Process Our group has done a great job pitching in and has a great willingness to help each other and have volunteered to do their parts without prompting. Probably the only hard thing is that we don’t have the opportunity to see each other and chat before or after a “regular “class time…but many of us have had great online video chats to clarify where things are going and touch base on what we’ve learned. In addition to texting and emailing, staying in contact and doing the part we agreed to do was an important element in our overall succession. As far as the group process, Vanessa got us together by email and started the organization process on the Group D Board, she also organized and created the slides. It was Scott’sfabulous suggestion to learn about Josh Blue. Additionally he contributed research about how Josh had to adapt to his environment and how it responded back to him.Ryan has been our pioneer in technology and has lead us in texting, setting up video chats through Google+ “hangouts,” and setting up a Google Drive Doc that we can all share and modify on.Ryan also researched Josh's background and how he has overcome his struggles and challenges to succeed.Ike has been doing valuable research on telling the story of Josh and how he handles his disability personally and professionally. Tiffany has driven numerous communications, organized and contributed content, highlighted what we learned as a group, written our group process summary, and our question for the class. Although we initially had some communication with Rudy we have not heard from him and he has not contributed to the project.

14. References • Rukovets, O. (2012, October/November). Serious laughs. Neurology Now, p. 15-19. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy (Researched 2/26/2013) • http://joshblue.com/ (many youtube.com videos are linked to this website, Researched 2/26/2013) • http://ada.ky.gov/cp_def.htm (Researched 2/26/2013) • Job Accommodation Network, (2005). Job Accommodations for People with Cerebral Palsy [Pamphlet]. Morgantown, WV: Job Accommodation Network Images • http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/blogs/119924384.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Blue • http://www.myspace.com/joshblue/photos/57946351