NEW BLOG POST: In honor of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, we’re elevating voices in the CP Community!
Diagnosed with cerebral palsy in childhood, Dr. Stephen Dantzig has dedicated his career to working with individuals with disabilities, beginning as a volunteer with children with severe autism. A school psychologist for nearly four decades in New York, New Jersey, California and Hawai’i, today he works as the education and outreach program manager at United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawai’i and serves on its board of directors.
UCP National sat down with Dr. Dantzig to learn more about his journey and what he hopes to accomplish in his role at UCP Association of Hawai’i. He opens up about his life with cerebral palsy, sharing what independence, accessibility and inclusion mean to him. From navigating daily challenges to finding professional fulfillment and community support, his story highlights both the progress made and the barriers that still exist for people with disabilities.
“Sixty years ago, I was a patient at a UCP clinic,” he said. “Now, I’m working to expand the organization’s reach in Hawai’i and maybe even across the entire UCP network.”
Read the story at https://ucp.org/get-up-your-bus-is-here-dr-stephen-dantzig-on-life-with-cerebral-palsy/
Aging with Cerebral Palsy: Realities, Challenges, and Hope (Part One)
Cerebral palsy doesn’t end with childhood — yet adult care, research, and support often do. Our latest blog dives into the lived experiences, healthcare gaps, mental health struggles, and the growing need for resources for people with CP as they age.
Read the full post and join us in shaping the future of CP care. If you or someone you know is aging with CP, we invite you to participate in a study led by our affiliate, United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii.
Read more: https://ucp.org/the-impact-of-aging-with-cerebral-palsy/
Mahalo Nick and United Cerebral Palsy for the great article “Aging With Cerebral Palsy: Health Challenges, Research, and Independence for Adults” (Part Two)
https://ucp.org/aging-with-cerebral-palsy-health-challenges-research-and-independence-for-adults/
We are very proud to be featured in this important blog series from the United Cerebral Palsy Association about sensory processing. UCPA Hawai’i’s own Stephen Dantzig, Psy.D. and Lesley Chow, OTR/L wrote the blogs!
New Blog Series on UCP.org!
Have you ever wondered how the brain processes sights, sounds, movement, and touch — and what happens when it doesn’t work as expected?
This week on the My Life Without Limits blog, authors Stephen Dantzig and Lesley Chow cover sensory processing in two parts.
In Part 1, Sensory Processing Explained: How the Brain Interprets Information and Why It Matters, we break down the eight sensory systems and how sensory processing affects learning and development.
In Part 2, Sensory Processing Disorder: Who It Affects, How It’s Assessed, and Ways to Help, we explore who is impacted, how professionals assess SPD, and practical strategies parents, teachers, and therapists can use to support children.
This series will help you better understand sensory challenges and how to respond with knowledge and compassion.
Part 2: https://ucp.org/sensory-processing-disorder-who-it-affects-how-its-assessed-and-ways-to-help/
Friday, October 10th was World Mental Health Day. Mental health is an extremely important topic for all of us because each of goes through difficult times. It is crucial to acknowledge and get care for your own mental health concerns if needed. Mental health and access to care can be particularly challenging for those with disabilities. The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawai’i is extremely proud to have partnered with The United Cerebral Palsy Association of America for a three-part blog series on mental health issues among people with disabilities. Please take a look and share! Please also remember, that EVERYBODY faces some mental health issues from time to time. It can feel extremely lonely, but you are NOT alone and there IS help available. Here are the links to all 3 parts:
Part 1: https://ucp.org/mental-health-in-people-with-disabilities-understanding-the-challenges-and-risks/
Part 2: https://ucp.org/why-people-with-disabilities-face-higher-mental-health-risks-and-barriers-to-care/
Part 3: https://ucp.org/mental-health-support-for-people-with-disabilities-how-to-advocate-and-access-help/
The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawai’i is proud to once again be represented in a blog on the United Cerebral Palsy national website! We address the issue of weight concerns as people age with cerebral palsy. It is not as straight-forward as might be expected because weight gain AND weight loss present unique challenges. Find out more here: https://ucp.org/weight-issues-in-people-with-cerebral-palsy-understanding-sarcopenia/. The blog also has a link to our study on the Impact of Aging with Cerebral Palsy study (that happens to ask about concerns with weight gain and weight loss). Please check it out! Mahalo!
3/19/26
We waited until Thursday for our “Amazing Monday” post in order to celebrate Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month with a United Cerebral Palsy blog on the amazing career, contributions and life of Judith Rogers! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did meeting and writing about Judi. Talk about inspiring! Mahalo Judi!
https://ucp.org/judith-rogers-on-parenting-disability-and-innovation/
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawai’i recognizes the critical importance of understanding and supporting people who are going through tough emotional times—which includes all of us at some point or points in our lives. Common feelings when we hit a difficult time are isolation and being “alone.” The reality is just the opposite: emotional ups and downs are part of the human experience whether you have a disability or not.
I taught cognitive-behavior therapy and counseling theories in graduate school for 10 years. One message that I worked to instill in my students was that our role as a counselor or therapist was not to “fix” anything because the person talking to us is not “broken.” Our jobs, I emphasized, was to work with our clients—or ourselves—to find effective ways to cope with whatever is going on.
“Cope versus fix” is a critical distinction: “fix,” again, implies that something is broken and all that does is add pressure and demands to an already unpleasant situation. It also places all of the power firmly in the hands of whatever is bothering us with “all or none” thinking: “I will never feel better if I don’t FIX this!”
Coping is not only a gentler approach that fosters acceptance of our issues, it is flexible and places the power back in our hands. We can recognize that not every coping strategy will work every time. In contrast to the idea of a fix, it is not the end of the world if a coping technique does not seem to help for today. What it does instead is encourage us to choose a different tool without the need to panic. Perhaps the previous tool will be more effective tomorrow.
UCPA Hawai’i once again is proud to collaborate with United Cerebral Palsy to publish a blog (in conjunction with the series published last year) highlighting one particular set of coping skills: namely, the creative arts. While the blog highlights some of the possible benefits of the arts with people with disabilities, the idea of expressing yourself creatively is universal. I, for one, have been very open with the fact that time spent in my photography studio or darkroom (back in the day) would “refocus” (pun intended) my mind and help break out of a down mood. Please take a look at the blog from a universal perspective because the ideas presented truly apply to all of us.
How Creative Arts Empower People with Disabilities Through Self-Expression
https://ucp.org/how-creative-arts-empower-people-with-disabilities-through-self-expression/