Ten-year-old Jennifer walks across the classroom with a slight limp, and slowly writes a set of spelling words on the blackboard with her left hand. When the teacher asks her to recite the list from the board, Jennifer enunciates each word carefully, turning her head slightly to the side as she gazes at the board. After school, Jennifer plans to ride the bus to her friend Karen’s house, where they'll spend the afternoon playing with the new dolls they bought during their last shopping trip to the mall.

Katie, a fifteen-year old in a smaller classroom down the hall, uses an augmentative communication device and selects one of the pictures on the computer touch screen. The computer screen is mounted in front of her power wheelchair. Listening intently to her teacher's voice, Katie moves her arm in a series of choppy movements to hit the correct spot on the screen. After a brief respite for the Occupational Therapist to reposition Katie in her chair and reposition her wrist splint, Katie gamely listens for the next instruction. After school, Katie has an appointment with her orthotics provider to make new DAFO’s. She then has a physical therapy visit to be fitted for a new walker.

Although Jennifer and Katie attend the same school, it seems that they have very little else in common. Jennifer participates in the general curriculum, albeit a little slower than many of her classmates, while Katie’s class work has been extensively modified to fit her needs. In fact, both children have cerebral palsy.