Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This month's Writing Diversely interview is with David Figueroa, a nationally and internationally recognized accomplished motivational speaker, podcaster, middle school assistant teacher, disability advocate, and UCF graduate. David is also a former cycling, baseball, and football athlete with Cerebral Palsy.
Resources Mentioned:
Nicole Luongo IG: @whatcplookslike
United Cerebral Palsy: ucp.org
Cursebreaker series: goodreads.com/series/251650-cursebreakers
A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review: youtu.be/oIQMklj5sQg
Follow David:
https://linktr.ee/davidscpfitness65
IG: @davidscpfitness
TikTok: @davidscpfitness
Twitter @davidscpfitness
David's Cerebral Palsy and Fitness Channel: youtube.com/c/DavidsCerebralPalsyandFitnessChannel/featured
Want to watch the other interviews in the Writing Diversely series? Check out the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY...
Want to learn more about how to write disabled characters? Buy my book: books2read.com/u/m2lrYj
Want to learn how to write diverse characters? Get more info on my online course here: https://vanessamariebooks.teachable.c...
https://linktr.ee/vanessamariebooks
Newsletter sign-up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
Find me on:
Website: vanessamariebooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writervaness...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorvanes...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Timestamps:
Intro 00:00
What is Cerebral Palsy? 5:21
What was it like for you when diagnosed? 7:37
Co-occurring conditions 11:21
Mobility devices 13:06
Do you prefer the term person with a disability or disabled person? 14:05
How have you been treated differently because of your disability? 16:16
How was your childhood the same as others without disabilities? 20:32
How has your disability effected your mental health? 23:00
Were you involved with treatment/therapies for your disability? 26:44
Barriers or limitations in environment 29:35
Ways you've been creative & adapted your environment to be accessible 32:55
How did you get into fitness? 36:30
What sort of fitness activities do you engage in? 37:53
Do you use any adaptive tools or equipment? 39:16
Motivational speaking & disability advocacy 42:54
Other hobbies/passions 44:40
Disability Discrimination 46:40
Inspirational for being disabled 52:21
Misconceptions 55:30
What should writers know & be aware of when creating a character with CP? 59:37
Books/other resources that can help writers 1:04:06
Wrap Up/Closing 1:07:50
#writingdiversely #writingdisabledcharacters #disability #cerebralpalsy #authortube #writingdiscussions #writingvideos #diverserepresentation
This month's Writing Diversely interview is with David Figueroa, a nationally and internationally recognized accomplished motivational speaker, podcaster, middle school assistant teacher, disability advocate, and UCF graduate. David is also a former cycling, baseball, and football athlete with Cerebral Palsy.
Resources Mentioned:
Nicole Luongo IG: @whatcplookslike
United Cerebral Palsy: ucp.org
Cursebreaker series: goodreads.com/series/251650-cursebreakers
A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review: youtu.be/oIQMklj5sQg
Follow David:
https://linktr.ee/davidscpfitness65
IG: @davidscpfitness
TikTok: @davidscpfitness
Twitter @davidscpfitness
David's Cerebral Palsy and Fitness Channel: youtube.com/c/DavidsCerebralPalsyandFitnessChannel/featured
Want to watch the other interviews in the Writing Diversely series? Check out the playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLY...
Want to learn more about how to write disabled characters? Buy my book: books2read.com/u/m2lrYj
Want to learn how to write diverse characters? Get more info on my online course here: https://vanessamariebooks.teachable.c...
https://linktr.ee/vanessamariebooks
Newsletter sign-up: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
Find me on:
Website: vanessamariebooks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writervaness...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorvanes...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Timestamps:
Intro 00:00
What is Cerebral Palsy? 5:21
What was it like for you when diagnosed? 7:37
Co-occurring conditions 11:21
Mobility devices 13:06
Do you prefer the term person with a disability or disabled person? 14:05
How have you been treated differently because of your disability? 16:16
How was your childhood the same as others without disabilities? 20:32
How has your disability effected your mental health? 23:00
Were you involved with treatment/therapies for your disability? 26:44
Barriers or limitations in environment 29:35
Ways you've been creative & adapted your environment to be accessible 32:55
How did you get into fitness? 36:30
What sort of fitness activities do you engage in? 37:53
Do you use any adaptive tools or equipment? 39:16
Motivational speaking & disability advocacy 42:54
Other hobbies/passions 44:40
Disability Discrimination 46:40
Inspirational for being disabled 52:21
Misconceptions 55:30
What should writers know & be aware of when creating a character with CP? 59:37
Books/other resources that can help writers 1:04:06
Wrap Up/Closing 1:07:50
#writingdiversely #writingdisabledcharacters #disability #cerebralpalsy #authortube #writingdiscussions #writingvideos #diverserepresentation
