The Cerebral Palsy Perspective Podcast

About The Cerebral Palsy Perspective Podcast

An optimistic look at life, movement and doing hard things our way.

Publisher

Chad Williams and Daryl Perry

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Feb 2026

Latest episode

2 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

30 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Nov 2026

   The Invisible Challenges of Cerebral Palsy

   Tad's Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atadbettercoaching/ Website: https://coachtad.my.canva.site/atadbettercoaching Connect With Chad and Daryl Chad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chadwillia1/ Daryl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daryltperry Episode Description What does living with cerebral palsy look like when your disability isn't immediately visible to the people around you? In this episode, host Chad Williams and co-host Daryl Perry welcome Tad Hop to share his experiences with mild cerebral palsy, sobriety, running, personal growth, and building a coaching business focused on helping LGBTQ+ individuals navigate religious trauma. Tad's story begins with a serious childhood illness that nearly took his life. After being hospitalized with severe food poisoning in second grade, he was eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy. To this day, it's unclear whether his cerebral palsy was present from birth or related to that illness. Although Tad can walk, run half marathons, and participate in sports, he also experiences challenges that aren't immediately apparent to others. He shares how everyday activities like tying his shoes, swimming, following assembly instructions, and putting together furniture can present significant obstacles. Being capable of doing one thing doesn't mean someone isn't experiencing significant challenges in other areas of life. The conversation explores how these experiences affect Tad's confidence, independence, and understanding of his disability, particularly after moving from the United States to Amsterdam. Tad also shares how getting sober in 2017 led him to discover running. What began as a way to stay active and occupy his time became something much more meaningful. Running helped him develop a stronger connection with his body, introduced him to new experiences, and eventually led him to join a softball team where he met his husband. We also discuss the importance of appreciating personal progress without constantly comparing our abilities to those of other people. Tad recognizes that cerebral palsy may influence his athletic abilities, but that doesn't diminish his enjoyment of running, participating in sports, or celebrating how far he's come. Progress doesn't have to mean becoming the best at something. Sometimes it's about appreciating what you're able to do and how you've grown. The conversation then shifts toward Tad's professional work and the development of A Tad Better Coaching. Drawing from his background in nonprofit case management, seminary education, and hospital chaplaincy, Tad now focuses on helping LGBTQ+ individuals navigate religious trauma and explore what healing means to them. After stepping away from his own path toward ordination and leaving Christianity, Tad recognized an opportunity to use his experiences and training to support others facing similar challenges. His approach emphasizes allowing individuals to define healing for themselves rather than prescribing what their relationship with religion or spirituality should become. We also discuss his goals for expanding his coaching practice, creating group programs and retreats, continuing disability advocacy, and building a life in Europe with his husband. Throughout the conversation, Tad offers an important reminder that cerebral palsy is only one part of someone's experience. Our disabilities, experiences, challenges, and abilities all contribute to our stories, but none of them has to define everything we're capable of becoming. Join Chad, Daryl, and Tad for a conversation about recognizing invisible challenges, embracing personal growth, finding purpose through lived experience, and creating opportunities to help others along the way.

2. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Showing Up for Yourself with Cerebral Palsy

   Connect With Us Kaitlin Pais https://www.instagram.com/kreationsbykittles/ Chad Williams https://www.instagram.com/chadwillia1/ Daryl Perry https://www.instagram.com/daryltperry/ Episode Description In this episode of the Cerebral Palsy Perspective, Chad Williams and I are joined by Kaitlin Pais for a conversation about cerebral palsy, adaptive fitness, mental health, community, and what it means to keep showing up for yourself. Kaitlin recently completed a HYROX competition alongside her twin sister, something she once never imagined herself doing. She shares how she went from being able to handle one workout class a week to consistently training four or five days a week, including HYROX specific training. We talk about how she adapts movements because cerebral palsy affects the entire left side of her body, including using an adaptive grip for lifting and modifying the wall ball portion of HYROX while still completing as much of the competition as possible alongside able bodied athletes. But this conversation goes much deeper than one race. Kaitlin opens up about growing up as a twin with cerebral palsy, constantly being compared to her sister, feeling different as a child, navigating anxiety, and learning how those childhood experiences can continue showing up well into adulthood. She also talks about something many adults with cerebral palsy understand, reaching adulthood and suddenly feeling like the medical system that supported you as a child disappears. We get into the importance of staying active as we age, finding doctors and treatments that work for us, and learning from other people with cerebral palsy who understand experiences that can be difficult to explain to anyone else. Kaitlin also shares how starting her Instagram account changed her relationship with cerebral palsy. What began as a way to work on using her left hand eventually became a place to share her journey and connect with other disabled people. There were times she wanted to stop posting. There were times she felt uncomfortable watching herself on video. There were times anxiety made her question whether she should share something at all. Then someone would message her and say, “That is exactly how I feel.” And that reminder kept her going. One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Kaitlin’s perspective on progress. You do not have to start by working out five days a week. Kaitlin started with one. Then she built from there. The same idea applies far beyond fitness. Start somewhere you can succeed. Give yourself something manageable to work toward. Adapt when you need to. Keep showing up. Kaitlin’s HYROX finish represents something much bigger than finishing a competition. It represents discovering what becomes possible when you stop measuring yourself against everyone else and start building from your own level.

3. 

   12 Oct 2026

   James Mooney on Living Fully With Cerebral Palsy

   James Mooney joins us on the Cerebral Palsy Perspective to share his story of growing up with cerebral palsy, navigating major surgeries, building a career, becoming a husband and father, staying active, and developing the mindset that continues to carry him forward. James takes us back to childhood and talks about the surgeries that shaped his mobility, including a major procedure in fifth grade that involved multiple muscle groups in his legs and required him to essentially learn how to walk again. But this conversation is about much more than surgeries or physical limitations. James talks about the importance of attitude, resilience, gratitude, and surrounding yourself with people who remind you what is possible. He shares how cerebral palsy has made him more resourceful, more creative in solving problems, and more willing to work through challenges that other people might never have to think about. We also get into work, fitness, aging with cerebral palsy, family, and the little everyday tasks that can require far more energy than most people realize. One of the most powerful parts of the conversation comes when James talks about his family. He shares what it means to have a wife who supports him without hesitation, what parenthood has helped him understand about everything his own parents went through, and a moment with his youngest son that completely changed the way he thought about how his son sees him. James also talks openly about the importance of movement, going to the gym, challenging himself physically, and doing what he can to stay ahead of some of the changes that can come with cerebral palsy as we get older. Through all of it, one idea keeps coming back. Cerebral palsy may shape how we move through the world, but it can also build resilience, problem solving, gratitude, and perspective. James does not view cerebral palsy as something that prevented him from building the life he wanted. In many ways, he believes it helped make him the person capable of building it. Connect With Us James Mooney: https://www.instagram.com/jamesmooney31/ Chad Williams: https://www.instagram.com/chadwillia1/ Daryl Perry: https://www.instagram.com/daryltperry/

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings