With adaptive technology, Nevada teen paints, bikes, skis, writes, travels...

From the Reno Gazette-Journal:

Connor Fogal (pictured), a 17-year-old Reno resident with cerebral palsy, might be the true Renaissance man.

He paints, he climbs, he bikes, he skis, he writes, he travels, he laughs, he loves.
He is an ardent believer in a promising future, a future supported by a cadre of players from parents to teachers.

"I tell people I just try to do what people do -- just differently," Fogal said recently during an interview at Marvin Picollo Special Education School.

Indeed, cerebral palsy has created unique conditions for Fogal, who uses a wheelchair and has limited use of his arms. He's had cerebral palsy since birth, according to his mother, Theresa Fogal, who explained that Connor's biological mother used drugs during her pregnancy.

"I was at the hospital the day he was born to learn to tube-feed him as a foster placement," she said. "My husband and I were foster parents for critical-care babies, mostly drug-affected."

Even though Connor has cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, he has a lot more of something else.
And that's personality.

"What'd you say the other day (about painting landscapes)?" his mom said to him. "That if you mess them up, they're easier to fix."

His smile is charming, his humor ironic and his spirit magnetic.

"I believe that God gave him the talent to paint and the personality he has so he could teach others about tolerance and acceptance," his mother said.

Connor started painting five years ago with encouragement from Marvin Picollo teacher Dave Noury. Connor used a paint-by-section method then that allowed for mistakes to be made and work to continue. Over the years, Connor has honed his skills and advanced in his painting methods.

Except, while most people use their hands, Connor uses a brush attached to his head via special equipment.

"It took training," his mother said. "He had lots of hours making mistakes."

Connor is long familiar with adaptive equipment -- after all, it is the specially modified equipment that makes possible much of the adventure he's done, such as water-skiing, fishing, camping, and once, sky-diving.

"He is really receptive to trying a lot of different things," said Connor's teacher, John Oldenberg.

It takes Connor one to two weeks to complete a painting where it once took five to six. He paints originals, as well as replicas of masters, including Monet and Van Gogh. He signs his work in the lower-right hand corner.

He first gave away paintings for Christmas gifts before deciding to sell them to purchase adaptive equipment. With work he's sold, he's purchased an adaptive bi-ski -- Connor skis the black-diamond runs at Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe -- and recently bought an adaptive bike. He still is figuring out how to use it.

"He wants to show other people just because they are handicapped, they can still do things," his mother said. "He does more things than most two-legged people do."

His paintings cost between $25 to $50. He has been commissioned at least once to do a work, and, last week, displayed his art at East of West Art Gallery, selling three prints.

"The gallery has extended an invitation to him to keep his art on display," Theresa Fogal said. "They told him they would be honored. So, he will continue with four prints on display there."

Connor expects to finish at Marvin Picollo Special Education School this year and wants to continue at the University of Nevada, Reno in an adjusted program in arts and computers. He is able to use a computer keyboard in much the same way he paints, with adaptive equipment attached to his head.

"I would like to find a computer job," he said.

With his penchant for charm and his tendency toward entrepreneurship -- he made up business cards listing his website -- he might just have success doing that.

After all, he did design his own art-filled website at http://www.connorcreations.com/.