@Barrier Boy Hmmm, well, it must be nice for you to have something to relate to, because I imagine trolling videos about people with cerebral palsy feeling empowered is a very low and lonely place to be in.
@Barrier Boy no, not at all really. trust me, i don't stand on any pulpit. i just don't understand why someone would make such a mean-spirited comment. internet commenting culture and anonymity gets really cold sometimes. you're not a weak moralled wretch.
This guy is a great role model for people with cerebral palsy. My best friend Trevor has cerebral palsy. When we were in elementary school the kids would sometimes be cruel to him, especially when we were in gym class. I always partnered with him. We had tournament sports during lunch time throughout the school year. We all had a lot of fun but Trevor didn't want to sign up because the other kids would complain about him being on their team. I talked him into joining and the teachers put us on the same team. Of course one of the boys on our team who was very competitive complained. I stuck up for him. I'll always remember the day we were playing floor hockey ,I got the puck and Trevor was standing right next to the net with no one guarding him because they didn't see him as a threat. The guy who complained about him had two people guarding him andhe was yelling to me to pass the puck to him because he was on the opposite side of the to Trevor. I yelled to Trevor and passed the ball to him. I heard the guy yell NOO!!! because I passed the ball to Trevor. Trevor got the ball and shot it into the net and scored our winning goal just before the time was up. Everyone cheered Trevor! My teacher came up to me as I was walking out of the gym and thanked me for getting Trevor to take part of the lunchtime activities and treating him like his a part of the team. Trevor was very happy and I think it made him realize that if you try you can do whatever you want. Now that we are adults Trevor takes part in the special Olympics and does amazingly! He's into weight training now so he's all beefed up.
Imagine if he was an able-bodied black man and did the same show. Would you like a show about a 28 black man who lives with his mother pays for sex with no real career yells at his mother
I'm not quite sure what you're trying to say with that reference, but I take it that you didn't like the show. I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy and/or didn't feel represented by it, and hopefully more shows will come out in the future that express for you what "Special" couldn't ❤️
@@dela_ruthh I'm saying Ryan acted like a child and I think if an able-bodied black man made the same show with the exact same script you would probably be offended but because he's disabled we don't put the same expectations. Why does he have to live at home? Why can't he have a real job? Why does he have to pay for sex? He does nothing for disabled people.
I'm not trying to be combative I'm trying to explain how harmful he is. We deserve more than a man child. Why can't Ryan be a lawyer with a boyfriend that takes care of his mother financially? A disabled person who is in control of their future. Ryan could have shown what disabled People could be. I want empowered disabled people not "oh look I'm on grindr and I am just now learning to talk to people hehe I am just starting an unpaid internship at 28".i suggest an experiment re-watch but Imagine if was able bodied and then imagine he was black and that is the only show about black people. see if you have a new perspective.
I am very much like Ryan except much older. I have a nerve disorder that gives me a limp. I have spoke to myself like Ryan does to himself. This video touched my heart
I watched Special on Netflix and I remembered watching this video like years ago and i was just experiencing the weirdest deja vu of the storyline of the show... So i searched for the video and realised that the guy i saw in a video years ago is Ryan O'Connell who created the series talking about events that are literally the storyline of the show.... It all makes so much sense now
Holy shit this guy is so inspiring. I feel like in a way everyone watching could relate to his words and not even in the “funny” “omg so relatable” kind of way a lot of youtubers are using recently. Instead, all he did was simply be open about his own life (I say that as if it’s an easy thing) and everything that he’s been through and we could all see ourselves through him. But at the same time the story was his own and that’s what makes it so damn special. Incredibly moving.
Omg i was confused with what he said at the end about the gay disabled character on tv bc i was like "aren't you that guy from that show?" but then I realized this video is from 4 years ago 😭 he truly did it! I haven't watched the show but he's so amazing and funny and cool. Love him.
I feel much more comfortable with my self, and less insecure after watching some of these videos. Thank you so much for creating this channel and spreading positive messages through courageous people who share their own insecurities/ups and downs. With by far the most of them I realize how easy I have it compared to what they had to go through, and only encourages me to keep going forward. I love how personal it is, and them being allowed to say whatever's on their mind. You get a big picture of what their lives have been like. Also, I love this guy! so charismatic
These videos give me so much hope. Even if I were not disabled, these are so impactful; but the fact that you take disabled people and strip them down gives us such a voice.
I have watched many of these and this is the first one to make me laugh out LOUD! As an amputee, I gravitate toward stories of difference, so I consume a lot, but this is the first story where I have felt such strong similarities with how he and I navigated difference. Fortunately, he reached acceptance sooner. A favorite!
I almost cried watching this. He is so relatable. I'm also not straight and I have CP and depression/other mental health issues and I'm high functioning like him so I felt kinda like he was me in a guy's body haha. This was awesome. :)
Good point, that can very well be the case. I am coming into an age myself where if people reference me a a girl, I cringe and I'm quick to correct them. I think we use boy/girl way too much for grown folk.
This is so relatable to me. I have moderate-severe hearing loss (I was born profoundly deaf) so I wear 2 hearing aids. And one part of me just wants to be like 'fuck it if people don't like me because of that then would I even like them', but the rest of me wants to hide it so badly. I wear my hair down, I avoid talking to people I like from up close in case they see my hearing aids because I don't want to stand out. I'm 16 at the moment, so it's really great to watch him talk about his own insecurities, like being in situations where he has to show the fact that he has trouble coming down from the roof. I avoid water sports and swimming because it means I have to take my hearing aids out and not be able to hear people, which would automatically single me out as I'd constantly ask people what we should be doing. Thank you, Ryan, for showing me that instead of pushing away something I can never change, to just embrace it and by doing so, feel happier in turn.
CP isn't discussed a whole lot among people who don't have it or know someone who has it. I think it's something people should know more about. Maysoon Zayid hosted a great TED talk on her experience with CP. It's called "I got 99 problems... Palsy is just one." I highly recommend it!! Kudos to Ryan for sharing his story & positivity with us! :)
The way Ryan talks, with such authority and no apprehension makes you totally forget any differences and see him just as a fellow human being, no judgments, no hold ups, no negativity at all, just this is an awesome and cool guy, and I wish I was his friend...
way stronger than me. i cant find the strength. im gay not disabled, well mentally a bit now i guess, crippling anxiety, ive never had a relationship. he seems to lived much more fulfilling life than i have.
I'm 16 and I have a mild case of cerebral palsy and I function normally but I'm in band and I can't march but I don't let my disability stop me Im a percussionist during marching season and a Saxophone player during concert season
I have cp and admire his bravery for pursuing comedy. It’s hard enough to go out and be judged by people who don’t know your struggles, but to voluntarily put yourself out there through comedy 1,000 requires so much mental strength.
Another outstanding episode! Thanks to everyone in front of & behind the cameras. You have all touched on so many of my feelings & those I've heard friends & family express.
I have a friends twin has cerebral palsy. He can't talk or sign yet his mind is completely uneffected. I feel so bad for him because he can't communicate easily which must be so frustrating.
OH ryan o'connell from thought catalog?! whoa... i used to read thought catalog waay back when it started. he is awesome, i'm so glad hear from him like this!
thank you for including disabled lgbt people in your videos! I have multiple disabilities and am queer and trans. I absolutely loved special, which he wrote and starred in, and it was the first time I saw real honest representation
Originally, I was like "damn, the title might be an exaggeration", and then I was able to watch and learn about this amazing person, someone who seems so much more than average, and due to their difference, they were able to thrive and be the best different anyone could be. How great to be able to watch this, and connect with this one person who has no life connection to you, but because of communities, we are able to connect more than anyone of a boring and average life would. He is special, and it's amazing to watch the positivity finally be shined on disability, instead of actually just letting that negative light cast over. The thing he said about it being that negativity was true, but what he did was overcome it, and he was able to persevere... Great to watch. Great guy!
i LOVE how he used his own real life story for Special..like how often to people get dealt those difficult cards in life and make something so brilliant out of it!?
I thought I liked him just from the show, but watching this.... L O V E this guy! So hilarious, so adorable, so awesome. Like where is season 2 - 20???
