From Reuters/USNWR:
“Seven-Year-Old
Italian Influencer Challenges Disability Stereotypes”
Sirio
Persichetti can't speak and can't feed himself but the seven-year-old has taken
the social media world by storm with his daily antics, proving that a
disability is no barrier to inspiring others. Sirio has spastic tetraplegia, a
form of cerebral palsy that affects the movement of three limbs. His mouth is
permanently open, blocking him from forming words properly or swallowing. He is
fed liquid nutrition through a tube in his stomach and has had a tracheotomy to
help him breathe. He bears this with such resilience, vivacity and lust for life
that it prompted his mother Valentina to create a website and Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter accounts to chronicle his everyday life in hopes of
inspiring others. She uploads heart-warming videos of him with funny anecdotes
under the title "Sirio and the tetrabonds", that have touched the
hearts of people all over the world. Tetra comes from the first half of
tetraplegia and bond from vagabond. "We wanted to tell the story of
disability in a different way, to tell it for what it is, something that is not
easy to face, but that if channelled in the right direction, with the right
help, it can allow these children to enjoy something that can actually be
called life," Valentina said. The response has been overwhelming, with
some videos getting more than 130,000 views. "In a short time the
response, especially from families living in similar situations, was powerful
and exciting so we decided to keep going," Valentina said.
BREAKING THE
STIGMA She posts videos of Sirio going to school carrying a backpack almost
as big as he is, or driving a toy electric car or mercilessly waking up his
older brother Nilo, 10. Sirio's followers respond with dozens of likes
and messages of support. Valentina said she wanted to break the stigma
that often surrounds disability by showing that having special needs does not
mean an end to fun for a child. "We understood that it is
absolutely necessary to talk about disability without (seeking) pity, different
from the usual way disability is narrated," she said. Imagining the
world as seen through his eyes, Valentina writes the posts that accompany the
videos. "Here I am arriving at the playground, fearless and proud
while mamma watches me like a hawk. It's not easy trying to live a normal life
when you have disabilities but I try anyway," reads one post. Valentina,
38, who works in a call centre for the postal service, is helped by her husband
Paolo, a 58-year-old researcher, and two caregivers who work alternate days. She
said she never expected it to go viral "but we realised that is useful,
that it helps and is a necessary step to make the life of many people much more
normal".
^ Sirio and his
videos are doing a lot to both entertain and educate people. ^
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