Uncommonly typical: 12-year old earns national honor for use of technology

According to his mother, Mark Steidl, 12, is a pretty typical kid.

He loves music and being outside with friends near his Highland Park home. Mark is an honor student at his Overbrook school who taught himself to read at age 4 and has composed music.

Typical? How about extraordinary?

Mark has cerebral palsy, which robs him of the physical ability to sing or hold a musical instrument.

But it does not prevent him from being a high achiever. On Friday, Mark and his parents, Tina Calabro and David Steidl, celebrated in Boston when he received the “Yes I can!” award from the Council for Exceptional Children, an international organization, at its annual convention and expo.

A total of 29 awards in nine categories were presented to youths with disabilities who have excelled. Mark was one of two students honored in the technology category.

Read it all here.

Published on April 13, 2008

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