THE INSPIRATION: Faith Guilbault has a pretty fun life. She loves riding horses, putting on makeup, and making TikToks with her friends. She’s even modeled in fashion shows. But many people who meet her might never get to know those things about her. That’s because Faith has a condition called cerebral palsy (CP). CP makes it difficult for Faith to walk, use her hands, and speak clearly. It affects her vision as well. “People often assume that because of my disability I can’t communicate,” Faith says. “They speak for me, or they ask my mom questions instead of me.” Over the years Faith, who’s now 18, has sometimes felt frustrated by people’s misconceptions about what it means to have CP. “When people look at me, they don’t see the things that truly make me who I am,” she says. “They only see my disability. I wanted to do something to change that.”
THE ACTION: Two years ago, when Faith was 16, a film producer asked her if she’d like to make a documentary about her life with CP. Faith was thrilled to show people what it’s like living with CP. Faith, who uses a wheelchair and walker to get around, got to make all the decisions about the movie, like what to shoot and where to put the camera for each scene. The crew filmed Faith at home, school, and physical therapy. They also filmed her modeling adaptive apparel in a fashion show (see “What Is Adaptive Apparel?”). One of Faith’s favorite scenes is of her talking to two friends who also have CP about their experiences. “I wanted to show that not everyone with CP is the same,” Faith says. “We all have our own challenges and successes.”