Talyah Bernardone, 20, was born with congenital muscular dystrophy. She took her first step just before her 3rd birthday. She is ambulatory, but is unable to do stairs, get up from the ground or bend over all the way to the ground. She is an upcoming junior at John Carroll University studying broadcast journalism with a minor of sociology. Due
to her physical limitations; we did need to make some changes in her dorm room.
One picture shows the electric, reclining chair that we purchased for her use at school. Next to it, you will see the electric scooter.
We use plastic bins to raise up items to make them at the appropriate height since she can't reach down low. We use them for hampers, closets, etc. We also use step stools to raise up a cubby of bins.
We use an end table to raise the height of a small refrigerator.
She wears pool shoes in the shower. They are so wet when she returns to her room that we purchased a big carpet and duct tape it to the floor, so that she has a carpeted area to absorb the water from her shoes.
Sadly, the previous two years she has been unable to have a roommate because she has so much additional equipment. This year thought, she will have a suite and two roommates. We are going to look at her suite to see what other accommodations that we will need to make for her.








