Twitter Chat: How to change the conversation about living with disabilities

Ryan Hudson-Peralta’s arms and legs never fully formed.

He was born with Congenital Limb Deficiency syndrome, a rare disorder that affects just 6 out of every 10,000 live births. Doctors told his parents he would never drive a car or have a family. But his limits became challenges and through the years he figured out different ways to get things done.

Hudson-Peralta uses a motorized wheelchair to travel from his office where he works as a designer for Quicken Loans, to the pool where he swims, to his home where he’s a father to 15-year-old son Noah. He is also a husband, a motivational speaker and a web designer.

“I have a choice everyday I wake up, I can look at myself as the poor guy with a disability or I can go out and inspire people,” Hudson-Peralta said.

Noah, a burgeoning filmmaker and digital storyteller, captured his father’s story on camera for the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs series “Limitless: Breaking the Bounds of Disability.” We talked to Noah (@noahhp) and his father (@HudsonPeralta) about what they learned during the filming process, what it’s like living with this disability, and how they’re changing the conversation around life’s limits. Follow our conversation below: