People Building

NLP For Disabilities

Alex Papanikolaou is a ‘success coach’ who has travelled solo to more than 85 cities around 25 countries on his motorised wheelchair. Alex suffers from Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, a disability that affects body movement. Limiting his speech and movement, the disorder adds a great deal of complexity to his daily life.

“I love travelling and I don’t let my disability get in way of my dreams. Initially, my parents were skeptical of my travel plans but I was on a mission to prove to the world that people like me can survive by themselves.
“As a child growing up with cerebral palsy, all I ever got told was my limits,” he says.
“Alex you can’t be like everyone else, you have a disability.”
“You can’t go out, it’s not safe.”
“You have a walking problem.”
“You have a speech problem.”
Over time the discomfort and pain of not being able to do what he wanted grew. “I started walking, and walking and walking until it hurt, and then some more. The important thing is I refused to accept the limitations people were trying to set on me. That I couldn’t do something. And what you find is that as soon as you actually believe you can do something, it
becomes so much more easier and realistic to achieve.”
Far from wallowing in self-pity, Alex reminds you, “Always find a way to solve your problems. Nothing is impossible. If I can travel to so many places, there are other kids like me who can do the same as well.
“All they need is a bit of motivation.”
Alex says of his blog: “I have designed specific programmes and strategies for people with disabilities. They have come from being immersed in the very best in the world, from studying change and success psychology for over four years to completing Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner courses.”
His passion to help people not just with physical disabilities but also those with mental challenges has motivated him to set up a blog — www.getuplive.blogspot.com — dedicated to helping people with disabilities.
Having travelled to New York, Hong Kong, Sydney, Berlin, London, Tokyo and many other places, Alex is currently in Dubai looking for support from local authorities to help him build a life coaching company for people with self limiting disabilities.
“There is nothing you can’t do. It is just the mindset that needs to change. People look down upon kids with disability with sympathy and gratitude, as more often than not, they offer their help when it is not needed.”
Immersing himself in change psychology, Alex is also a professional photographer and runs a photography website — www.alexapc.com — dedicated to selling his works.
With a mechanical failure in his motorised wheelchair, Alex is now forced to walk, as he finds it increasingly difficult to raise funds needed to buy a new motorised wheelchair.
“It is difficult for me to walk and move from one place to another without my wheelchair. My old wheelchair broke down when I landed at the Sharjah International Airport and now I need to get a new one.”
Costing around $10,000  the advanced wheelchair offers a great support for Alex as he seeks the support of local Samaritans to help
him buy a new one.

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