Kimberly Rose is a special education teacher at Buckingham Student Exceptional Center in Fort Myers, Florida. Curtis is a graduated student who received MOVE instruction from Kimberly Rose.
Curtis Miller is an artist. His work has sold internationally and he has won many awards. Judged against his non-disabled peers in blind judging, he has come out FIRST! He has won congressional awards and been featured in the New Jersey Life magazine. His art was created under the direction of the late surrealist Bruce Tyler Hall who developed several programs for people with disabilities: I AM ART (Inclusion in American Art) and FA@B (Florida Art at Buckingham).
Curtis has cerebral palsy. He needs an assistive device to walk and an assitive device to communicate. Curtis does not let anything stop him! Curtis loves to create and he loves to walk. As his communication for his art improved and increased, so did his ability to MOVE!
While attending Buckingham, Curtis was in a MOVE class and a Motor Development class to work on his walking skills, using the Pacer Gait Trainer. The MOVE and Motor Development classes were held concurrently in the gym. We would open the double doors, and the students then had more space to play, run, & walk. Curtis loved to encourage the younger students to walk and run by having them chase him, playing tag in the gait trainers and demonstrating how to move! He would get the little ones laughing and they found the class FUN!
Curtis was able to combine his love for the arts with his MOVE gait trainer. When getting ready to attend a congressional art show, he wanted to use his gait trainer. He had the older model of the Rifton gait trainer, before it folded and could be easily transported. We received special permission to transport his gait trainer to the show.
Curtis walked around the show, seeing the artwork from a new perspective, and telling others what else he wanted to try to create! He shook Porter Goss's hand while receiving his award, standing in the gait trainer.
Curtis demonstrated how to create designs and prints using laser technology at the state VSA arts conference in Orlando. Curtis is a role model for artists and MOVE students. We are very proud of him and the contribution he has made to this society with his unique art style.