Mark Steidl, a 12 year old technology afficionado, has used assistive technology for years to be what his mother describes as ‘a pretty typical kid’. He loves music and going outside to play with friends, reads books, and composes songs. The Post Gazette has a fabulous piece on this extraordinary young man, the winner of this year’s “Yes I can!” award from the Council for Exceptional Children.

According to his mother, Mark Steidl, 12, is a pretty typical kid.

He loves music and being outside with friends near his Highland Park home. Mark is an honor student at his Overbrook school who taught himself to read at age 4 and has composed music.

Typical? How about extraordinary?

Mark has cerebral palsy, which robs him of the physical ability to sing or hold a musical instrument.

Remember the bucolic days of youth, blowing bubbles with your friends in the backyard? Well, now kids with mobility limitations can partake in all sorts of childhood rites of passage, courtesy of Minnesota State Community and Technical College.

The Fergus Falls Journal reports.