By DIANE HAINES
HERALD NEWS

Do you mind if I write?" asks Juana M. Ortiz in a halting voice. "People have trouble understanding me." She's clutching a large white pad and seated in the living room of her family home in West Paterson.

Ortiz, 35, has difficulty speaking because she was born with cerebral palsy. She struggles to walk, but smiling is not a problem. She has overcome many difficulties and writing has given her an expressive voice.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz wants to tell her story to encourage others with disabilities.

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