One thing about 13-year-old Rylie Adams, never underestimate her. Born with cerebral palsy and confined to a wheelchair since age three, Riley has long defied expectations. But recently, she achieved something incredible. Recently she was able to  interview New York Times best-selling author and National Teacher of the Year Sharon Draper in a professional YouTube interview.

“To see Rylie interview with such professionalism, from the heart and from experience and strength, it’s all I’ve ever wanted,” her mother, Tabatha Means, says. “If you haven’t read Sharon Draper’s books or seen the movie Out of My Mind, do it! Teach your children openness and kindness. Children and people with special needs are like us ALL.”

Rylie, an eighth-grader at Tavares Middle School, lives in Howey-in-the-Hills and is enrolled in all honors classes. Her condition, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, affects all four limbs and prevents her from standing or walking on her own. But that hasn’t stopped her from diving into academics, building a social media presence, and launching her own jewelry business.

“I am 13 and I love education and reading,” Rylie says. “Cerebral palsy affects my muscles, but I can talk, I’m in regular classes, and I want to encourage others, especially kids like me who may not have the same voice.”

Her YouTube channel is dedicated to sharing experiences from the perspective of a teen with CP, a space Rylie felt was missing online.

“There are a lot of adults talking about disability, but not many teens. I thought, there have to be people like me who need to hear this,” she says.

Rylie was born prematurely at just 31 weeks, weighing 3 pounds and 10 ounces. She wasn’t breathing at birth and had to be resuscitated before spending nearly two months in the NICU. A stroke in utero caused brain damage, which led to her diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

“I know there are a lot of kids who can’t talk or walk, so I’m doing this for them,” she says.

Her days are filled with activity. She’s part Tavares Middle School’s AVID college prep program, has participated in spelling bees, and spends time making bracelets for her small business, Smiley Face Beadery, which she sells on Facebook to a growing base of loyal customers.

And her persistence doesn’t stop at academics. Rylie is an advocate, too. After a recent fall outside Macy’s in Orlando due to an unmarked ramp that caused her wheelchair to flip, knocking out her front tooth, she wasn’t upset for herself.

“She was more concerned about someone else in a wheelchair getting hurt,” her mother says. “As she is sitting there bleeding she was just thinking of how to prevent this so someone else wouldn’t run into the same situation. That’s the kind of person Riley is.”

At home, Rylie is treated like any other child. She cooks, unloads the dishwasher, loves to bake, and is a fan of musical theatre,  especially The Greatest Showman.

“The only real difference between me and the person next to me,” she says, “is that they stand, and I sit.”

Rylie hopes her voice will inspire others and change perceptions around disability.

“We are just as capable as others,” she says. “Yes, there are some small differences, but we can do great things too.”

Her recent interview with Sharon Draper, conducted entirely on her own after hours of research, Zoom tests, and question planning can be seen here. 

“When I watched the video, I knew my daughter was strong,” her mom says. “But seeing her do this by herself, with such strength and the research she did, was one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Rylie has big plans for the future including more interviews, more college outreach, and more advocacy. But most of all, she just wants to make sure others like her know they are not alone.