At age 2, she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after her parents brought her to the doctor with concerns that she still was not walking or talking.
With the help of leg braces, Perry has mastered walking. And her disability has not held her back from community involvement, even though surgeries to help her walk with more ease have forced her to relearn to use her legs several times.
She holds spots on several committees, but Perry also leads a busy lifestyle elsewhere in the community.
She is a Girl Scout
"She has cerebral palsy, but that hasn't slowed her down," said Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, who has appointed Perry to local committees on transportation.
The most recent addition to her growing list of activities is her appointment by Gov. Mike Easley to serve on the N.C. Council on Developmental Disabilities.
She was sworn into the position last week after going through a three-month application process.
Perry said the two main issues she focuses on in any committee are transportation and housing because those are two pressing problems for people with disabilities.
"If there wasn't such a good bus system, I'd be living in Raleigh with my parents," said Perry. "Transportation is the only way I can get around."
Perry's position on Carrboro's Transportation Board and her recent appointment to the Council on Developmental Disabilities will allow her to push for improvements in housing and transportation.
Perry has had to overcome many obstacles throughout her life and said she continues to do so every day, particularly in housing and transportation issues.
Because of her experiences with cerebral palsy, Perry said, she notices the needs of many in the community who often are forgotten.
Cerebral palsy is a developmental disability resulting from failure of proper brain development or neurological damage that can be caused by premature birth, brain trauma or a difficult delivery.
It affects a person's ability to completely control motor functions and can be treated -- but not cured -- with physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Many people with cerebral palsy have difficulty with speaking and walking or have a distorted sense of perception, although the disorder affects everyone to a different degree and in different ways.
Being appointed to the Council on Developmental Disabilities gives Perry the opportunity to push for federally funded, affordable Section 8 housing.
For people with disabilities, this housing often is in locations easily accessible to public transportation.
"I think Ellen is very outspoken and honest about the struggles her and others face," said Rebecca Pennell, who met Perry on a retreat for a project for people with disabilities in 1999.
Since then, Perry and Pennell have worked together on Project Odyssey, a program that promotes the self-determination of people with disabilities in finding unassisted living and making people more independent and able to live their own lives.
Perry said the self-determination aspect of Project Odyssey is important because few people want to live with someone constantly telling them how to eat, when to sleep and what to do.
She said living the way she wants to live is her greatest contribution to society.
Kinnaird said Perry has been invaluable to the community in terms of her involvement and awareness of the struggles faced by people with disabilities.
And Perry isn't planning on cutting back on her involvement in the community.
"I'm intending to keep all four of (my jobs)," she said. "I don't let my disability become a disability.
"It becomes an ability."
The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.
