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Every once in a while, Stephen Dantzig will trip and fall — “it’s when, not if,” Dantzig says — and some well-intentioned stranger will stop to help.
Dantzig appreciates the gesture, but as often as not the help offered only complicates matters.
However artless his methods may seem, Dantzig knows how to get up.
Dantzig, 51, has cerebral palsy, a brain disorder that in Dantzig’s case affects voluntary muscle movement and control.
The condition — as apt a term as “disorder” — is a constant in Dantzig’s life. It gets neither better nor worse. It simply is. And while some may describe Dantzig’s accomplishments as a psychologist, writer, photographer and educator as having been realized “in spite of” cerebral palsy, Dantzig finds little use in such rhetorical qualifiers.
“We all face obstacles,” he says. “It comes down to two choices: Get up and deal with it, or don’t.”
Dantzig’s condition was caused by a lack of oxygen at birth. The clinical psychologist who diagnosed him directed Dantzig’s parents to raise him the same as his two sisters.
Thus, supported by brace, crutch or cane, Dantzig grew up pursuing his interests with aplomb — skiing with friends, serving as a manager on high school athletic teams, even break dancing (his friends spun him) at a local dance club.
As a child, Dantzig, who couldn’t draw a straight line with a ruler, found a creative outlet in photography.
“Photography allowed me to interact with people,” Dantzig says.
In time, Dantzig’s skills as a photographer, and in particular his expertise in lighting, led to writing opportunities — first, articles for trade publications and, later, books. The transition from one opportunity to the next, Dantzig says, was simply a matter of “choosing to act rather than not act.”
Dantzig earned a doctorate in psychology from Rutgers University and later worked as a school psychologist in Los Angeles.
In 2003, Dantzig moved to Hawaii and found work as a district school psychologist for the Leeward area and as a consultant for the Department of Education. He also taught psychology courses at Argosy University and Chaminade University.
Dantzig continued his work in photography, which again led to unexpected opportunities. Two years ago he opened the Hawaii School of Photography.
Dantzig reflected on his experiences for his autobiography, “Get Up, Your Bus Is Here,” released this year. In it he acknowledged that despite his achievements, he had yet to find lasting love.
That changed just before the book was released, when Dantzig met a young woman named Joan Sevilla. Nine months later they’re engaged to be married.
“It was totally unplanned,” Dantzig says. “But that’s how life is sometimes.”
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