PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Lisa McCracken moved back to the Pittsburgh area from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., about 10 years ago to be closer to her family and a top-rated doctor in the field of muscular dystrophy after a rare form of the disease took away her son’s ability to walk when he was 8½-years-old.

They settled in Indiana Township, Allegheny County, and enrolled Michael in the local school district when he was in second grade.

“He did pretty well through middle school, but at the high school he was put in a room with students who were not as advanced,” Mrs. McCracken said. “For him, it was basically like going to daycare. I had to look for an alternative where he could get an actual education.”

Two years ago, she found Achievement House Cyber Charter School.

“They have been absolutely wonderful,” Mrs. McCracken said. “They go out of their way at Achievement House to help him, and I recommend the school to everyone.”

Michael suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which occurs in about 1 in every 3,500 male births worldwide and results in muscle degeneration, enlargement of the heart and breathing complications. The average life expectancy for someone with the disease is 25. However, the latest research to find a cure for Duchenne is very promising.

Michael is 18. He will be graduating from Achievement House with the Class of 2015 after having taken nearly all of his classes his junior and senior years at home usually while in a medical bed.

His classes this year include: Anatomy, Personal Finance, Global Literature, Digital Literacy and World History. Some areas of study he has enjoyed most were about the skeletal system, money management and World War I. He said he also enjoys the overall experience of attending a cyber school compared to a brick and mortar school.

In cyber charter school, it’s easier for me to learn because I can spend more time in my classes,” Michael said. “I was bored at the high school. Plus, the teachers are much nicer at Achievement House. 

Michael relies on a non-invasive ventilator to breathe and help from others to feed, bathe and dress him. In addition to his physical disabilities, Michael also was diagnosed at an early age with an autistic spectrum learning disorder not associated with the muscular dystrophy.

The combination of physical and learning disabilities requires a highly-specialized and detailed Individualized Education Program, which public schools are required to follow under federal law. Achievement House has more than met its obligations under the IEP, according to Mrs. McCracken.

“I am a paralegal so I know his IEP is iron-clad,” Mrs. McCracken said. “The IEP sets goals for him every quarter, and we review it and modify it with the school based on how he’s doing.”

Although diagnosed with a learning disorder, Michael has not been intellectually impaired by muscular dystrophy.

“His brain is still working great, and he can use his wrists to move his computer mouse,” Mrs. McCracken said. “He goes around the world every day on the computer.”

Instead of being isolated in a special education classroom, Mrs. McCracken said Michael attends the online classrooms at his grade level. Other students in the class, unless they have previously met him, have no way of knowing of his disabilities based on his virtual classroom interactions.

“They just see his name when a little box pops up that says ‘Michael is in the classroom.’ The program allows the teachers to talk to the kids individually or to turn on the volume so everyone can hear, just like in a regular classroom,” Mrs. McCracken said.

Because many children with autistic learning disabilities interact better through the computer than in person, Michael participates more in his virtual classrooms than he had in his regular classrooms, Mrs. McCracken said. His cyber school and computer experience inspired him to develop a career plan to become a software programmer for his senior graduation project.

Another advantage of Achievement House for Michael is that every class is recorded.

“Michael fatigues easily. So if he is having a bad day, he can still view the class and contact the teacher,” Mrs. McCracken said. “He can also watch the class more than once if he needs something explained again.”

At this point in his academic career at Achievement House, Michael needs very little parental supervision, Mrs. McCracken said. His special education teacher, Lisa Russo, has a weekly virtual meeting with him to review and organize his assignments. When he needs extra assistance, as he did with his senior project, Mrs. Russo will make an in-person visit to the home.

Under the IEP, Michael also receives home visits from speech and physical therapists twice a week and an occupational therapist once a week. Teachers also come to his home to administer standardized tests on which Pennsylvania bases its School Performance Profiles for every public school.

Achievement House has a satellite office three miles from the McCrackens’ home in Oakmont, Allegheny County. Michael went to the center a few times after he first enrolled, but the progressiveness of his disease keeps him at home most of the time, his mother said. When he does leave the house, he relies on the same muscles he uses for his computer mouse to control a fully-equipped motorized wheelchair.

In October, Michael became an honorary member of Carnegie Mellon University’s soccer team through TEAM Impact. The national program matches college athletic teams with “courageous kids.” Tartans’ soccer players have treated Michael to a Pink Floyd laser light show at the Carnegie Science Center and dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant. He also has attended several of their soccer matches.

After graduation, Mrs. McCracken said her son plans to travel as much as possible to some of the places he has visited through his computer because of his cyber charter school experience.In fact, Mrs. McCracken said she and Michael will be traveling to Florida in March to visit her parents at their winter home. Because Michael attends Achievement House, he will be able to keep up with his school work while in Florida.

I have a lot of support on the medical side and also on the education side because of Achievement House,” Mrs. McCracken said. “It is just an awesome school. My son also is completely engaged in his education, which is even more awesome.