However, none of that has stopped him from getting involved, and Cohn's comments at task force meetings provide his group members with a fresh perspective.

"Matt's contribution to our group discussions is prominent," says task force member Mahesh Nihalani, 53. "He is well prepared every time he comes to the meetings. And he watches every city council meeting and planning commission meeting on TV. Although it is hard to understand him at first, once you spend enough time with him, you understand what he says."

Cohn had cerebral palsy when he was born and suffered permanent brain injury. "The obstetrician basically gave my wife the wrong medicine at the wrong time," says Cohn's father, Jim. He drives Cohn to the task force's weekly meetings and translates for him.

Cohn's experience as a person with a disability offers insightful input on how to make Cupertino a more accessible and friendly place for disabled people.

In a recent discussion, Cohn advocated that cities and counties should coordinate with one another to improve transportation for disabled people.

"There is no single Bay Area wide accessible transportation service that goes between counties and is entirely accessible to people of disability," Cohn says. "It is a piece meal hodgepodge kind of service. It is crazy that BART is accessible but Caltrain is not."

Cohn feels he can make a difference in these issues and doesn't hesitate to jump into the political frey. In fact, politics has always been Cohn's passion.

"When he was 8 years old, he would go through the ballot and tell us what the issues were," says Cohn's mother, Lisa. "When Matt was little, we took him along with us so he could remind us who to vote for."

When Cohn follows an issue or a subject, he takes in all the details.

During the O.J. Simpson's murder trial in early 1995, Cohn was so obsessed with the case that watching the trial on television was not enough. He contacted Judge Lance Ito to organize a tour of the courthouse. Ito agreed so the whole family—Cohn, his parents and younger brother, Alex—flew down to Los Angels to meet Ito. Cohn, although he wanted to watch the trial, was not allowed in the courtroom because he was too young. He was in sixth grade then.

Although he is an eager learner, Cohn's educational road has been paved with hardships.

Cohn was the first wheelchair user to graduate from the Cupertino Union School District. He attended regular classes with other students and graduated with honors from Kennedy Middle School.

But when it was time for Cohn to attend high school, his neighborhood school, Monta Vista High, said they couldn't accomodate him.

According to Cohn, the school administrators told him he wouldn't be successful at Monta Vista and wouldn't fit in since many classrooms are on the second floor and the school would need to convert the teachers' lounge into a restroom for disabled people. Monta Vista suggested Cohn go to Lynbrook, where he would be supervised by the same teachers who oversaw emotionally disturbed students.

Cohn's parents eventually found a program for him at Saratoga High School, but the Fremont Union High School District wouldn't allow Cohn to transfer unless the family moved to Saratoga.

Cohn's parents considered suing the Fremont Union High School District, but they pulled Cohn out of school instead. "I could have sued to get Matt into a school but it was going to be a disaster. We didn't want him to go through that," Jim says. So the Cohns hire private tutors for Cohn and let him decide what he wants to study.

In addition to self-learning, Cohn gets most of his information from mass media.

He calls his room his media center. He watches Cupertino City Council and Planning Commission meetings live at home over his dinner and has Jim read every item on the agenda to him. He follows world events by flipping through CNN, MSNBC and CNBC. At the same time, he listens to his scanner for San Jose Police Department dispatches and he listens to radio talk shows on KGO. "It is very noisy in his room," Lisa says.

Cohn's passion for politics is contagious. With Cohn's encouragement, younger brother Alex was just sworn in as a youth commissioner in Cupertino.

The unreserved support of Cohn by his parents is a major reason why the young man can stay so active .

"When Matt was born, we believed the best thing we could do for him was to bring the world to him and to protect his intelligence and curiosity from the frustrations he might face," Lisa says.

And because of Matt, she brought the world to other disabled people in the Bay Area by establishing a computer center in Mountain View in 1987. The center served hundreds of people each month before it merged with a bigger organization.

The full support of Cohn's parents didn't waiver a bit when both parents fell ill.

In 1986, Lisa was diagnosed with Lupus Erythematosus, an incurable auto-immune disease that leads to inflammation and damage to various body tissues. Her health deteriorated rapidly in 1997 and now she must receive medication intravenously around the clock. Jim was diagnosed with testicular cancer two years ago. But after undergoing radiation therapy, his cancer is now under control.

Jim and the boys say the family stays strong and together because of Lisa's optimism.

"My mom is always there when we need to talk," Alex, 15, says. "If it weren't for her, we would be so sad."

As the only healthy person in the family, Alex's life is not easy. When Lisa needs to go to the emergency room, Alex stays at home to look after Cohn. "You get used to it after a while," Alex says.

But Cohn takes care of his younger brother in a different way. When Alex took his international business class, he had to find an article about international business and summarize it. Alex had no problems finding one. "Matt would tell me this story and that story that he got from CNN," says Alex, a sophomore at Monta Vista.

Although Alex sometimes gets jealous of Cohn because Lisa and Jim give him special treatment, Alex says he is proud to have Cohn as a brother.

"From Matt, I have learned what is important in life," Alex says. "There are lot of people in the world, like Matt, struggling to live every day but trying to stay happy and not being afraid of being themselves."

Lisa says her wish for her son is that he can run for public office.

"I want him to show people what people of disability can achieve," Lisa says.