Nineteen-year-old Kara Johansen is a three-time FRONTIERS star. Born with cerebral palsy in 1982, Kara has never let her disability keep her from doing the things she wants to do, including conversing, writing, and having a good time.

"A lot of times people categorize her- she can't do this, she can't go on a roller-coaster, she can't jump off a diving board," says Kara's older sister Melly. "But she has done all of that and that is what keeps us together - because we have overcome so much together."

When FRONTIERS first met Kara in 1994, she communicated with her family by spelling out words on an alphabet board. Her mother, Pam, had become particularly skilled at judging which letter Kara was "pointing" at with her eyes. But Kara needed her own voice.

By 1995, she had one. Using a camera and a computer to track her gaze, Kara was able type sentences which would then be read aloud by a voice synthesizer. She's used several versions of this arrangement. Today, she uses it to word process the plays she writes, email her friends and call her sister on the phone.

Kara attends the Massachusetts Hospital School.