Pittsburgh Teen to Lead GOP Convention Pledge

Though she lost her voice to cerebal palsy, Pittsburgh teenager Sara Pyszka will appear center stage tonight as she leads the Republican National Convention in the Pledge of Allegiance at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Although she cannot use her natural voice, Sara speaks by means of a DynaVox speech generation device -- made by DynaVox Systems LLC, on the South Side -- which she controls with head movements. The computerized device even allows her to sing - she performed the National Anthem this past July in front of a crowd of 17,000 at a Cleveland Indians game.

"By appearing at the convention, I can teach people to look past the wheelchair and the equipment and see that there is a person capable of doing good things," she said. "I am speaking for millions of people with disabilities that it is possible, if you work hard enough."

Sara, who will vote for the first time this November, is a supporter of President Bush.