Against all odds!

Claudio Vieira de Oliveira

                           
Claudio Vieira de Oliveira was born with a rare condition of the joints that left him with severely deformed limbs ... and an upside-down head.

But despite his physical limitations, Claudio, from Monte Santo, Brazil, has defied doctors' doubts to become an accountant and inspirational public speaker.

                        

'Since I was a child I've always liked to keep myself busy and work - I don't like to depend totally on other people,' he said. 'I do a bit of accounting, research for clients and consulting.
'I have learned to turn on the TV, pick up my cell phone, turn on the radio, use the internet, my computer - I do it all by myself.'Claudio types with a pen held in his mouth, operates phones and a computer mouse with his lips and has specially made shoes that allow him to shuffle around town.
Claudio said: 'Throughout my life I was able to adapt my body to the world. Right now, I don't see myself as being different. I am a normal person.
'I don't see things upside-down. This is one of the things I always talk about in my interventions as a public speaker.
'Nowadays it's much easier to deal with the public, I'm not afraid of it anymore and I can say that I am a professional, international public speaker and that I receive invitations from all over the world.'