Luke Laurenson embraces the spotlight. The 18-year-old Ashland resident has acted on school stages and for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Diagnosed as a baby with dystonic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that makes it difficult to walk or talk, he gives heartfelt, honest presentations about his life at Rotary Club meetings and community gatherings. Tapping a letter at a time on the keyboard of an assistive communication device, he states what’s obvious to anyone who knows him: “I am an extrovert.” On June 9, Laurenson was in front of a large, cheering crowd again, this time as a valedictorian of Ashland High School’s Class of 2023. He delivered his prepared speech with a handsfree pointer that activates a device that recites his words out loud. He recalled his youthful, yet unfulfilled wishes to run and eat an ice cream cone by himself. He mentioned medical treatments that will continue the rest of his life, then quickly told about the joy of earning all A’s. ...