Emily Pautler will dance at a Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center event on Sunday.
When Emily Pautler was born, she would cry out in discomfort unless she was dressed in special diapers.
As a child, Emily would get pain and nausea from something so seemingly simple as putting on shoes and socks.
And although she was always dancing around the house and moving to music, Emily had to miss out on ballet lessons with other young girls because putting on tights was so physically traumatizing.
"It was always uncomfortable," she said. "I couldn't learn or concentrate in certain clothes."
At the age of seven, Emily was referred to the Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center and diagnosed with Sensory Integration Disorder, a condition in which the nervous system does not receive messages from the senses properly.
Now 15, Emily is an accomplished dancer who wants to give back to the organization that changed her life.
She will perform Glaunov's "The Seasons" with the Ballet Theater of Lancaster on Sunday, and 50 percent of the ticket sales benefit Schreiber.
"I find it amazing that a little girl who couldn't wear shoes can now dance en pointe," said her mother, Cynthia.
But she remembers the gradual process that got her there.
Emily enrolled in intensive therapy at Schreiber for two years. There, she would wear a rubber suit while being introduced to new materials and sensations such as buttoning.
She also began to dance.
"We would have contracts," said her mother. "She could go in 10 minutes late or leave early or just put the tights on right before class.
"She almost gave it up. There was one point where I had to pay her to go to class. But she persevered. It was something that she wanted to do."
Now Emily has danced in works including "Snow White," "The Nutcracker" and "The Wizard of Oz."
"I just feel relaxed when I'm dancing, like everything is going right," said Emily. "You can think about everything you're going through, put it aside, and focus on something else."
Emily hopes that this weekend's performance, inspired by Russian children's games, will give hope to those at Schreiber who are still struggling.
"I want to try to help little kids see, you can get better and overcome," she said.
The performances will be held at Franklin & Marshall College's Roschel Performing Arts Center at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets are $15, $12 for children.
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