As I promised a few months ago, “Challenges of a Disabled Mum” is back – though it has to be said that my biggest challenge at the moment is simply finding the time to blog and develop the many ideas that I have! My five month old baby boy, Niall, is a full time job and by the time he settles at night, I’m absolutely exhausted!

However, I wanted to tell you a little story about my eldest son, Jack, who is now six. Recently, my hubby suddenly told me, “You do realise that Jack refers to your disability as terrible palsy?!” I roared with laughter as I honestly hadn’t picked up on it – Jack had obviously tried to keep it a secret from me! The next day, I decided to ask Jack what disability he thought I had. With a cheeky grin, he revealed his nick name for what is Cerebral Palsy. I didn’t want to chastise him at all as I knew he was being playful and didn’t mean any harm and in all honesty, I thought it a very clever play on words for a six year old.

However, I want him to grow up understanding and embracing disability and the Social Model. As I have done in the past, I took the opportunity to explain to him that although my disability makes some things difficult, it also makes me who I am as a person. As a child, I think at the moment he tends to pick up on the things that I can’t do more so than appreciating the many things that I can do but I think this is why I’m so passionate about the talks I do in schools. Disability needs to be talked about more, both at home and in school, so that children don’t always see disability as negative. I’ve always been open and honest with Jack and will be with Niall, to ensure that their questions are answered in ways that are age appropriate and pave the way for them to advocate the Social Model.

If you’re a parent or a teacher and would like more information about my Disability Talks in schools, please get in touch.