Please offer me a seat – improving travel for disabled people?
Whilst browsing through my twitter account yesterday, I became aware of a new scheme which Transport for London are trialling, which encourages passengers to give up their seat for someone who needs it more, particularly disabled passengers. Participating passengers will have a card and wear a badge, saying “Please offer me a seat.” As […]
Disability Awareness for Kids – Its not weird, just different.
I was on a train recently, travelling home from visiting my sister and best friend in London. After a good night out the evening before, I was feeling quite tired and hoped to pass the journey quietly with my Kindle for company. At one of the stops, a mother with her young daughter got on […]
Facing a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy: Hope for Parents
I must admit to being a bit of a soap addict. I was thrilled to see “Emmerdale” doing their bit for Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, following the difficult birth of Megan and Jai’s baby girl. The doctors have advised the new parents that due to complications during the birth, which meant the baby suffered […]
Cerebral Palsy: An Introduction
This month is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month so I’m going to be sharing a number of articles to raise awareness of the condition, what it’s like to live with it and the challenges that it presents. Later this month, I’ll also be sharing advice for parents who have a child with CP and maybe some […]
Support for young disabled people and their families
It’s sometimes hard for young disabled people and their families to find the support that they need and even harder to make their voices heard. SENDIAS is a project in West Berkshire which aims to support young disabled people, up to the age of 25 and their parents/carers. They want young people and those who […]
Ten misconceptions about people with disabilities
Disabled people need someone to talk for them “Would she like a drink?” or “How old is she?” were common questions posed to my mum when I was growing up. People assumed just because I am disabled that I can’t speak for myself. I soon piped up with the answers, making sure they […]
Bringing Disability into the media spotlight
Having a speech impairment, I’ve always hated the sound of my own voice. Not only that, but I have at times, struggled to make other people understand me. So when I started promoting my first book, “Does it wet the bed?”, my publicists, Literally PR, asked what types of activities I’d be comfortable doing. […]
Legislation doesn’t improve knowledge of disability
Since “Does it wet the bed?” was released, I’ve done several interviews for newspapers, magazines and radio shows. Each has focused on different aspects of the book and my life but nearly all of them have included the following (or similar) question: “Have attitudes towards disability changed since you were a child?” My answer has […]
Why I love having Cerebral Palsy
This week is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Week, with tomorrow being World CP Day. I’ll be live on Twitter between 1-2pm GMT to answer your questions about cerebral palsy, my life living with the condition and about my memoir, “Does it wet the bed?”. But in the meantime, here’s why I love having Cerebral Palsy. . […]
Disability Awareness for Children
Last week, I went to a primary school to deliver my Disability Awareness for Kids workshops. The children were taking part in a Disability Awareness week but I was apprehensive about their reaction to me; a lady in a wheelchair who didn’t speak especially clearly. I realised that talking to a group of children was […]