Being a disabled child is very hard, the world of disability doesn’t come with any instructions it’s just left for you and your family to navigate its ableist structures. I know this was hard for my parents at the beginning, their world had turned upside down when I got my diagnosis of cerebral palsy without any warning. It certainly started to affect me in my later childhood and teenage years as I started to recognise these flaws for myself. Yet, I had little understanding of these flaws, at the time not knowing what ableism was. I knew there were inequities around me but I didn’t know how deep this stemmed back to.
I think one thing I would have told myself would be to not worry as much. We often find that as disabled individuals we rarely have a chance to live in the moment and find our spirituality because we must think ahead and plan for our future. Even as a teenager I was constantly worrying and trying to be as prepared as possible for my future. Many disabled people know the feeling and even writing this I’m choosing my words carefully, as on the other hand, I know that if it wasn’t for the hard work and planning put in by myself and most importantly my parents then I wouldn’t be where I are today. It’s very easy to say if only I knew what I know now but I am still undecided if I’d like my teenage self to know what I know now as I can’t help but think that I may not have lived in the moment as much defeating the whole purpose. So, if I could go back, I think I would tell myself not, not to worry but that, the hard work is worth it.
I am never where I would have predicted myself to be aged 24 working at the University of Huddersfield as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Occupational Therapy. There were many barriers and I even got told that I wouldn’t be able to study occupational therapy by occupational health when getting everything set up for university, but I persevered, (cliche I know) but I’m glad I did.
These ableist experiences become a huge part of my life and career in occupational therapy (not that I ever talk about it). I had more knock-backs during university on placement and a major wobble once finishing university and trying to land a job. Yet, each one taught me something using my experiences has become a central part of my disabled advocacy.
Now, I am doing things that I never envisaged yet, on the other hand, I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. In a few months my debut book ‘Occupational Therapy, Disability Activism and Me: Challenging Ableism in Healthcare’ I’m still having trouble getting my head around but it is happening!
I’m living a great life at age 24 and a large part of this is because of the hard work myself and my parents have put and we will always keep working hard as a team and of course, I will always be my authentic self. Living with a disability is frustrating, I still get frustrated after 24 years! But embracing the tools my disability gives me is the best thing I have ever done. At the start of my teenage years, I was starting to feel a bit undermined by those around me in school, both peers and teachers, yet everything worked out and once I started embracing my disability I knew my path!
Thank you for reading,
Georgia
