I wanted to talk about some of the awkwardness around using a wheelchair. I can walk (a bit) but I still need a chair - here's why!

Lots of conversation around this both online and IRL, which is great to hear. I spoke to a parent who’s daughter uses a wheelchair in school. On better days, she wants to get out of chair (they’re not as comfy as you might think). If she does, she gets bullied and told she’s faking it. That’s pretty messed up.

If I had problems with my impairment at school or college teachers/tutors always said I was “playing on it” - the concept of better/worse days was completely lost on them. One head of department told me I was “only disabled when it suited me.”

As parents and educators we have to do better. Impairments/conditions aren’t fixed states, they shift and change, as do our needs. And if your body is so perfectly reliable that you can’t grasp that, then you are very lucky indeed...

Of course, a lot of people totally get it, and I’m really grateful. There’s people out there who don’t know that they don’t know, and those are the minds we have to change. Thanks for all the kindness on this one; seems sharing really is caring 🙂

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