Every March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. This is my disability, but it doesn’t hold me back.
Cerebral palsy affects many people in the UK and is more common than people realise, around 2-2.5 in every 1000 children in the UK are born with cerebral palsy, there are an estimated 30,000 children with cerebral palsy in the UK.
This month aims to bring together people, their families, carers and organisations from over 100 countries, this is a lifelong neurological condition that affects a person to ability to control their movement, posture and balance.
No two people experience the condition in the same way – for me it’s just a label, as we’re all individuals, I refuse to let people tell me what I should do with my life, some people call that determination.
Looking back to school, I had to learn how to walk and attended speech therapy, people who know me best still say to this day I’ve never shut up. I went to a disabled school in Glasgow, or what is known as a special needs primary then high school, but what it special about a school? When I finished I went to Motherwell College, but I was allocated to a basic life skills course. It wasn’t my choice, I wasn’t asked what course I’d like to do, so I pushed to get on a business course and won a place.
My dream was to work in the media. I recall people at the time saying to me, “what about a shop job?”, but not one said “yes media sounds good.” However it was my life, so I joined Hospital Radio when I was 18. I recommend it, if anyone wants a career in the media, that’s the best place to start. Many famous Scots media celebrities have started here, such as Tom Russell and Ken Bruce.
I was there for 8 years, I asked if I could do a sports round up on the station, then I moved onto a few community radio stations. I hosted my own show, interviewing different people gave me a good start. Forward till today, I’m now a freelance journalist, worked for BBC on TV , Radio, STV and various newspapers outlets, some acting work too.
I think I’ve achieved a lot, my best advice would be if someone said no you can’t, that should make you more determined to prove them wrong. I would say never give up on your goals, if you believe you can, just do it, you may need some support to get there but that’s fine, we all need that sometimes.