my story
At Last; My Own Place.
I’m enjoying ‘faffing’ in my ‘new house’. Doing what I want, when I want – great! I can’t believe it has really happened.
I have SMA Type two; I’m 45 and have just moved out of Mum & Dad’s. I had a great time living with my parents and although many of my friends have been living independently for years, I never really wanted to do it before. Looking back I was apprehensive and worried about not feeling comfortable with other PA’s – I`m a fussy bugger and felt that only my mum could do it ‘right’.
Then a flat became vacant with my local housing association just around the corner from my parents. I knew that I was not going to get anything more suitable and decided to have a look. Strange, but it’s an identical property as my mum and dad’s.
No disability living allowance for me. Nowhere to turn for many more | Sue Marsh
Millions of us are living in terror of brown envelopes arriving from the Department for Work and Pensions I’m a disability campaigner.
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No disability living allowance for me. Nowhere to turn for many more | Sue Marsh
My Story: Driving Ambition
Ever since my father passed away a number of years ago, I have wanted to prove to people that I can learn to drive. I was told by many a professional that I would never have the ability, let alone the courage to get through the barriers that I would have to face.
I was brought up in a family surrounded by cars, bikes and machinery. My father was a driving instructor and also worked in the factories of Oxford’s thriving motor industry. Some of my fondest memories of my father were in the car. He would give me words of advice, talk car models and have great conversations.
When I left school, a neighbour gave me a three wheeled disabled car, a Robin Reliant. Sadly, I suffered a seizure having been free of them for many years. I was unable to take up his offer.
Long standing determination
I live with cerebral palsy, which severely limits the use of the right side of my body. I also have a long standing determination to overcome the odds. Twelve years ago, as well as my cerebral palsy affecting my right side, my left hand side was also badly affected after a neurological episode. I almost fully recovered but now use an outdoor powered wheelchair which I will be using to access my new adapted car once I pass my test.
After a practical test at the Regional Driving Assessment Centre in Eynsham, near Oxford, I completed my paperwork, health checks and a GP report, before the DVLA gave me my provisional licence, some 35 years later than when I first intended to learn. (more…)
Martin Amis: Only brain injury could make me write for children
Remarks about children’s books made by Martin Amis on the BBC’s new book programme Faulks on Fiction, broadcast this week, have caused anger and offence among children’s writers.
“People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children’s book,” Amis said, in a sideways excursion from a chat about John Self, the antihero of his 1984 novel Money. “I say, ‘If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children’s book’, but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you’re directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable.”
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Martin Amis: Only brain injury could make me write for children
The hidden battle of grandparent carers | Helen Collett
The growing number of UK grandparents who, like me, care full-time for children need more support from social services There are many reasons why grandparents might be raising their grandchildren: a relationship breakdown between the child’s parents, illness, addiction or violence. Whatever the reason, it is believed that around 200,000 grandparents in the UK are providing full-time care for their grandchildren. My story started back in 2001.
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The hidden battle of grandparent carers | Helen Collett
My Story: Tim Rushby-Smith
Three years ago an accident left Tim Rushby-Smith facing sudden disability – just as he was about to become a father for the first time. He explains how he learned to face the future head on and build a new life – as a man, a husband and a father. (more…)
