The Brooke Ellision Story Review

This film is  based on the true story of a young girl called Brooke Ellison, who became a quadriplegic after a road accident. She overcame her difficulties to become the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard.

One of the significant issues in the film is that even with all the prejudice that disabled people face from society, there is still a chance for success. Brooke is not alone in her success because there are other disabled people who have had success despite their difficulties, such as Ludwig Van Beethoven. Beethoven was a deaf musician, who still created some beautiful music after going deaf due to music, but it is still relevant today states Hicks (1) . The implications of this are that success for disabled people does happen but it just may take them a little bit longer to achieve the success.

The film highlights the harsh treatment of disabled people throughout history. However it seems that this harsh treatment began before the accident occurred for Brooke. In a recent lecture, Longmore said that the disabled person's rights movement battled for equality in America from the 1930s but it actually became a more prominent issue in the 1970s. The reasons that this may  have occurred were because the Works Progress Adminstration were turning them down for jobs as the Home Relief Bureau of New York City were classifying them as physically handicapped according to the Stanford University website (2) .  The implications are that the issue with prejudice and harsh treatment is a worldwide problem which is slowly but surely changing for the better.

The film portrays disabled people in a positive manner. There are many possible reasons for this but the main reason seems to be the fact that the film was directed by fellow quadriplegic Christopher Reeve. There is evidence to suggest that under his direction, the film is able to capture the harsh realities faced by each family member and not just Brooke. This is proven by the fact that the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has continued its work through Chris's son, Matthew according to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. In addition, the film is a representation of how far we have come since then in regards to legislation, such as the Disability Discrimination Act which was brought in 1995, in order to make discrimination of disabled people illegal in regards to service and provision (3).

In conclusion, the film is an excellent portrayal of the difficulties faced by disabled people and their families. However, it also shows the success people can have if they fight and are determined to succeed.

Sources

The Brooke Ellison Story (2004) [DVD] Directed by Christopher Reeve. NTSC. 

(1) Hicks, M (2012) when Beethoven announced his deafness [online]  www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyDeafness.html  (accessed: 15th January 2013)

(2) Hodkinson, A and Vickerman,P (2009) Key Issues in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion. SAGE Publications:London

(3) Stanford university (1991) scholar uncovers hidden history of people with disabilities [online] www.news.stanford.edu/pr/91/910515Arc1373.html  (accessed:15th January 2013)

I am here but you can do this! - A message of support.

I have just read something on one of the many forums and it broke my heart to know that there is still this fight to be accepted and loved by others. So I have decided to post this open post as a message of support to all those of you who are struggling.

I know you are probably feeling so lonely and I get that I have felt lonely too. My advice to you is this open your eyes because no one is never truly alone I promise you but it is the fear of not wanting to get hurt again that's why you don't see it. I know you are probably screaming at the screen as you read this saying it is not easy but nothing in life is easy especially for people like us I promise there is a way through this but you have to want I promise one day you will but you have to realise it. The easiest part is just to keep smiling a wise friend told me this I have never forgotten it. He also offered me another piece of advice and that is whatever you achieve is your achievement and you should be proud of it. This took me a while to realise this but I am proud of what I have done ever so much. I know this is probably hard to do but you can look at how far you have come I promise you have come so far so don't give up just yet.

Another piece of advice is to find that special place that is just yours and you do something that you love I have a few. I will tell you about them in my next post. Now I promise you that you will get through I know it's hard to believe.

 Believe in yourself.

 Love who you are and those who love you.

Love as always

Happy Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day!

Happy Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day! A day to remember those who succeed in life when society and life make them deal with tough times. To those who are proud to be just who they are.

I have Cerebral Palsy for once I can see I am proud of ME. Cerebral Palsy is a medical condition because I wouldn't be me without it.

I am who I am.

So raise a glass and cheer for the good times ahead. Happy CP Awareness Day!

Different worlds

I decided to write a post about how disabled people are like everyone else. It is just that they may see the world in a different way. It was after having a discussion on whether we should have placement years in university education. It was in this discussion that I was told that I was biased towards disabled people (to which I was quite offended at considering I campaign for equality because that's what disabled people deserve) but this was not point. It would be awesome to have a placement year for all but for disabled people this may not be possible due to logistics and practicalities. I think that unless you live with this difficulty in your life but I am not saying it is a hindrance because it can shape who we are there is a chance you don't see the full picture of reality for a disabled person. Disabled people see the world in a very different way because it is how their mind or body works not because they cannot do something.

So my point is this everyone can actually be the same but the thing I think people does not always see is the day to day living and the thought process in which disabled people have to think. It is that we may want to travel the world and some may even be able to manage but due to their tiredness and dependency on others due to this tiredness it may be not possible till quite a few years after they leave university.

To give you more clarity I have put a link to a video on YouTube for you to watch. It is a Newsround documentary in which young people describe how autism affects their lives. However they never say that they can't do something they describe it in a completely different way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpWWP1HNGQ

Enjoy the post! Speak soon Kathryn x

Update

I have now added a page in which I talk about my experiences as a person who has Irlens syndrome titled My Irlens story. I will update more tomorrow.

Keep spreading the love!

Kat xx

Signposting

I know some of you would have seen that some of the tabs on the side are not my own. This is my way of saying that my blogs or I don't have all the answers so I will put links to pages that I think of importance. It may anything from a different perspective on disability to charity organizations to clubs. Hope they help. Please do feel free to get in contact with me at anytime rowlingno1fan@gmail.com. 

Hope you are all having a lovely evening.

PS - if you have any links  that you want to share or you want me to link to your blog. Also get in touch if you want me to write about a certain topic.I would be happy to do so.

Story Time!!

I was writing the last post I kept thinking that I have not shared my story. I don't know if some of you know. I have Cerebral Palsy and Irlen's syndrome  (click the link if you want to know more about Irlen's syndrome and Cerebral Palsy)  but I want to share my experiences with a disability initally focusing on Cerebral palsy only but I will write a post with Irlen's syndrome over the weekend. Hope you enjoy my Cerebral Palsy story.

Enjoy.

PS - I know some of you will be thinking I don't understand Cerebral Palsy or Irlen's syndrome fully over the next couple of weeks I will write a couple of posts explaining them simply for everyone.

Be careful - Mind your language!

Have you ever felt that there are times when you don't know what to say to a disabled person? I have found that people really struggle to talk about disability and I always wondered the reasons behind this, because it is not if disabled people are different, it is just they see the world in a different way. 

I think that there may be a variety of reasons in which society says disability as a taboo subject. The first one is the fact that we don't educate our young people about disabled people in history. This has recently been highlighted by an article published in the Guardian. It talks about the fact that even though teachers teach about holocaust in order to reduce to religious discrimination and the slave trade in order to reduce racial discrimination (1). What about disabled people? Shouldn't we teach about the treatment of disabled people in history in order to reduce disability discrimination? I think we should especially when it has been reported that 83% of children with learning disabilities have reported being bullied (2). 

The article by the Guardian also talks about the fact that disabled people have played a significant role within  society and they are part of the reason society is like it is today. I bet you have all seen the film, the King's speech. Well did you know that it was about King George VI who had a stammer and this was Queen Elizabeth II's father. (If you want to know more about the plot I would suggest either buying it on DVD or look at the summary by clicking summary for the wiki summary) Imagine if he had hidden away and didn't overcome his stammer. Would Queen Elizabeth II actually exist? The article also talks about the T4 category in which disabled people were sent to the gas chamber. There are many examples in the article if you are interested in the article see the link at the bottom of this post. I think it is really inspiring to see disabled people showing how we see the world because we don't judge you for not having a disability so do people judge us.  

Another reason in which I think that disability is a taboo subject is due to the fact the way in which it is seen or not seen in the media. From my own experience I think that it is through people trying to say the right thing but actually they are oppressing the disability even further. I think that this come what I talked about the lack of education about disability. I think it stems from a society in which we have to be politically correct in order to reduce offending people. Political correctness is not just associated with disability. It is associated with other vulnerable groups maybe the elderly or people from a different heritage. However, what I am trying to say is there are times when people are trying not to offend people when in actual fact they are oppressing that minority of people (3) 

I guess my point to this post is that language is becoming such a focal point to talk about minorities why don't you ask disabled people themselves in how they want to represented. As a disabled person myself, I think ask me and I will tell you rather than you guess. Also I think another point to my post is that talk about disabled people because we are not different we just see the world in which we all live in a different way.

PS - if you ever see a term which you don't understand I have made the word a link to a definition on the other side. Hope this helps. If this is not enough or you have questions you want to ask me please don't hesitate to contact me at rowlingno1fan@gmail.com 

Links  

(1) Ismail, S (2012) Why disability history should be on the school curriculum [online] http://www.guardian.co.uk/social-care-network/2012/sep/26/disability-history-school-curriculum (accessed: 20th February 2014) 

(2) Lipsett, A (2007) Eight of out 10 disabled children bullied, report finds [online] http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/jun/18/schools.children (accessed: 15th February 2014) 

(3) Barnes, C (1993) Political Correctness, Language and Rights [online]  http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/Barnes-Correct.pdf (accessed: 18th February 2014) 

Welcome!!

My name is Kathryn Bracewell. I am 20 years old student currently studying BA Education Studies and Special Educational Needs. I am a singer in the Pendle Youth Choir, an educational volunteer, a performer in life, a writer and now a pretty awesome blogger  For a long time I have been wanting to share my thoughts and stories about life. I am a blogger with my blog on Cerebral Palsy and bullying which is thriving I will add the link at the bottom of the post. 

I set up this blog for a variety of reasons one as a form of communication for my stories, thoughts and opinions. Another reason is to educate people that disability is not a hindrance but just another way of seeing the world. I also set the blog up as a support page for any person that needs support or advice regarding any issues about disability and education. 

The link for my other blog please do take a look. Let's share our thoughts and writings.

www.hopeforthefuture123.blogspot.co.uk

Share your stories with me. Feel free to email me at rowlingno1fan@gmail.com

Hope you will enjoy my story. 

Keep smiling. 

Kathryn xx