How I created my Facebook page Katherine Hayward my life with cerebral palsy

I've always liked people to be as aware as possible of my disabilities, and I've had different reactions to them, and different experiences of disability awareness .

This however was easier said than done, as people have a lot of  preconceptions about disability.

I  decided to start my page as I am conscious of the fact that people need to be more conscious of the difficulties that disabled people face every day of their lives. Watching  the London Olympics last year also made me think as to what I can do to make people more aware of my disabilities.I had always wanted to create a Facebook page but was unsure what to create one about. Talking  about my disabilities has always come very naturally to me and I am ready to talk to those who want to listen I didn't create my page out of pity, and don't like people pitying me I thought about what I like, Quotes music , colourful pictures and blog entries, and decided to use them on my Facebook page I post there  various times a day,  and am really pleased to have reached 100  likes (on 9/4/13).   I'm hoping 

to get many more in time and I also have a You Tube channel   related to my Facebook page where I have videos  about my life. It's called cpchick81 for those of you who don't know. 

Personal experiences to a certain extent have also played a part in my decision to create a page about my life with  cerebral palsy. Throughout my education, I was bullied due to my disabilities, and this was also true outside of school as people would stare and make fun of me, calling me "four eyes" and "spastic".

 I've always wanted people to be as conscious of my disabilities as 

possible, ever since I was 8 years old, which was when I first 

became more conscious of my disabilities.   The earliest example I can remember of me trying to spread disability awareness was when I was at primary (elementary) school. I can remember the visit that day was from Peter Shelton, the husband of Joy Shelton, who'd been  my Support Worker at the school since age 7. He had come to the school to talk about the St John Ambulance Service,  for which he worked as an ambulance driver. 

He wanted a volunteer to demonstrate having their blood pressure 

taken. No one volunteered, and to my surprise, I did. I remember 

the other kids' faces as my blood pressure was taken and I didn't bat an eyelid. I was used to having it taken as by then I'd been in and 

out of hospital alot due to operations on my hydrocephalus shunt. Peter them said " Katherine, tell them about your disabilities", so I did. I said in some ways we are all disabled, as there many of you who can't climb a high fence- that's a physical barrier. I just have "fences" (physical barriers) in my way every moment of every day and I need help from other people to climb them. What I meant was there are challenges we all face, bit I need more help than others to 

face them and live day to day because of my physical and sensory disabilities. Everyone clapped afterwards and I had a huge smile on my face. I suppose that was the first time I openly challenged people's ignorance about my disabilities. 

Like others with disabilities, I have been insulted, imitated, mocked. And judged. I became aware of my disabilities and the fact I felt "different" from others around me at about 7 years old. People called me "four-eyes" and "spastic" . At first, I ignored them, then I tried confronting them but that made things worse. I got teachers and care assistants to talk to them. 

Bit by bit, I got over this stage in my life and people started to see my talents. They saw I was great at spelling and reading and looked up to me a little. 

At home, I struggled as my sister is able bodied, and she made friends easier than I did. 

I often felt the "odd one out" , but tried desperately to fit in. My sister was very supportive of me and still is. 

As I went through life, I experienced a lot of ignorance,  whatever the situation. 

I've achieved things which I'm proud of:I have a University degree and I'm in a relationship. I speak Spanish and some German, and I've taught myself some Portuguese and Italian. I love poetry, reading shopping, meeting with friends . 

I tend to ignore those who don't value me, and value those who do. 

I have had disrespect, ignorance and misunderstanding from doctors teachers and acquaintances. 

My page is also a way of showing people I'm more than my disabilities . 

I also want to send a message to people to take me as I am as I'm worth getting to know too. My disabilities don't define me, but I'll respond better to, and feel more at ease around, those who accept them as a component of the package that makes " me" . 

I strive to make the page a reflection of me : my likes, views on things, life experiences quotes by me and ones I find reflect my opinions , or by people I admire. 

As I've already said, I created my Youtube channel, cpchick, which has videos about my life. These are just insights. 

If you want any more information or have any suggestions for my page or videos, please feel free to comment on my videos in the "comments" section corresponding to each video on my YouTube channel page, or leave a message on my Facebook page.  

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