Living with wheels

Can you describe some of the main challenges that you face in going to school?

People's attitudes can be annoying. People think that if you are in a wheelchair you are not intelligent. Schools still have limited access. The lessons are too fast for me to keep up with.

How do you use technology to help you at school?

I have a Pathfinder and a laptop with EZ Keys.

How do you complete coursework and read books?

Helen puts a book on a stand and turns the pages for me or reads to me so I can keep up. She also sets up exam papers on the laptop to save time.

You have been working with Helen for over three years. How does she help you?

She gets me to where I need to be for my lessons, reads to me, sets up the Pathfinder and laptop for me, explains things to me in and after lessons and teaches me Maths. Helen also sets up my timetable. My teachers and my Mum help with this. She feeds me and takes me to the toilet. Helen is my friend.

What is it like attending two different schools?

I have been going to Tolworth Girls School (a mainstream school) part time for two and a half years, but I still go to Bedelsford (a school for people with disabilities) where I started when I was 18 months old. The schools are very different. At Tolworth Girls School the lessons are faster, the school is busier and the work is harder. At Bedelsford the doors are wider and they have hoists, and everyone understands my disability. I spend half of my time at each school and I enjoy them both. It gives me more independence, a better education, more chances in life and the opportunity to make friends outside of Bedelsford.

What are your plans for the future? Are you planning to take GCSEs?

I am going to do the best that I can, but I know that I may have to slow down at some point, because the physical effort I have to put into everything makes me so tired.

If you could be in charge of your school for a day what would you do?

I would widen doors, put hoists in the toilets and have desks which go up and down so that I can get my wheelchair underneath. I would put EZ keys on all the main computers and tell people off for staring!

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