My name is Georgina and I'm from London I'm pretty much like your average teenager I enjoy shopping and hanging out with my friends. The only thing that makes me particularly different is that I have Cerebral Palsy.

I was diagnosed when I was only 18 months old. Cerebral Palsy is an incurable disease that affects the area of the brain called the cerebrum. It mainly affects muscle control in the body, from arms and legs to tongue and lips. This means that among other things, your speech can be affected and you might not be able to eat or even breathe properly.

It is a disabling disease and can, as it has in my case, cause you to be confined to a wheelchair for your whole life. It doesn't get worse as you get older but there are other orthopaedic problems that might develop from it, such as early onset of arthritis and osteoporosis.

Living with the disease

For me being in a wheelchair has been a lifelong reality. Sometimes I still get angry at the way things are. The most challenging thing about having this disease and being a teenager is that sometimes I feel frustrated that I can't walk and do other things that other young people can. Having to watch my friends do things that I can't, can be quite a painful and difficult.

Keeping a positive attitude

Although it is really difficult to live with Cerebral Palsy I am always keen to live life to the full and I take advantage of all the opportunities that come my way. So when I heard about the Channel 4 and Mediabox competition I was really excited.

The competition was to make a short documentary. We were asked to write a short synopsis of an idea for a short film. Being interested in media and having little to do over summer, I wasted no time and immediately set about writing my synopsis.

I decided I'd write about everyday life for me as a disabled person and about what the summer holidays and time away from school can be like for me. I was absolutely thrilled when the judges chose me as one of ten teenagers to make their documentary.

It meant I got to spend my usually quite boring summer holidays filming. Not only would I get to spend my summer learning about the film-making process, but I would also get to reveal to a wider audience what living my life as a disabled teenager is really like.

*Some names may have been changed.

Page 2 of 2

The film making experience

The best thing about making the film was, having something fun and interesting to do so I was not bored in my holidays. It was great fun to do the filming, we had a good laugh.

However, my illness was never far away from me as I worked on the film. It effected the practical aspects of filming. The most challenging part was, trying to arrange a carer and not knowing if one was available. I guess this is something that a normal documentary maker wouldn't of had to think about.

Fierce competition

I decided to call my four minute film 'Georgina Goes Out' and was really nervous and excited about the judging process - my competition was fierce. The other documentaries ranged from life as a gay teen to being a Muslim in Britain today. But I suppose my hard work must of paid off because when I was judged against the other nine documentaries I actually won. I nearly jumped out of my wheelchair, I was so amazed!

Since I won the competition, I have enjoyed loads of positive feedback. My advice for other disabled teenagers who are struggling would be to just keep smiling and you'll feel better.

Some images posed by models. Some names have been changed.

More help and advice

Understanding disabilities
If you're aged 13-19 and would like up to £1000 to create your own media project, please visit www.media-box.co.uk for more information.