Reflecting on my Education

Now that I have come to the end of my compulsory education, I can look back on the last 14 years and make some landmark observations. I have always been at mainstream schools, which has worked well for me because I don't feel any different to anybody else. My mother asked me a few months ago when it was that I realised I was disabled. When considering when this was, I found this difficult as I never felt any different to any of the other children because we all accepted in each other the way we were.

My happiest years at school were between the ages of 4 and 10. My earliest memories are of my nursery school in Germany where I had my own helper. I was very happy and loved the bus ride home.

Back in England , my first school had a special needs unit, but after a few days I was integrated into a normal class. I used a small electric wheelchair at break times and shared a classroom assistant with the other special needs children in my class. It was a very loving school where there was a great sense of belonging and fun. It kept my self confidence intact as there was always something I could do, even in P.E!

I made a successful move to a new school when I was eight. This time I was the only disabled pupil (apart from my sister in the senior school) and I had my own helper. It started to become less enjoyable for me when I was ten years old, mainly because I had a teacher who didn't quite understand my disability. When I had to sit at the front right by her, I felt isolated as everybody else was behind me and I couldn't interact with them. The following year I sat at the back of the class, which was better for me as I could see all the other people in my class and was able to contribute more to class discussions and I got on with my teacher really well.

For my first three years at senior school I had to use my manual wheelchair all the time which was very restricting for me as I had so enjoyed the freedom of my electric wheelchair before. It became one of the reasons I wanted to change schools. My family moved to Sussex at the start of Year 10 and I was able to use my electric wheelchair in school all the time. This was a huge advantage for me, as my electric chair is much more comfortable so I was able to concentrate more on my lessons.

The teachers at my school down here were much more understanding of my needs than at my old school. I felt much more able to talk to them about my problems and they were much better at talking to me rather than to my helper.

From Manhood Community College I moved to Chichester College for my A levels. There I was able to drive around the whole college, using the shops, library and refectory and feel completely the same as all the other students.

Now I am at university and hope to work with children. I think the most important things for disabled children are to have freedom, to feel included and to have the self confidence to achieve everything they want. I have been very lucky to have all these throughout my education, and even the difficult bit in the middle taught me a lot!

One last point - I did get rather tired of always being a narrator in assemblies and always longed to be an actor!

Lizzie Baily lizzie@wellspringwestsussex.org.uk