Welcome to Buttons and Ramps
Hello and welcome to Buttons and Ramps. I’m Melissa Cassidy, a 20-year-old Film, Media and Journalism student at the University of Stirling, rhythmic gymnastics coach, and aspiring screenwriter. I write about disability, culture, and accessibility.
As a young person with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, I’m passionate about sharing my experiences, thoughts and opinions in the hopes that it educates people, makes others feel less alone or is just somewhat amusing to read! As well as writing short articles, I love interviewing others and sharing more than just my perspective on different disability topics. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
You can find even more of my writing in my columns for Able Magazine: https://ablemagazine.co.uk
Instagram: @buttonsandramps
I am also the author of children’s picture book Doodle the Poodle’s Big Day Out as well as the founder of Alder Books Publishing. You can find out more (and maybe even treat yourself to a copy of my book) here:
Blog posts
Creative Pathways: Community, careers and confidence
The third annual creative pathways event took place across two days at the end of August this year, it was packed with insight, energy and a whole lot of laughter. It is an event designed for young people with cerebral palsy to explore different career opportunities in the creative industries, however having been lucky enough…
Accessing After Midnight
The clock strikes midnight and my voice starts to break as I belt out the final chorus of Good Luck Babe like my life depends on it. I am in my element, in an unfamiliar town, in what I am desperate to be a new phase of my life. Over the summer I took on…
More walking sticks, less judgment.
Last week, an article titled “Why are young women using walking sticks?” was published in The Times by a journalist called Kathleen Stock. The premise of this article was that Stock believes “Gen Z women” are caught in a cycle of “social contagion”. That they’re talking themselves into being disabled through social media and online…
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