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
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…
The Missing Voice in Welcome to Holland
I was scrolling through instagram today and I came across a parent of a disabled child talking about a poem called Welcome to Holland. I’d never heard of this poem before so I was interested in having a read of it and I have some thoughts. The poem compares the experience of having a disabled…
Don’t be silly!
It occurred to me recently that it’s hard to embrace silliness as a disabled person. Not because disabled people aren’t funny, I for one often find myself hilarious (whether anyone else does or not) and some of the funniest people I know are also disabled. It feels so much more socially unacceptable as a disabled…
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