This week, I have the pleasure of bringing you an interview with the one and only Jennifer Cassidy. She is not only my amazing mother but co-founder of Speech Bubble drama which is a UK drama project for children and young people with speech impairments.
What was it like first discovering you had a disabled child?
It was very frightening to have a very sick baby and be told that if she survived she might have a disability. As you got a bit older the doctors and professionals weren’t really able to say how you would be affected and that was quite difficult because we didn’t know what to expect.
Did you have any opinions on disability before having me that changed?
I’m not sure I did have many opinions on disability, certainly not strong ones. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about disability and that has certainly changed. I’ve always believed in fairness and giving people opportunities and I think that has led me to question things especially around education. I felt that there was very limited understanding of your and our needs by the organisations who were making the decisions. I think that’s what led me to start working with other families affected by disability. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to change other people’s opinions!
You have two children, one disabled and one able bodied – did you find there was anything different when parenting us to do with my disability?
Definitely, I had to think about and learn about all sorts of therapies, I had to have way more input into your schooling – so many meetings! I think this was really important and has made a real difference to the person you are today, but it was quite hard work at the time. On the other hand your sister just got thrown through the school gates and all I had to do was turn up at parents night!
I would probably say I have parented you slightly differently but I think that comes down to you both having very different personalities.
What has been the hardest part of parenting a child with a disability?
I think when you were younger I was very scared and anxious all the time. You really needed a lot of attention and that meant I was constantly on alert for choking, falling, seizures… just everything for years, I think that coupled with all the things I had to learn and manage makes parenting a child with a disability quite a hard job – the wages are rubbish and there are promotion prospects either.
What’s been the best part of parenting a child with a disability?
Doing a hard job makes you more confident and more resilient especially if you know that job is worthwhile. I’ve had lots of amazing times with you and lots of fun opportunities that I wouldn’t have had if you’d just been a vanilla kid. I think that’s probably true for you as well.
What would you say to someone who’s just had a child with CP?
I’d say congratulations… and maybe “buckle up”! Every child is different whether they have CP or something else or nothing. I would say that you should seek out other parents of CP kids because you will get support and you’ll learn a lot of things that you will need to know. Even now you’re a grown up I still get to know about stuff through parents.
You set up your own charity – why did you do this?
I set up Speech Bubble Drama because I saw you struggling to make friends at primary school and sometimes finding that people dismissed you because they couldn’t understand you first time. I felt that if you were able to manage that situation better you would do well because you’re clever and funny and you’ve got a lot of good stuff to say. Speech Therapy had done everything that they could to help but I knew that you were able to be much clearer when you made an effort.Having Joe as a vocal coach really made a difference but we both though it would be so much more fun if we could do it as a group. So Speech Bubble uses drama to make sure everyone uses their voice as well as they can but also builds confidence, encourages friendships and shows how able and creative you guys are. I think those things are just as important as clear speech.
What are your aspirations for Speech Bubble Drama?
I would like
• all children and young people with physical disabilities to know about us and what we do so that we could have more participants
• to hold more “in real life” sessions
• to do more fun stuff like wheelchair dance and musical theatre
• more facilitation of writing for our young people, you all have so many mad stories!
• for Speech Bubble Drama to be a resource for casting agencies so that more people with disabilities and especially dysarthria can be on tv and film
Do you think representation of disabled people in the media is particularly beneficial for parents of disabled kids?
I think it’s absolutely vital. We need to be seeing everyday disabled characters whose stories are not about disability, they need to be cast in films and on tv routinely – “If you can see it, you can be it”
Where can people find out more about Speech Bubble Drama?
You can keep up with us on https:/www.facebook.com/speechbubbledrama, Speech Bubble Drama (@speechbubbledrama) • Instagram photos and videos & https:/twitter.com/Speech_Bubble1 or visit our webpage http://www.speechbubble.scot You can see some of our films on our youtube channelhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8TG_i32dltUQdFkuHbpAew
Buttons and Ramps 