Growing up with a disability

We asked Millie Ansett, a student at Deptford Green School to share her experiences of growing up with a disability:

"My name is Millie. I have Spina Bifida and Scoliosis and they both affect me in different ways. My Scoliosis causes my back to bend and my Spina Bifida caused nerve damage, which made me unable to walk. I also have club feet, which means my feet bend on both legs; my left leg is the worse of the two.

When I was at primary school I was bullied severely, people would often call me a spastic and stupid. This has upset me in the past. I am happy at Deptford Green because I have never been bullied and students are kind to me, this is how I hope people behave wherever I go in my life."

Ms Cameron, Head of Inclusion at Deptford Green School said:

"We wanted to mark UK Disability History Month and International Day of People with Disabilities in a way that was unique to our school community.

We asked some of our students if they would be up for speaking about what it is like living with a disability in front of all year groups during their assembly. A number of students including Millie were very brave and delivered a wonderful, thought provoking presentation.

We also wanted to focus on the theme of wellbeing by asking all our students to consider language usage; some of them were embarrassed and uncomfortable with the words on the screen in the presentation but we believe that it achieved the desired effect.

We wanted to emphasise that words hurt and with Millie’s input we believe we achieved that – we are so proud of her, her honesty and her bravery!"