The Voice For The Ones Who Don’t Have One Yet

Many see March as the month to celebrate Cerebral Palsy, the same condition I have. It’s something that has a spectrum, something I used to describe as living in two bodies at once. Muscles and movement react almost in opposite ways; you can see it when I’m having a spasm. Hence, I believe that disability needs to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. I saw an article by Sky News. Jonathan Bryan is a 19-year-old student of creative writing at Bath Spa University.

What started the ball rolling was that his teachers, due to his disabilities, thought he would be unable to learn, which is a statement I heard a lot being said to me. Being told this is painful and untrue, I believe that everyone’s able to learn things once they find the correct method for them to do so. Jonathan’s mother pulls him out of school and starts homeschooling herself using an alphabet board.  As Jonathan said himself, if something isn’t taught, it can’t be learned. The reason that he founded his charity, Teach Us Too.

Where he encouraged people who are non-speaking and “have a story of how you learnt to read and write”. He also wrote “Eye Can Write: A Memoir of a Child’s Silent Soul Emerging” by Jonathan Bryan, where he discusses his life and highlights areas that need improvement in the education system. I just downloaded the memoir to read it, so you wanted me to review it and share my opinion on some things even from my own life.

Lastly, the message Jonathan intends to pass to educators is this: “If you are a teacher watching this, please don’t underestimate your pupils,” he said. “Anyone else, please remember, non-speaking is not the same as non-thinking.” I can see all the traits in Jonathan to become a leader in creating a path for others to follow for a more inclusive and accessible world.

Alex

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