I Can’t Walk But I Can Crawl: Living with Cerebral Palsy

 I Can’t Walk But I Can Crawl: Living with Cerebral Palsy
 Joan Ross,
 Paul Chapman Publishing
 ISBN 1412918723,
 £17.99

 Star rating: 5/5


 

In recent years there has been an explosion in the survivor narrative, writes Anika Baddeley. But biographical writings of people with disabilities are few, even though they have much to offer in terms of sharing not only their different experiences, but also the similarities.

Joan Ross’s book is a rich personal account of her life growing up with the neurological disability, cerebral palsy, a condition resulting from lack of oxygen at birth or soon after.

The book chronicles Ross’s life, talking about her diagnosis in the early 1940s and her integration into family life. She tells of her mother’s fight to have her educated, something that was not legally required at the time. Ross first attended the local infant school with her mother providing care. She later went on to attend a special school.

Cerebral palsy is never mentioned as an excuse for not trying new things or to curtail what is expected of her in the social world. Ross eventually went to university. She has worked both as a volunteer with others with disabilities and for local government as an adviser.

Anika Baddeley is a sociologist who has cerebral palsy

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