Julie O'Leary: Living a life outside of your disability

WHEN we reach four or five years old, we automatically get drafted into the ranks of learners. I vividly remember my first day of school.

I was delighted because my parents made school an exciting prospect. I did not know at the tender age of four in 1989, that I was embarking on a path less travelled by. I have cerebral palsy, a physical disability impacting significantly on my legs and to a lesser extent my hands and I was going to my local mainstream primary school, which was largely unheard of at the time.

I was oblivious to the significant transition point of starting primary school, but when it came to moving from primary school to secondary school, I was acutely aware of what was happening. I knew the world was going to get much bigger very quickly. Fitting in and keeping up was a key concern for me, a concern reflected in recent research commissioned by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on transitions between primary and post primary school. A range of research was presented and discussed at the NCSE’s research conference which took place yesterday in Croke Park. I gave my experience at the conference as a person with a disability who has come through the system.