Writing about having Cerebral Palsy is not easy. We never spoke about it when I was growing up. As a family, I was just Claire.
I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t use my left hand, and I always had to wear an awful-looking splint on my left leg, which left me a little lost and confused. I really struggled to find my place in school, fit in, and make friends easily.
I was always the odd one out. But my mum and dad supported and encouraged me to just be Claire. Not having those awkward conversations about CP in my childhood has made me who I am today and I am even more grateful that I wasn’t wrapped in cotton wool. I was encouraged to live life to the full and take every opportunity.
I was never very academic. The only thing that kept me in school was PE and Maths.
Early Love of Sport
From a very young age, I remember watching the Soul Olympics in 1988, and I told my mum and dad that I wanted to go and compete in one. We had no idea in what sport, but that is where my dreams, ambitions, and love of sport came from.
I spent my childhood years doing sport, including football, netball, horse riding and trampolining at the local sports centre. Then, one Saturday, my world changed forever.
A special needs sports teacher approached me and asked if I’d like to try athletics. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity, and I said yes. Four days later, I went back to the Oval on the Wirral and I tried athletics.
I was handed a discus and a shot put and told to throw those. I must admit, they didn’t travel far on those first tries. However, within a month, I was at my first competition at Salt Ayre Stadium in Lancaster for the CP Northwest regionals.
Walking onto that track for the first time is a memory that will stay with me forever. It was the first time in my life I met others with Cerebral Palsy. There were hundreds of kids and adults, like me. They wore splints, walked like me, and had dodgy hands like me. For the first time in my life, I felt I had a place in society, and I was accepted for being Claire. (When I go back to that track, I still get butterflies. I feel a love for the place.) That day, I learned to throw a discus properly. I qualified for the discus, shot put and 100m at the nationals, setting a national record in the shot put. I was one of the first female throwers at the nationals in years.
Athletics Changed My Life
From that day on, my life has involved sport. It has played a crucial role in everything that I do and everything that I stand for today.
Athletics has given me many opportunities. It provided a career path that few thought possible, including travelling the world as an athlete. I’ve also got into coaching and, lately, athletics classification.
After I started athletics I was also accepted at Manchester Metropolitan University to study business management and sports studies.
Leaving home for the first time and having to manage looking after myself and keeping myself alive was very daunting but one that I thrived on. I was not your typical uni student.
Not Your Typical Student
My university days began at 6 am. I would go to the gym or swim, then attend 9 am-12 pm lectures. After that, I would bike or swim. Then, I would have lunch and do some uni work. I’d take a nap before heading to the track three nights a week from 5-8pm.
I somehow survived three years at university. I did both athletics and academics. I competed in world and European championships and other international events.
The Trials and Tribulations of Employment
After graduating from uni, I decided that I would become a full-time athlete leading up to Athens 2004. I moved back home and gave my all to athletics. I also started volunteering at my local council’s sports unit. It was a great way to use my degree and my level of sport. I soon became a disability and multisport coach. I worked in all the special schools on the Wirral. I also helped deliver holiday sports camps for disabled youngsters.
After a year, they hired me as a casual sports coach. Unfortunately, I failed again to get a spot on the GB squad for the Athens Paralympic Games. I spent much of my life trying to go to the Paralympics and was unsuccessful twice. So, I decided to find a full-time job to support myself.
I started looking for a job in 2004, and it wasn’t until 2006 that I secured a job. Don’t get me wrong; I had a lot of interviews. But it soon became clear that they were a result of the organisation needing to meet the Equality Act. As a disabled person, it’s disheartening when an organization won’t let me show my unique skills and knowledge. I applied for any sports development job in the UK, but the answer was always no.
However, in 2006 I secured a sports development job at Copland Borough Council. I had an amazing three years there. But then in 2009, I was asked to apply for an England Athletics job. I didn’t expect to get anywhere as it was a much bigger job with more responsibility than my current role. To my surprise, the company offered me an interview and whilst watching a football match that evening I received the call to say they were offering me my dream job in the spot that I loved – I couldn’t have been happier.
England Athletics and a Spark of Inspiration
I stayed with England Athletics for eight years and moved from Cumbria to Lancashire. I retired from athletics. But my new job meant I could coach. I could also help manage youth athletic teams.
Then in 2017 I was made redundant, and I was literally back to where I was in 2004. Nothing had changed. Having a disability and trying to find a job is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. It’s the most challenging of environments and you have to prove yourself even though you know you can do the job standing on your head!
90% of the time, employers see your disability, not the person. A mentor from England Athletics gave me some sound advice when I left England Athletics
She urged me to cut out the middleman – meaning I should set up a business on my own. I didn’t know what that would be. But she said,
“Focus on what you know: making all things, including sports, inclusive and accessible.”
It took me a year to get everything in place, and in 2019, Ability Consultancy was formed. I did this because I wanted to ensure that nobody had to face the troubles I experienced in finding a job.
Changing the Conversation
My Cerebral Palsy does play a major role in the organisation; it has allowed me to become an accessible and inclusion expert. It has given me the power, tools, and confidence to support people and organisations in inclusion and accessibility. I will do everything to help disabled people find work. I believe that I can drive change in workplaces so that they can become more inclusive and give disabled people the chance that they deserve.
I am growing my business with my app, Xplore DisAbility and doing things I never thought possible.
I am not at the end of my journey yet and have many more ambitions. If I can inspire someone to take the plunge, then I have done my job. I want them to have faith in themselves to achieve their goals. If I can break down the barriers and stigma of disability, I will have done my job. I want every disabled person to live, learn, and earn alongside society.
So, what has living with Cerebral Palsy meant to my life?
I was talking to a fellow athlete at a training session leading up to my world champs. He said we have the most amazing opportunity. Without CP, we couldn’t represent our country at the highest level.
That is exactly right. As much as I sometimes detest and struggle with my limits, I feel blessed and chosen to have Cerebral Palsy. It has given me a life I would never change.
If you want to read more about the work we do to improve inclusivity in the workplace you can find out more here.