Differently-abled people are not as easily exploited as people think – that’s my message to the world.

It’s 3  : 02 PM on day 1157 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, brush my teeth,  read  2 Kings 15,  publish my Disability of the Day feature,  stretch my hamstrings,       practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, feed myself boiled egg and  All Bran Flakes for breakfast, hang out with my sister and have lunch.

Yesterday I read Does this child seem exploited to you? – a blog post about a mom who is being accused of exploitation because she let her child who happens to have Cerebral Palsy appear in a print ad – it infuriates me that every time a differently-abled person is put front and centre it’s called exploitation I’ve had similar experiences people give me unsolicited advice about all sorts of things so that I won’t get exploited sometimes I feel like saying I am a normal twenty-two year-old the fact that I can’t walk has no bearing on my intelligence.