I noticed looking at the bbc news website this morning that there was, for the first time in ages, almost no mention of the Olympics on the front page. I suppose it is a sign that the party is indeed now over, and that ordinary life has resumed. But we in the disabled community cannot afford to let things return to the way they were. The Paralympics went a long way to opening peoples eyes and minds to ‘our world’. The world has been shown what we are capable of, from extraordinary feats of incredible speed in the wheelchair racing to playing alongside one of the biggest bands of our era. To paraphrase Charles Hazelwood, there cannot be an intelligent person alive who thinks that people with disabilities cannot rank alongside their able-bodied peers in any discipline. We cannot let the opportunity that presents to us slip. We must now capitalise on our new found recognition; we must make the world see what is now at stake for disabled people in the UK. As my friend James put it, ” after the truly inspirational Parraolympics [sic] Cameron MUST now reverse every single cut to disabled benefit”. Indeed, without such benefits none of what just occurred would have been possible. As Ade Adepitan, the Paralympic wheelchair medallist who presented for Channel 4 during the Games, said: “Without DLA I would not have been able to do what I did or be a top athlete.”

Thus we as a community find ourselves in an odd position. On one level, this has been a glorious summer after which people can finally see us as people, many of whom have extraordinary abilities. The old stereotypes about disabled people being useless has been smashed. Yet at the same time I fear we are about to enter a winter of great discontent and hardship. The cuts are barely starting to bite yet and already people are suffering: hundreds have been turfed off benefits and told to find jobs when it is obviously impossible for them to do so. The barbarity and callousness of Ian Duncan-Smith’s proposal to change the benefits system to ‘universal credit’ makes me shudder. The repercussions of the changes will see a huge drop in income for many disabled people. Thus we must capitalise on the current heightened awareness and profile of disability and make sure the legacy of the Olympics is a happy one.

The circus, as they say, has now left town. Things will return to normal: no more events to watch, no more queens jumping out of helicopters. The danger is now that we crips will be forgotten again – the stereotypes will creep back, and we will once more be seen as a burden. How can we let that happen? We must maintain our profile; we must show ourselves as active, productive members of society. And, above all, we must let the world know what is being done to people with disabilities.