A while ago on my blog I wrote that I was considering taking up psychology again. When I studied it for my A-Levels, I didn’t take to it very well as I couldn’t get my head round the various different approaches. But now, as a writer and film-maker with an interest in disability, it’s becoming clear to me how vital a knowledge of that area is. I’m gradually getting the picture that physical disability is only half the story (if that). While I could continue to try to tell the world about what life is like for people with mobility, dexterity and communication impairments, there are many other forms of disability I know very little about: conditions like depression or schizophrenia which arguably get even less press than Cerebral Palsy, and are even less understood.
I know as much about such conditions as the next man, but if I want to grow as a writer and film-maker with an interest in disability culture and politics, that’s the area I now need to engage with, especially given people with such conditions seem to be becoming increasingly salient in the disability community.