September 26th 2023.
Isaac Goodwin, the wheelchair user in the hit Netflix show Sex Education, is played by George Robinson. In the first episode of season four, Aimee Gibbs asks Isaac if he does art to process trauma due to his disability. He retorts sarcastically, saying he doesn't need anything to help him because he's very happy with his life, and that he simply likes painting.
As a disabled wheelchair user myself, it was a scene I could relate to. Unfortunately, ableist microaggressions and cruel comments have been hurled at me all too often. I was bullied for using crutches at school, and even when I became an ambulatory wheelchair user, I was often deliberately left out of social events.
It wasn't until I was 26 that I realised I needed to use a wheelchair full-time. Since then, I’ve been told I'm brave for simply being out on my own, and that someone would rather be dead than be in a wheelchair like me. People talk to my boyfriend instead of me, and someone once even said I was pretty ‘for a wheelchair user’.
Ableism is so deeply-rooted in our society that people think becoming disabled is the worst thing that can happen to them. They presume that all disabled people must have trauma and resentment over our lives, and that we sit at home pining over what could have been.
But this isn't true. I'm filled with love, happiness, and so much fun. My life is not worthless because I'm in a wheelchair, and I'm so grateful that Sex Education showed that through Isaac's clapback to Aimee. She made her ignorant comment from being uneducated, not out of malice, and recognised straight away that she'd said the wrong thing.
In order to change perceptions from non-disabled people, I wish more of them saw us thriving, living, and loving our lives. Education is key, and the system should make sure children are taught about disabilities by disabled people themselves.
My family and friends are incredible, and I'm so grateful for them. I'm not an inspiration for going to the shop on my own, but I'm an inspiration for living my life to the fullest despite my disability.
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