I Cry and Am Not Heard

This post is in memory of Ann-Marie Smith; a woman with cerebral palsy who tragically and unnecessarily died recently. May she rest in peace.

Groups of people go out with binoculars in search for that one rare bird

Yet I cry and am not heard.

Causing pain with a cane was outlawed years ago

Yet I feel the bite day and night.

My soul is not dirty but I wait and wait to be clean;

You're standing right there but I am not heard or seen.

I do not ask for much even though I miss human touch.

All I need is what's fair, just one person to care.

I hear you call me Ann-Marie Smith, I am not heard.

I listen to you whisper Tessa but I am not heard.

You shout Tony but I am not heard.

I am many people with disabilities, I am not heard.

How many times have people with disabilities been told,

'It's different than it was back then, it will never happen again'.

It's 2020; you have a vision of understanding and care

But you're not the one stuck in the chair.

Come, sit in my seat for awhile and then you might understand

Your job is about more than just making us smile.

Ann-Marie Smith was not a rare bird

But she still deserved to be seen and to be heard.

Ann-Marie Smith
Photo taken from ABC News, supplied by SA Police.

Comments

Sexuality Through the Ages

It is twenty years this year since I was first approached by the School of Occupational Therapy to speak on the topic of transition to adulthood, disability, and sexuality. Since that time I have expanded to deliver disability education across Australia and yet disability and sexuality is still the most common topic I get asked to speak on. With this in mind I am going to shock you all by saying I wish I had never had to speak on the topic. Sexuality is such a fundamental part of life that from the teenage years till death it should be assumed that anyone engaged in helping a human being with the occupation of life should automatically include the topic of sexuality. Society has conflicting views when it comes to talking about and expressing sexuality. Add the word disability into the mix and people tend to run away or shut their eyes. I started my sexual life like all young people by going through puberty. In the mid-nineties the environmental factors and condit...

Lights! Camera! Rhyme Time!

Chris Van Ingen and William McInnes on set of Rhyme Time Photo credit: Charlie Kinross For regular readers of this blog it is no secret that acting is my life, and my life is acting. I can now share with you a joyful experience I had shooting a film called Rhyme Time . Rhyme Time is a thought provoking, sweet comedy about an old school librarian coming to terms with an ever changing modern world. Throughout my career I have been lucky enough to be billed alongside great casts such as Rachel Griffiths, Claudia Karvan, and Matt Nable to name a few. Rhyme Time continues my blessed luck working with Australian legends such as William McInnes from Blue Heelers , Sea Change , and NCIS Sydney fame. William is joined by Emily Havea best known for her work in Wentworth . The cast was rounded out by an amazing group of adorable and rambunctious children that completely stole the show and made the final act of the film one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. Lastly I ha...

Circle of Life or Circle of Tech

I have written extensively about how assistive technology helps me be independent. In blog posts such as More Than a Test Drive and Tony Stark's House (an Assistive Technology Dream) . My disability has turned the circle of life into a circle of tech. Every few years I have to go through the assistive technology merry go round because all of my equipment seems to break down at the same time. I am in the process of applying for a new hoist and sling, shower commode chair, bed, front door opener, and new abductor cushion. I also am aware in the not too distant future I will have to attempt to try and get a new wheelchair. Every time I have to apply for a new piece of equipment my therapists and I have to make the case as to why that particular piece of equipment is 'reasonable and necessary'. The frustrating thing about this is, even though it might be clear that I need a piece of equipment, one or two words in the funding form can make a difference on wheth...

Humanity Platform

Search This Blog