Aeren Fitzgerald
I was born with a rare condition.
The short version it that’s it’s a chromosome abnormality. It’s kind of complicated. I used to have problems speaking. I couldn't say stuff like ‘hospital’ and ‘ambulance’. I went to speech therapy and to the dentist and had a lot of help.
I went to mainstream school, got all my GCSE’s and did a BTEC in Performing Arts. My mum went to work really young so she wanted all of her kids to get an
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
first. I have amazing parents who treat me exactly the same as anyone else.
I didn’t know what I wanted do or what I wanted to be but, from my acting, I learned you need to explore. I did some Teaching Assistant volunteering (I love kids), Shop Assistant volunteering and paid work, acting and public speaking for disability awareness,
autism
Autism is a disability. Autistic people find it difficult to understand what other people think and feel. They also find it difficult to tell people what they think and feel. Everyone with autism is different.
awareness and
hate crime
A hate
crime
A crime is when someone does something wrong and breaks the
law
Laws are the rules that everyone in the country has to follow. If you don't follow the rules you can get in trouble with the police.
.
is when someone is hurt or bullied because of things like: their disability or their
religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
.
.
From my disability awareness and hate crime campaigning, I’m aware that using the word retard is just as bad as calling someone a bad name for being
gay
Gay means a man who fancies other men, or a woman who fancies other women.
or transexual or
transgender
Transgender means someone who feels like they have the wrong body. This could be someone who has the body of a man but feels they are a woman, or the other way around. Some people who feel like this have an operation to change their body.
. Coming from a mainstream school, I heard the word a lot, people don’t understand the meaning of it.
I feel strongly about disability. I think you should treat someone with a learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things. exactly the same as you treat everyone else, unless they need it. For example, for me and my speech, someone who has hearing issues or is blind needs to sit right opposite me when I talk.
To anyone who has not met someone with a learning disability, I would tell them to be patient. I still have issues with certain words but due to my drama I know you just breath and take time and read. Now, I’m confident in acting and public speaking.
In the future I have loads of plans. I want to write a book, maybe Sci Fi or fashion. I’ve got loads of ideas. I really want to write a graphic novel, I just need to find someone that’s good at art! I’m really good at retail so I might like to start my own shop. Next year, before I turn 30, I want to go to V Festival, see a couple more shows and travel to Vietnam and America.
Photo credit: Rankin