Martyn Sibley http://martynsibley.com/ is a social entrepreneur with one aim – to change the world for disabled people. Using his personal experience of being disabled: Electric wheelchair user, having 24/7 care, a Masters degree, world travel and his own company – he has written an ebook on achieving life goals – The Disability Diamond Theory (launching mid September 2011). He has managed to build a worldwide community of 10,000 people online and works to inspire, inform and change. In running his blog, launching the positive disability magazine http://disabilityhorizons.com/, and with his creation ‘disability webinars’ he is making good progress. He is speaking at the conference to answer questions around his personal story as a disabled child: including matters such as schooling, transitions, leaving home, going to university, finding work and managing independence.
Martyn is just one of the contributers to our forthcoming conference http://www.wordswell.co.uk/conference/
Here he shares why he is taking part:
“The 2 things that enabled me to go on and achieve so much in life was having a good education, alongside having the right support. Inclusion should be at the heart of disability matters, but investment in the necessary resources must be provided. I want to share my personal experiences, with a rounded awareness of other impairments, to explain why inclusion and education can go together. I hope to encourage parents to aim high for their children, and show professionals there is always a way.”
“I am speaking at the conference to answer questions around my story as a child: schooling, transitions, leaving home, going to university, finding work and managing independence. This conference is vitally important because parents and professionals need to understand the current issues faced around SEN and work together to ensure the disabled people of the future can thrive and not just survive.”
“My talk is about my personal experience of disability. With a great deal of theory, legal and political talk; I will bring the human part and reality to what the reforms actually mean. I can show with the right support anything is possible.”
“Personally I am very fearful of the social care reform implication. Meanwhile I can see some positives in the aims of the reforms (streamlining processes and funding streams), however I have concerns of the actually reality they will bring for disabled people. “
