Georgia writes inspirational book on ‘Occupational Therapy, Disability Activism and Me'

By Ellise Hollie-Hayward, Disabilities Correspondent

A new book for anyone interested in disability activism has been published.

Occupational Therapy, Disability Activism and Me' has been inspirationally written by Georgia Vine

Here she explains more about it.

“My name is Georgia, I’m a disabled activist, occupational therapist and academic. This spring my debut book ‘Occupational Therapy, Disability Activism and Me’ was published.

“As I am a registered occupational therapist working in academia many think that my book won’t appeal to them and although it has an academic tone the chatty style of my book makes it accessible for all.

“Within the book I recall my journey so far through life from the perspective of a disability activist and occupational therapist. One of my favourite things  is using both of these perspectives at the same time.

“So writing a whole book starting from my birth to now,  and backing this up with references was so meaningful to me.

“It also gave me a lot to think about in terms of my future activism and what I want my next steps to be as an activist.

“The book is divided into three parts. The first section is aimed at young people, parents, teachers and healthcare professionals.

“I tell you about my childhood experiences.  I also interviewed a children’s occupational therapist, my parents, and my cousin, a parent of a very young child who has Down Syndrome and is currently involved in children's services.

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“I unpack the conscious and unconscious ableism within this system. In the interviews I look at the impact of diagnosis and standardised assessments.  

“Standardised assessments are often used in practice yet are standardised based on the non-disabled population. So are they useful? No!

“In the interview with an occupational therapists with over 25-years with of experience in children’s occupational therapists we unpack this and pose a few challenging questions…

“Later on in this section I think about my teenage years and my transition into adulthood which was by far one of the toughest moments in my life so far.

“I suggest a few changes  along the way, but this is a massive area of practice that needs to be looked at, it needs changes in legislation and cannot just be changed by me.

“The transition into adulthood is a well known weak area as services can just come to an end and not be replaced, we must do more about it, young disabled people deserve better!

“In the middle section I explore my experiences as an occupational therapy student with cerebral palsy and discuss the ableist experiences I faced applying for university, initially I was told I couldn’t be an occupational therapist.

“Yes, it got very dark at times and there were and are many battles to be fought, but I’m so glad I persevered.

“I also discuss the ableism within occupational therapy education itself building on conversations from section one around inspiration porn and put people in boxes.  

“The hardest conversation of all, placements. Placements are such a tiring experience for anyone - never mind adding a disability to the mix. Here, I provide more tips  for healthcare professional students as well as adding in my own experiences.

“In the final section, I share my challenges of finding a job that I faced as a disabled occupational therapist as well as thinking about activism as a whole for the occupational therapy profession.

“Revealing that it’s time to stop hiding behind the whole ‘I work with disabled people so I can’t be perpetuating ableism’.

It’s 2024 and we know that healthcare systems is inherently ableist practices that are built firmly on the reductionist medical model.

“Now it’s time for action! Time to move forward as a collective no one is holding a grudge or any individual accountable we just want to move forward together!

“Each chapter even provides a reflective log for you to take a look at yourself and make tangible action points on what changes you’re going to make.

“It was quite hard bringing all this together within a book that was accessible for everyone and it is by no means perfect but it’s a start.

 “I hope it’s useful and hearing about my experiences first hand makes a difference and makes you want to change and challenge the system!” Order here.

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