Personal Stories on Disability

Read real-life testimonies of children who have been born with a disability or mothers who were advised to abort but decided to give life to their child. 

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LIZ AND JOHN MCDERMOT

Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh talks to Liz McDermott, who found out that she was expecting a baby with no limbs and possible brain damage, leaving her with a major dilemma.

 

HOLLIS FAMILY

“We live in a small town in Central Illinois and woke one morning in April 2011 to find our home and cars had been spray painted,” says Anne Hollis. The family had been attacked because her two daughters have Down Syndrome: “RETARDS.” “Get Outta here.” And other unprintables. “That day changed my life forever.” But her two sons said they wanted to make a video, to “Speak up for our sisters.” Meet the Hollis Boys, age 6 and 7. Watch, share, join Everyone Matters - to create a world where EVERYONE is free to be EXACTLY who they are, without shame, apology - or attack.

 

HEATH AND PAISLEY

Heath White, a military man, marathon runner, and all-around success story, was suddenly faced with a choice. During his wife’s second pregnancy, Heath discovered that his new daughter would be born less than perfect, to his way of thinking. Heath admits that he pressured his wife to have an abortion, yet she bravely refused. Read more here

CATHERINE AND TYLER

A teenager who became the youngest mother in Britain to a Down’s Syndrome baby after falling pregnant aged 15 has spoken of her pride in proving her doubters wrong. Despite being just a child herself, single teen mother Catherine Moore, now 19, refused to give her baby up after learning he had Down’s Syndrome, vowing to raise him herself despite concerns that she wouldn’t cope. Read more here

CARRIE AND ELIZABETH

A mother who said she was told to have an abortion three times has described her relief after she gave birth to a healthy girl. Carrie Chilvers, 28, said a doctor told her there was only a one five five chance her baby would survive when she had her three-month scan at Colchester General Hospital, Essex. Read more here

GEMMA AND TAYA

Taya's devoted mum, Gemma Andre, couldn't be more proud. 'I always believed my daughter was stunning but I thought, "I'm her mum. I'm biased,"' she says. 'When people say "poor you" I find it offensive and irritating,' said Taya's mother Gemma. Read more here

MARIE

Every morning when Marie Ideson wakes, her first thought is of a little girl called Lillie. Today, had she lived, Lillie would be six. And although Lillie would have had Down's syndrome, Marie is sure of one thing: 'Despite any disability, my daughter would have been incredibly well loved. And whatever her future was, I would always have been there for her.' Read more here

KENNADEE

Don and Shawna Albright discuss the series of events that took them from being told to terminate a pregnancy to finding the one surgeon in the world who could fix their unborn daughter's heart defects. Read more here

JAYDEN

When Leeann Phelan was told her unborn baby had an incurable brain abnormality, she faced an agonising decision. Doctors said he would be stillborn or severely disabled and advised her to have an abortion. But Miss Phelan and her partner Stephen Crane stoutly refused and carried on with the pregnancy. Read more here

REBECCA

Rebecca Atkinson has not had her unborn baby tested for Down's syndrome. She knows some people will say that was irresponsible. But how, as a disabled person herself, could she let her child's physical condition decide whether or not it was born? Read more here

CONNOR

Meet Connor Owen - a remarkable three-year-old who defied seemingly overwhelming odds to become one of Wales' youngest kidney transplant patients. Read more here

ISABELLE

Just a month into a new relationship, 17-year-old Holly Ford found herself pregnant. Confused and scared she didn't know what to do. Then doctors said her unborn baby could be badly disabled. Some thought she should have terminated her pregnancy but Holly refused. And when baby Isabelle was born with a rare fatal syndrome few thought the young mum would cope. "Lots of people thought I was too young to have a baby," Holly, now 19, says. Read more here

KAI

Well before he was born doctors gave Kai Purdy no chance of survival. Scans showing a life-threatening heart condition convinced specialists he had a rare genetic disorder which would probably leave him stillborn. Read more here

HEIDI

The mother of a little girl born with Down's syndrome says despite her initial heartbreak she opposes screening for the condition because it may encourage abortion. Heidi Crowter was diagnosed with Down's soon after she was born. Her mother Liz, who already had two healthy sons, says she initially felt "nothing" for her new baby. Read more here

BRYCE DANIEL

Bryce Daniel's mother was advised to abort her son and was told he would not live long. Watch this moving video of their struggle and the story of a mum whose son was born with hydrocephalus. Read more here

THOMAS LAXUS

Facing death can be hardest for a family expecting new life. Follow T.K. and Deidrea Lauxs journey after they learn that their unborn son has a genetic disorder called Trisomy 13. They hope the intimate look helps others understand and cope with infant loss. Read more here

OLDENBURG BABY

The Oldenburg Baby was the name given by the German media to Tim, a child born at the Städtische Frauenklinik hospital in Oldenburg, Germany on 6 July 1997. Read more here

SPINA BIFIDA CONFERENCE

At the International Federation of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF) conference in 2000, 270 people with spina bifida from all over the world gathered in Toulouse and adopted a resolution which stated that the quality of their life should not be a reason for abortion or euthanasia. This document was the basis for the IF policy document the right to be different, accepted by all members of the General Meeting in 2002. Read more here