Attitudes

Angela Smith: Losing Confidence

Angela was born in 1962 in London. Her parents came to England from Guyana and settled in Walthamstow where Angela lived with her eight brothers and sisters. At age five Angela went to a local special school. Then from the age of ten she attended two residential special schools run by the Spastics Society (now SCOPE), in Lincolnshire and Kent.

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Angela Smith

Here Angela describes the impact of public attitudes towards her when she went out in groups from school.

  • Angela Smith
  • Angela Smith
  • Angela Smith
https://howwasschool.allfie.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/losing-confidence.mp3

Transcript

We had to have to go out with the occupational therapist in a group, she had to watch how we got on and off the bus, how we give money to the shopkeepers, but I didn't, it was a lot of effort I was exhausted but I did not enjoy it, and as I got older I noticed people stare more and when you're in your teens, that was like torture so I didn't want to go out on my own and I'd become introvert because of it, and then I started not wanting to speak and I was losing my confidence.

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