Tara Flood

Tara was born in 1966 in Preston, Lancashire. She was sent to a residential special school in East Sussex at just sixteen months of age and remained there until she was sixteen. She then returned to Preston and attended a local mainstream college.

Asking Questions

Here Tara talks about starting her degree.

Grandma’s Attitude

Here Tara describes the shocking attitude of her grandmother.

I Didn’t Speak

Here Tara describes her first experience of mainstream schooling after leaving school.

Institutionalised Abuse

Here Tara talks about abusive care staff in her school.

Green Heads

Here Tara describes a treatment after an outbreak of nits in her dormitory.

Something Terrible

Here Tara describes the attitudes her mother experiences in the hospital after giving birth and the impact of those attitudes.

The Lightbulb Moment

Here Tara describes her first introduction to the Social Model of Disability in her adult life.

Normalising

Here Tara describes the medical interventions and examinations she had to endure at school.

Dormitory Friends

Here Tara talks about the need for friendship away from home.

Forgetting Mum

Here Tara talks about the impact of the loss of her family relationships.

Pig Trailer

Here Tara describes how children would be transported around the school.

Do it Yourself

Here Tara describes a school culture of doing things for yourself, without even friends being allowed to help each other.

Sleeping in Cots

Here Tara describes sleeping in cots with covered sides.

Swimming Lessons

Here Tara talks about her first experience of a swimming lesson.

School at Sixteen Months

Here Tara talks about the decision to send her away to school aged just sixteen months.