BBC Documentary - 'The Disability Paradox'

I am 65. I have Cerebral Palsy and Autism. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering Technology. I worked on and off in industry from 1978 to 2001. Experienced Ageism and Ableism between 2001 to 2006. Retired on disability at age 48. I am a disability civil rights activist.

I respect you all. You motivate me to have more gratitude for my own issues

I liked this. Thank you. I became disabled when I was 33 after stroke. I was fit and healthy. Now I am partially blind and walking is hard and painful. It can happen to anyone. Life is little harder now and poverty is horrible, other than those, I am happy

I’m fairly new to being “disabled”. Meaning it has not been my entire life. I’ve been disabled for 15 years (I’m 48 now) due to a car wreck (not at fault) and a spinal cord injury. A couple of points I’d like to address. In regards to children… I had children prior to the injury and one after. I worried “what type of dad will I be. I can’t throw a ball with my son. I can’t teach them to ride bikes, etc”. What I finally came to was the love that was heightened. The slowed down pace that made for many great memories. You realize all those things we think are so important aren’t really what is really important at all. It’s the love, kindness that you teach and pass on that is. My injury I believe truly made me a better son, father, husband. I wouldn’t change anything even if I could. Now mine is not genetic but for me the only fear (regarding kids) I would have is passing on physical pain of that were possible. Not the aspect of being disabled. I’ve broken bones too many times to count. As a healthy younger man I healed. Spinal injury and nerve damage pain is something that is unexplainable and the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s 24/7 all the time. My body looks much different now. I was once very athletic and muscular. I qualified for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta in Taekwondo. While it was honestly great to be able to do those things and look as I did the gains mentally and who it made me on the inside are leaps and bounds greater. The only true disability I see isn’t in the body but rather the mind. And that applies to all mankind. LOVED the documentary. What I would love to see improved is improvement in insurance and coverage. Most medical is covered. But next to nothing “quality of life” is. And to me that’s equally as important. Meaning accessibility to better chairs, like off road, hiking, household customs, etc etc. The list goes on and on. I would love to one day have the ability to go off-road. Where one tiny pebble or crack in pavement does not ruin your day There are things I need to work on. Things like not feeling like I’m holding my family back from let’s say something like a hike and things along those lines. I also need to work on not saying “I’m sorry” or “excuse me” meaning while out and about let’s say shopping for example. And just feeling like I’m in the way. I’m not. I’m no more in the way than anyone is. That’s a work in progress still.

"Happiness as a metric to guide policy"- the best conclusion presented. But folks seek personal thrills, immediate gratification. Any goal for common good is rejected by many. Thanks for your honest, valuable work here! We must all build a caring community around us. Great job Chris! 🌞

I have Osteogenesis Imperfecta too! I am recovering from surgery to replace the hardware in my badly broken femur as I watch this. My OI is fairly mild and I walked normally until I was 38. Then I was in an accident that broke my other hip and femur and I had to use a walker for a long time. I am a professional folksinger and I continued to sing through all of my cascade of injuries that occurred as I got older. Now at 63 I am ( I hope) temporarily in a wheelchair. I am continuing my singing. I found this documentary very interesting and emotionally touching. I wish I had a wheelchair that allowed me to be on the beach! By the way, I have had long periods of great happiness in my life. But the deaths of my brother, my husband, and my best friend ( last year) were the worst crisises I have been through. When I break something, I just heal and pull myself up physically and emotionally again. Death is a lot harder to deal with.

Great work. For me it was very emotional. I am 49, still single & childless. Not what I had visioned my life would be like. I was born with hypermobile EDS. Mine isn't as bad as some, but I wasn't diagnosed until my late teens. I have a number of chronic conditions, some of which include Chronic Pain Syndrome, Chronic Medication Resistant Depression which I've had from the age of 8, Chronic Fatigue, Fluctuating Hearing Loss & a learning disability called Irlen Syndrome. I have had mobility problems on & off growing up, but I became paraplegic & wheelchair bound when I was 30 years old. All through school I was bullied, & had the odd friend here & there. The friends I did have didn't go to the same school as me. I didn't like school, I felt so alone. I was brought up in a Christian family. By the time I was 16 I had tried to take my life twice. Now I look back on it it was just a scream for help. Deep down inside I didn't want to die. My faith literally kept me alive. I don't live in the UK I live in Melbourne, Australia. I used to do alot of volunteer work growing up & loved looking after children especially babies. I have been a qualified Nanny since the age of 16. Young children accept you for what you are, not what others think you should be. My great niece already likes to push me around when we're at the shopping centre & likes to sit on my lap. I also wanted to be a nurse, but because of being in a wheelchair they say that I won't be able to forfil every part of the course. It should be about what you can do not what you can't do. I do have a Bachelors Degree in Disability Studies. I would like to learn to sit ski & travel overseas. I like bushwalking, camping, the beach, swimming & bikeriding. I also like cooking, gardening & going to a movie. I like to dine out sometimes or go for a coffee. And thinking about starting to do volunteer work again. I don't have anyone in a similar age group in my life that likes doing the same things. The friends I have I hardly get to see. I never get to go to their houses as there not wheelchair accessible. When we do meet we meet for coffee & a chat & that's it for maybe another 6 months. I'm in a dark hole that I can't seem to get out of. I've just given up, I'm uninspired & I'm sad & lonely. I'd love to have a partner & get married. I'd love to have children. I take relationships very seriously & think there about working together as equals; compromise; talking, listening & accepting how each other is feeling. The way I hear some women talk to their male partners is just disgusting. Their your partner/husband, not a child in your care. They should be treated & talked too like adults, not treated & talked too like you would talk to & treat a child. Both adults are equal, No One is the boss. Talk to each other with respect & treat each other with dignity. I've always thought like this about relationships. That's why I don't understand why I've never had a partner. Lately I've thought - Is it about the wheelchair & having a disability. People judge you on your appearance & ability before they even get to know you & what your capable of. I would love one of those self-propelled electric wheelchairs. But I can't afford one of those. I can't even afford to get a car for myself. My Mum drives me to my appointments etc. I'd love to just go & do what I want when I want, not wait around for someone else to take you.

The man featured was very honest about his situation that included depression, sadness and hopelessness. All the others were what we usually see in these documentaries, seemingly upbeat about their disabilities and living a very positive existence. This is, l suspect, an unrealistic portrayal and therefore l appreciated the man's struggle which felt authentic.

Hi Chris! Another Lynch here! I too am disabled but not yet in a wheelchair. Those hospital pulleys bring back a few memories! Had hip problems aged 12 in 1970. That sticky plaster was a nightmare coming off! And the itching! Right hip slipped out of socket. It was pinned and screwed. But nothing at all wrong with left hip. Until some junior house registrar was let loose on me when I was 14! They hadnt heard of 'if it ain't broke dont mend it! Well they totally destroyed the cartilage in my hip resulting in osteoarthritis and severely restricted movement. Later, I needed a total hip replacement at age 35 but it didnt really improve matters. But I've still got it in! Yay! Obviously I had no legal redress because back then people doffed their caps at the professions and thought they knew what they were doing. Many teenage years spent in hospital and not with friends! And lots of life's crap in between including a nasty road accudent which further disabled me! But I'm still here! And upright (i think through fear more than anything). Well I'm 66 this year and will keep going for as long as I can, making my crafts. I remember hearing about the man who painted with his left foot and saw the film many years ago. More recently, I saw pictures painted by people who used their mouths! It is extraordinary what people can do with limitations upon the body. Kind regards and Blessings to all from Boadicea! 🙋🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪🙏👌

I use a power wheelchair when I need to get around very far, as I have Classical-like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and Ankylosing spondylitis, it has made a mess of my spine and caused permanent nerve damage...I was not always in a wheelchair, I used to be very able bodied and it is real intense grief I feel about that loss, BUT...I am still happy in my life, I have friends, family, I work a job, my brain works just fine and there are so many things in the world that are beautiful and worth experiencing still, even with the chronic pain and sickness that I am constantly having to deal with. Life is worth living...half the able bodied people I see are less happy than me and really...if they "lived like me" they might be happier.

Amazing. Most of them tell you that they find happiness within theirselves. They live as a proof of that. If one keeps comparing self with other people (physically better in their eyes) then he/she will not be genuinely happy. True happiness has to be seek and found within oneself. What a priceless and invaluable lesson to watch.

I feel that every case of disability is unique. I would like to share one such story. V K Bansal sir was a mathematics teacher in Kota, India who taught students aspiring to clear the toughest entrance exam in India. He suffered from motor neuron disease. He had one side of the body fully paralyzed. Only one of his hands worked. He was a great teacher, witty and funny and had built an empire all by himself by sheer hardwork and will power. One time, a lady came to interview him and said in front of others that it is so inspirational that this man doesn't pity himself and his condition. On that day, we realized for the first time in our lives that we actually never saw him as a weak person. We saw him as a very strong person because of his mind and hardwork and positive attitude. 😅😅😅. He was the proof of the old saying that society will see you the way you see yourself.

Thank you for making this film I have enjoyed seeing the different view points of the participants as well as the similarities. X

Great film. I wish we heard more disabled voices on these everyday issues. Comforting to hear how other disabled people face the lack of partner or children as just something never going get.

I have had invisable disabilities all my life and people knew I was different this lead to bullying through out my education. I am now in my mid 20s and have developed a cronic illness that makes me that fatigued and in pain the only way I can leave the house is with my powered weelchir. People are so odd about my disabilities and ask questions that you would not ask a able bodied person. I have allways tries to do the best in my life to prove others wrong and the things I have though about my self due to being told them so may times. Most of the time I am happy. However the thing I find the hardest is living in a house that not suitable for my cronic illness and the lack of weelchair acessable homes. I would be even happier and be able to live my life to the fullest if society was more acessable if homes and public buildings were built with people with disabilities in mind.

I know EXACTLY.....I don't have words for this..... Thank you!

Congratulations Chris! Well done. I'm so proud of you!

Christopher the man featured is a really good looking guy he is fit, and the bonus of him being comfortable with able bodied people is a great character trait, whomever if he ever chooses to find a steady partner will be a very lucky person.

the 'hedonic adaptation' theory suggests our happiness levels return to a baseline despite major life events. for instance, long term happiness of a lottery winner and an accident victim may be similar. initial joy or despair from such events can cause happiness fluctuations, but people typically adapt to their new circumstances, returning to previous contentment levels. this underscores human resilience and the importance of finding happiness in daily experiences.

Dear Sir, I would like to request you to make a film on intellectual disability as well. I also congratulate you for your success in making this film. This film lives up to its Title and truly shows how much of a paradox physical disability is both for the sufferer as well as the society. No one can truly claim to have solved this paradox, not even God.