My body and its place in the world seemed quite normal to me.

I didn’t grow up disabled, I grew up with a problem. A problem those around me wanted to fix.

We have all felt that uncanny sensation that someone is watching us.

The diagnosis helped but it didn’t fix everything.

Don’t fear the labels.

One in five Australians have a disability. And disability presents itself in many ways. Yet disabled people are still underrepresented in the media and in literature.

Growing Up Disabled in Australia is the fifth book in the highly acclaimed, bestselling Growing Up series. It includes interviews with prominent Australians such as Senator Jordon Steele-John and Paralympian Isis Holt, poetry and graphic art, as well as more than 40 original pieces by writers with a disability or chronic illness.

Contributors include Dion Beasley, Astrid Edwards, Jessica Walton, Carly-Jay Metcalfe, Gayle Kennedy and El Gibbs.