When I first started writing the Anthony and Wheeliam’s Street, I reached out to Whizz Kidz recognising that, as a non-wheelchair user, I didn’t have the lived experience to truly speak to parts of the story.
They who kindly offer to share their thoughts on an early text with the Whizz Kidz Youth Board, and I received some really positive and useful feedback. I was buzzing to see the story land so well with young wheelchair users.
From there we moved onto early illustrations and line drawings, with more feedback to make sure what was shown reflected the types of wheelchairs young people might actually use.
I have to admit, I didn’t envy Charlotte, the illustrator, who had the task of illustrating true-to-life wheelchairs in an animated style — but with the help of Whizz Kidz and Charlotte’s illustrative skill, we got there.
Now the book is out and in a place we’re all largely happy with (with a few minor tweaks to look at for future reprints).
This visit was a chance to say thank you for that support and to explore what might come next.
We spent the morning looking at how we could develop learning resources and school visit experiences linked to Anthony and Wheeliam’s Street, similar to the sessions I currently deliver alongside Nicky and Candy’s Street.
One exciting possibility is for Whizz Kidz to help deliver these sessions themselves, bringing their own authentic voice and lived experience to the learning.
The Youth Board came out with some brilliant ideas, including exploring:
•the different types of wheelchairs and when they’re used
•common myths and misconceptions about wheelchair users
•real stories about what makes a place a bad place — or a better place — for wheelchair users
I’m really looking forward to refining these ideas over the coming months and seeing the impact they could have on young people’s awareness and understanding.
A big thanks to Joanna Fashan for arranging the visit, and to the Youth Board for being so open with their contributions, insights and helping get Anthony and Wheeliam’s Street to the place it is today.
Witten by Ben Andrews on