He runs a student leadership program to promote inclusion and equality in schools and is a popular presenter on inclusion best practices for government, business, college and media groups.

John has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair to get around and voice output technology to communicate.
BLOOM talked to John about his experiences growing up in a neighbourhood school and the ideas behind Together We Rock.

Did you struggle to be accepted at school?

During most of my early years of elementary school I felt accepted and participated with friends in birthday parties, play dates and Cubs. In Grade 7, my classmates began to adopt some of the negative stereotypes about people with disabilities. Instead of their acceptance, I was being ignored and excluded.

With my parents’ encouragement, I wrote a letter to the class to explain how I was feeling. A friend came to the front of the class with me to read my words. I began by explaining what CP was and that my mind thinks like theirs, my eyes see like theirs, my ears hear like theirs – it was just my body that didn’t work like theirs.

I was honest and said that most days I hated being disabled because of the things I couldn’t do, like play hockey, talk or run. My drooling was a big problem at that time. I acknowledged that I knew it was something many of them thought was “gross” and that I was planning to have an operation that would hopefully fix it.

When I first asked if there were any questions it seemed like an eternity before one hand went up, but then there was a constant barrage. My classmates had hundreds of questions such as: Why did I drool? Was I angry about being disabled? Could I have sex? Could I have kids?

Although I had been with these students for years, there had been few chances to address their questions. We talked for nearly two hours. I learned that awareness is instrumental in breaking down barriers to inclusion.

What is the biggest barrier to inclusion?

In my experience, people’s attitudes.

How did you come up with Together We Rock?

While I was studying journalism at college I was concerned about the way in which the media was portraying people who have disabilities.

In an effort to enlighten my fellow journalism students, I did a presentation focusing on ways to promote positive images of people with disabilities, such as focusing on the individual and not their disability; using person-first language (e.g., “a child with a disability” vs. “a disabled child”); and including the perspective of people with disabilities on everyday topics. The presentation was well received and I began to consider other audiences who might be receptive to my message.

What do you hope to accomplish?

Through education and leadership, I hope that citizens will come together to create communities that are more accessible to, and inclusive of, people with disabilities. My goal is that inclusion and accessibility will no longer be labelled as disability issues, but rather, recognized as a right of citizens.

What might an inclusive world look like?

In one of my presentations, I tell the audience to imagine a neighbourhood with child-care centres, schools, recreational facilities, houses, businesses and parks where community members with different backgrounds, traditions and abilities live, play and work together.

There are appropriate supports and resources to respond to the needs of everyone. The entire community works together as a team to ensure that diversity is not only accepted, it is celebrated. Everyone belongs, and no one is labelled as “special.”

How can parents or schools book a presentation or get involved?

Visit my website at togetherwerock.com