Personal best
A comic by Tex.
The importance of inclusion in education.
[Image: A comic strip hand drawn and written in ink and coloured pencil. Tex is wearing and orange shirt and blue jeans, he is smiling and says “Hi, I’m Tex!”]
I have a disability. It’s called Cerebral Palsy.
[Image: Tex points smiling to text that reads “Everyone who has Cerebral Palsy can have different challenges to each other.”]
Ground Collider
For example, my legs start to ache after a short amount of time.
Because of that, I fall over a lot!
[Image: Tex laying on the ground looking upset with his knee bleeding. He says “Ow, ow, OW!” A person points at Tex looking confused.]
There are some people who might think I’m weird for falling over so much.
But that’s because they didn’t know about my disability.
Slo-Mo Pt.1
Because of my disability I’m slower than other people going down or up stairs.
[Image: Tex is standing and smiling.]
Sometimes people say stuff like: “Hey buddy, you’re too slow, can you get out of the way!??” Or, they are really close behind me pressuring me to go fast. Sometimes they do both!
[Image: Tex is walking down the stairs slowly. Someone is walking close behind him with an angry face and yells “Get out of the way!” Tex looks sad.]
[Image: Tex is smiling and says “So please try and be patient.”]
Part-time rolling
Sometimes for long distances I use my wheelchair when my legs get tired.
[Image: Tex standing and smiling and Tex rolling in his wheelchair and smiling.]
Because I’m sometimes in a wheelchair and sometimes not, people might look at me like I’m weird.
[Image: Tex frowns slightly.]
[Image: Tex is rolling in his wheelchair, someone he knows sees him and is confused and thinks “What the?!”]
So just try to understand that people might not use their wheelchair all of the time.
[Image: Tex stands and smiles.]
Slo-Mo Pt. 2
I’m usually not as fast compared to some people because of my disability.
[Image: Tex is running, two people overtake him. Tex is puffing “Huff! Puff!” and has a red face.]
People sometimes say that I’m really slow.
[Image: Tex stands looking stand whilst someone says to him “You are really slow!”]
[Image: Tex says smiling “People don’t have to be a certain way.”]
St-ability
I often lose my balance unexpectedly.
[Image: Tex is walking and starts to fall, he thinks “AHH!”]
So sometimes I accidentally fall on people.
[Image: Tex looks embarrassed and overwhelmed.]
[Image: Tex starts calling onto another person who looks angry and yells “What’s happening?!”]
[Image: Tex stands back up and says “Sorry!” and the person he fell on puts his hands on his hips and angrily says “Watch where you’re going!”]
[Image: Tex remembers to himself “Accidents happen!”]
Reflex-ability
I usually don’t have good reflexes compared to other people. I also struggle with hand-eye coordination.
[Image: Tex is playing tennis, the score is 2 points to him and 6 points to his opponent. Tex misses the ball again and looks frustrated saying “urgh!”]
People sometimes get mad at me for messing stuff up in sport.
[Image: Tex misses the soccer ball that is passed to him. He looks sad and his team mate looks frustrated saying “Oh my Gosh!”]
Hi, I’m Tex, I’m 12 years old and in my free-time I like to draw, watch Formula One, play video games, watch TV, read and play sport. I have just started high school and it is very good so far.
In this comic, I have thought about some of the daily challenges I have with my disability. Some people might not understand or realise I have a disability because it’s not always that noticeable.
Remember, everybody is different. I hope you enjoyed my comic – Tex P 🙂
This comic was written as part of CYDA’s 2025 Federal Election Campaign. You can find out more about the campaign here.
