Episode 1: Welcome to My World

Welcome to the first edition of The Week That Was: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Disability Life.

Before I begin sharing my weekly experiences, I thought it would be fitting to introduce myself and explain why I’ve decided to start this blog.

My name is Paul Ashley, and disability has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

Most people know me as a wheelchair user, but that’s only part of the story.

Both of my parents are deaf. My wife is a wheelchair user. My sister-in-law is a wheelchair user. Disability isn’t something I occasionally encounter or observe from a distance—it’s woven into the fabric of my everyday life.

I’ve lived it. I’ve grown up around it. I’ve worked in it. I’ve competed in it. I’ve advocated for it. I’ve laughed about it, been frustrated by it and learned from it.

So while I would never claim to know everything there is to know about disability, I’ve spent a lifetime experiencing it from many different perspectives.

Over the past 30+ years, sport has played a huge role in my life. During that time, I have had the privilege of representing New South Wales and Australia in Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Track and Road Racing.

Sport has taken me all over Australia and the world, introduced me to lifelong friends and taught me lessons about resilience, teamwork and determination. It has also shown me that disability doesn’t define what we can achieve.

These days, my sporting journey continues through Adaptive HYROX competition. The drive to challenge myself, set goals and keep improving remains as strong as ever. Being the Asia/Pacific Champion for my division is an example of that.

Away from sport, I have worked as a primary school SLSO for the past six years. It is a role I genuinely enjoy. Every day is different, and working with children constantly reminds me of the importance of patience, encouragement and finding joy in the small things.

Before that, I spent more than a decade as a motivational speaker, sharing my story with schools, businesses, sporting clubs and community groups. I spoke about disability, resilience, inclusion and the power of challenging assumptions.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout my life is that disability is often misunderstood.

Too often, people see only two versions of disability. They see it as either something tragic or something inspirational. The reality is usually somewhere in the middle.

The truth is that life with a disability is simply life.

Some days are fantastic. Some days are frustrating. Some days are funny. Some days are exhausting. Most days contain a little bit of everything.

That’s exactly why I’ve created this blog.

Each week, I’ll share a snapshot of what life has looked like over the previous seven days. The wins and the setbacks. The achievements and the obstacles. The accessible and the inaccessible. The moments that make me smile and the moments that make me shake my head.

Nothing will be off limits.

We’ll talk about sport, work, travel, accessibility, health, family life, relationships, disability advocacy and the everyday experiences that most people never see.

Some weeks will be light-hearted. Some weeks may be challenging. Some weeks may be uncomfortable. But my goal will always be the same: to be honest.

I hope this blog helps people without disabilities better understand our world. I also hope people living with disabilities see parts of their own experiences reflected in these stories.

Most importantly, I hope it starts conversations.

Because disability isn’t just about wheelchairs, hearing aids, ramps or parking spaces.

It’s about people.

So welcome to The Week That Was: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Disability Life.

I’m looking forward to sharing the journey with you.

Before I sign off, I’d love to hear from you.

One of the goals of this blog is to start conversations, challenge perceptions and learn from each other’s experiences. Whether you live with a disability, know someone who does, work in the disability sector or simply want to learn more, your perspective matters.

So I’d like to leave you with a few questions:

• What’s one thing you wish more people understood about disability?

• What’s something you’ve always wanted to know about disability but have never had the opportunity to ask?

• What disability-related topic would you like me to cover in a future edition of this blog?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. There are no right or wrong answers. The more we talk, listen and learn from one another, the better our understanding becomes.

I look forward to reading your responses and continuing the conversation in future editions of The Week That Was: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Disability Life.

Until next week, Paul AShley