David: Okay for our second interview, I’m here with Daniel Robinson he’s a cousin of mine and he has an interesting life story about resilience and how are you Daniel? Daniel: I’m very well Dave how are you? Good to be speaking with you David. David: that’s very good can you tell me a little bit about your early life? Daniel: in context with my disability? David: yes, when did you first realise you had a problem or you are different to other kids? Daniel: probably about grade 2, mum would realise I was not progressing physically as other kids were in the early days, I was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy That ended up not being the case in 2001. They scan my spine and I had a pinch spinal-cord which resulted in me having they call it spinal ataxia. It’s a weakness in my legs and neck & it progressed a lot worse throughout my life. David: I remember as a child when we saw you, you had a few issues but you could still walk, you could still play football and that sort of thing. Certainly, as your life went on problems progressed a little bit. Daniel: yeah it was more in high school that I started getting quite worse. I could still run a little bit but by the end of high school, I couldn’t Which made school work tough it’s hard to be a cool young kid when you walk funny and school is a tough place to be, if you stand out at all. Thinking back about that the biggest issues for me would’ve been around grade 8, grade 9 when you want to be like everyone else as much as you can and and you’re not And you cop a fair bit of shit at school. I was thinking about that from talking with you a few days ago. I think the first time when I really had to show my resilience is in those days like when I was getting ankle tapped by kids I would trip over, and I made the decision to Whoever ankle tap me I would get up and fight them and that actually worked out really well for me even though it sounds a bit crazy. I think it gave anyone who is going to do that to me was going to have to be in a fight where most kids don’t want to do so that actually worked out well for me but school was a tough time. Anyone who has got anything that stands out is picked on and made life tough. Talking about resilience I think what really help me out was I had a strong group of friends and close family that I could rely on. I think if I didn’t have those things life may have been a lot tougher at school. I always had good friends and close friends which made things a lot. Easier to be resilient because I could bounce back because I had that support behind me. David: yes, I understand it quite well and how old were you when your brother died Daniel? He would’ve been one of your main supports? Daniel: Yes, he was one of my main supports. Yes, that was a very tough time for me. I was about 15 or 14, turning 15, which was a very difficult time for the whole family One of my real supports my older brother was which made it all a bit more complicated. David: Yeah, I know he was very supportive to me during my recovery and I can only think that how much of a hole it must’ve left when he unfortunately died. Daniel: and right in that time that I was talking about from grade 8 to grade 9 at school was the toughest times for me as far as feeling that I didn’t fit in , but again I had a big support from family and people like you and mum and dad and I think it is such an advantage as a teacher now I see kids when you don’t have the support behind you as a loving mum and dad and a loving family and friends life can be tough. You know what I mean it can be worse than having physical disability. I think. David: okay now what did you do after high school did you work for a few years or? Daniel: yeah, I left school started doing bits and pieces. I did a traineeship and this and that and really just screw long and didn’t get much. I left school in year 11 I didn’t have the education behind me and I thought I was too smart at school, but life is tough for someone without education. David: I noticed that when it was after you met your wife that you decided to become a teacher is that right? And what sort of impact did Cheryl have on you? Daniel: and now we go back to resilience, and having this support is another amazing thing being Cheryl giving me the confidence to go & get started in my late 20s Which I would not have done would not have had the confidence to do it not just the confidence I wouldn’t of had the skills to be able to write the assignments, things like that unless she was there to help me in those first years to get me moving along And just to have the belief in me but I can get out there because our plan then was we were getting married. We knew that she wanted to stay home with the kids and I was working as a youth worker then, and so I wasn’t earning enough money, so I knew I had to get my shit together and do something that I would be able to pay for a house pay for a car so she could stay at home with the kids so that’s when we came up with the plan of me doing teaching and she also did teaching she had done a couple of degrees before that we were both at AÇU together. David: Right. Daniel: and I did the full degree David: so that’s really important in life to have someone who believes in you who can Just put a bit of time into you and help you out isn’t it? Daniel: someone who is supportive who believes in you, I had a goal, and the goal was to get an education to earn enough money to pay for a family, so that was our goal And that’s exactly what happened. Now I suppose my resilience paid off, on paper people think I’m quite successful. You really got a good job teaching, own my own house and car, but with that kind of thing Might be people at home listening to this who haven’t been as successful as that. I don’t want to be one of those kinds of people who are saying that I am better than anyone else cause I haven’t been given the same hand as everyone else in my resilience really came down to support of others and if I didn’t have that. David: just about anyone who has been successful, hasn’t done it completely on their own, they’ve had a bit of support. Now you’ve been in a wheelchair for how long? Daniel: for 12 years, so I started teaching in a wheelchair from when I got the job, and I think that was a part of my success. I’ve just been really lucky; my friend Leone was working as a youth worker at Deception Bay flexible learning Centre And told me that there was a teaching job going there just as I finished uni. David: now, what did you do after you finish University? Daniel: so again I had a bit of luck there having support being my friend Leone who was working as a youth worker at Deception Bay flexible learning Centre which is the school I teach at now and he just gave me a call and said there was a job going so I went around there Applied for that and was luckily enough to get it, talking about good luck. The school is absolutely wheelchair accessible. Every bit of the school is wheelchair accessible which makes life so much easier as you know the worlds a tough place for someone in a wheelchair, cause all you need is a couple of steps to really stuff you up so Working there is like not having a disability because everything is accessible. David: right and so you’re intending to keep teaching for the foreseeable future or? Daniel: I really enjoy teaching and it’s a school for young people who dropped out of mainstream school, so it’s really interesting and always different and teachings. One of those great jobs that you get into and it rolls on the day and you’re there face-to-face with the kids and it really gives me energy. If I go to work tired school usually gives me energy just from the energy of the school environment. David: are you slowing down in life? What are the things you do to keep yourself physically, do you do a bit of exercise or? Daniel: probably not, and that’s why it makes life tough? I think life is tough in a wheelchair for anyone, but it is hard to work full time, and to keep pushing yourself because when you’re in a wheelchair or got any disability every little thing is usually tougher as getting out of bed to go to the toilet to having a shower to getting into the car getting out of the car just 1 million little things that you’ve got to do. Just a little bit harder than what it is for everyone else. Which makes you need that sport. You need the resilience to just keep pushing on if you’re going to fit into our society is one of the tough things that you just need that resilience to keep pushing on. I’m no hero staying fit or anything usually I’ll get home pretty exhausted and not great mind set as most people for exercise. David: exercise is something that has been very important to me, thanks for the phone call Daniel it’s been great talking to you this evening and talking about your achievements in life that’s been fantastic. Thanks for being the second person interviewed on my podcast okay thanks a lot mate bye Daniel: bye