Finding independence, creativity, and home
Simone Bartram likes to say she’s been driving since the age of three, recalling her early childhood navigating life in a wheelchair.
Now 27, the part-time actor and aspiring novelist refuses to allow disability to limit her independence.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Simone grew up in Canberra with her parents, and sister and brother, later graduating from Lake Tuggeranong College with a Major in Drama.
At college she discovered Rebus Theatre company – an inclusive performance group known for putting people with disabilities on stage and at the centre of storytelling.
People with a disability are looked at differently, Simone says. “As a child I tried everything to find my niche. It’s not easy for a kid with Cerebral Palsy to find your niche, it’s not easy for anyone.”
After growing up with her family, Simone tried share-houses but found the diverse needs of the residents often meant she had to fit in with the timetable of other residents and carers.
In 2021, a two-bedroom accessible townhouse operated by Canberra-based community housing provider CHC became available in the southern suburb of Kambah. It allowed Simone – who needs access to 24-hour care – to live independently and choose her own team of support workers, providing the freedom to manage her own routines.
“There aren’t many disability properties available and once they’re built, they’re snapped up,” Simone says, noting how important it is for her to have these design specifications. CHC has built eight homes to accommodate special disability residents in Kambah – Simone’s townhouse is in a complex of six.
Simone’s home is fully accessible, with no steps, an open-plan bathroom, and a sunny courtyard, and has allowed her to live independently for the first time.
“Having this home is a big thing for me. It gives me space to think and the freedom to choose and be independent,” Simone says.
“It’s nice to feel like I’m my own person and not constantly having to ask permission.”
Importantly, the home also accommodates her nine-year-old spoodle, Romeo – a non-negotiable when she applied.
The pair often walk together with Romeo’s lead attached to Simone’s wheelchair, though the Canberra winters are a challenge, she says. Outside of work, she’s writing a novel titled Jason and the Demons, a fictional work inspired by both personal experiences and the loss of a close family member.
“One day I was waiting for a long time for a taxi and was thinking ‘I wish I could fly’, she says. Around the same time Simone lost an Aunt to cancer.
“The novel is a way to deal with grief and anger and my situation, but to also to look at the positive,” she says, describing a protagonist fighting both physical and mental demons.
It’s set in a world where the support system is reversed, and people with disabilities are the ones providing help and guidance to others.
