Cerebral palsy did not stop author from building a full life
Born with cerebral palsy and given slim odds of survival, Marthe-Marie Köhn has built a successful career and now uses her platform and children’s books to challenge perceptions around disability.
Having a disability does not have to define a person.
This is according to Marthe-Marie Köhn, who has been living with cerebral palsy since childhood.
Marthe-Marie, who operates the popular social media platform Abilities Without Limits, says there is no reason why people with disabilities cannot also achieve success.
“I was a breech baby, and I had no heartbeat at birth. Doctors managed to get my heart beating, but my parents soon realised, when I did not achieve normal childhood milestones, that I was different,” Marthe-Marie says.
Her parents were told that she had a 10% chance of survival, and if she survived, she would definitely have to be institutionalised as she would not be able to walk, talk, or do anything for herself.
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But Marthe-Marie proved everyone wrong, going on to have a productive, fulfilled life.
After high school, she studied toward administration and secretarial qualifications, and today she lives a busy life, working as an administrator and manager at an audiology practice in Parktown. She drives herself to work daily and runs her platform, through which she educates parents of children with cerebral palsy and the public at large about disabled people after hours.
Despite her busy schedule, Marthe-Marie recently managed to publish the first in a series of educational children’s books, Katy’s Adventures.
“If I had to describe Katy’s Adventures Series, it’s educational, raising awareness in a fun, adventurous way, without sounding preachy,” she says.
“The three main characters in the book all have disabilities, and the main lesson of the story is to never give up.”
Marthe-Marie says a large part of her work centres around raising awareness.
“Something I see often is that parents will keep their children from engaging with children with disabilities. We are all taught that it is rude to stare.
“I am urging parents to let their children speak to the disabled child or person. In that way, they learn that the disabled are every bit as human and normal as they are.”
Marthe-Marie has big plans for her book series and is already working on a follow-up.
For more information, or to get your copy of the book, contact Marthe-Marie at abilitieswithoutlimits@gmail.com.
