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Julie Aims to make Disability Fashion Attractive
Julie McElroy is no stranger to a challenge, and her latest mission will take her to new levels of inspiring others and showing what she, and those in a similar situation to her, can do.

Julie, from Glasgow, suffers from Cerebral Palsy, but she has never let this get the better of her or stop her from achieving her goals in life. She has completed many tasks which even an able-bodied person would find beyond their capabilities - including leading a Ben Nevis trek and crossing The Andes.

Now Julie hopes to accomplish something which has rarely even been looked at before - addressing the public of media portrayal by disabled people by firstly launching her fashion shoot for disabled people and getting it covered in the media.

Describing her reasons for being so active in promoting disability rights and encouraging people with disabilities to aim for success, she says: "I want to experience a totally new existence, challenges that are different from what I experience in everyday life. I know that I have the commitment and passion to succeed and I want to show people that regardless of their disability they can achieve anything."

Explaining the process of taking part in the Ben Nevis trek, and what inspires her to strive for as much as possible, Julie commented: "I was chosen to be the figurehead of the Ben Nevis Challenge, I worked with Capability Scotland and Scope to implement my media and fundraising strategy. It was a highly successful fundraising challenge with six out of eight wheelchair teams reaching the summit and we have raised the staggering sum of £110, 000 approximately. I have the capabilities to achieve the goals I would like to fulfil. I'm now climbing ladders to wherever my career will take me in the future. It has inspired me about leading in other areas too!"
Her proudest accomplishment to date has been crossing the Andes, and despite the fact that it was a very gruelling journey both mentally and physically, Julie knows that is has helped to shape her as a person and done her no end of good.

She said: "Since I have walking difficulties and balance co-ordination problems, I found the terrain tough at times to walk on. It was so frustrating and emotional at times because I kept falling a lot whereas at home I rarely fall.

"I also have a hearing impairment and as a result I wear two hearing aids. Deafness is such an isolating disability. It is a disability that anyone can have. Each deaf person has their own way of coping, I felt isolated at times in the group because my team member didn't know how to handle me. I wasn't alone, as there were also two other deaf people on the expedition. They only had deafness to contend with, whereas I had walking difficulties, as well as: hearing impairment, speech impairment and manual dexterity problems. Even with all of this to contend with, I definitely found the challenge to be one of the best things that I have ever had the privilege to do."

Julie has always had a keen interest in fashion and she has decided to take this further with her aim to hold a professional photo shoot for people who have disabilities. She states that she believes this is something that has not been properly addressed in Scotland, and feels she is the person to take it forward.

She said: "I want to take this fashion concept to another level in Scotland. Some disabled people take their passion for fashion and the way they look seriously. I want disabled people to feel confident, have the professional approach and confidence about what they wear and thus change the perception for the public that they can be good looking! Also it will help nurture the next generation of disabled individuals."

Although Julie is a prime example of a very confident and astute young woman, she knows that dealing with the public's perceptions of those who are different from what is seen as the 'norm' can be very difficult. However, she now feels that the tide is slowly turning on this, and disability awareness is at an all-time high.

Julie remarked: "People are now becoming more aware that everyone is different, through things like the Paralympics giving great exposure. We must challenge preconception, the focus should be on people's ability, not disability. Whether a disability is physical, skill specific, emotional or attitudinal, focusing on abilities can make it much easier to address the negatives. And if we reinforce people's strengths they're far more likely to excel because their confidence will grow, which in turn will allow them to deal with the weaknesses. "

This IT Graduate has an unwavering and commendable zest for life which is clear to see, and she will stop at nothing to make sure that her latest ambition is achieved... Julie views this as the ideal platform to put disabled fashion out into the spotlight, and is urging everyone to get behind her idea. When asked how she would encourage people to take part who may be self-conscious of their image due to their disability, she said: "Although I have accepted my disability and myself for who I am, I know that this is far from easy to do. However, I would encourage others to do the same. You realise anyone with a disability isn't any different from everybody else. We are all equal and all human and have the right to do the same things as normal peers but they will have to be done differently."

Speaking of her other plans for the near future, she said that she has lots of ideas and projects that she would like to front and explore further. This is no surprise, as Julie is always very proactive and relishes being able to make a difference to those around her in any way possible. She goes on to say "2010 promises to be a very busy and positively exciting year for me, so, watch this space... there's much more to come!"