‘I’M LIVING MY DREAM’

Ellen Goodey-campbell, 40, works for Mencap as a Lived Experience Advisor and is also a part-time actor. She lives in east London, with her husband Allan, 37.

Twirling around, wrapped up in a white bed sheet with a pillowcase draped over my head, I clutched some flowers, pretending I was a beautiful bride. I was born with Down’s syndrome, but my mum Linda and dad Chris raised me to believe I could achieve anything, and as a little girl, I dreamed of getting married. From an early age, my parents encouraged me to be independent. I attended mainstream schools, made my own friends, even met my first boyfriend aged 16. Although some subjects at school were difficult, I fell in love with drama. On stage, I could be anyone or anything – I once played a teddy bear! Stratford Circus, my local theatre, became a home from home.

Aged 25, in 2007, I moved into a flat with my brother Michael, then 25, and later carried on living independently with a friend as a flatmate. But as an adult, I became more aware of the stigmas surrounding disabilities, and I wanted to do something to change people’s perceptions.