Kristianne Marshall

My First 5,000 Steps Back - Will You Step Up for STEPtember?

Hello everyone! This September, I’m taking on STEPtember - but my challenge looks a little different.

My personal goal is 5,000 steps.

For some people, 5,000 steps might not sound like a lot. For me, every single step represents fight, determination, adaptation and possibility.

I have lived my whole life with congenital spastic left-sided hemiparesis/hemiplegia, with possible Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Global Developmental Delay and Distal Trisomy 2p Syndrome, a rare genetic condition. I didn't start walking until I was three and a half years old, and I have spent my life finding different ways to move, communicate, participate and be part of my community.

I am minimally verbal and communicate using AAC. I proudly represent Liberator Australia, one of the companies I work for and the company that supplied my NovaChat 10 AAC device. My AAC device gives me a voice to work, advocate, build relationships, make choices and share my lived experience.

But I also know what it is like to grow up without the therapy, medical care and assistive technology I needed.

That is one of the biggest reasons why I am stepping up.

I know personally how much can be lost when children and families don't have timely access to early intervention, medical care, therapy, assistive technology and appropriate equipment.

It can affect independence, participation, opportunities and quality of life. It can contribute to preventable deterioration in physical health and mental wellbeing. The consequences can continue into adulthood, create enormous financial costs for individuals, families and services, and place extraordinary pressure on families and carers.

Early support isn't simply about helping a child achieve a developmental milestone.

It can change the direction of a life.

And right now, my own life has taken another difficult turn.

I have been fighting an L1 plasmacytoma and have spent approximately three months wheelchair-bound in the community. I have recently been medically cleared to begin walking again - whilst also facing a second, unrelated cancer right now.

So these aren't ordinary steps.

They are some of my first steps back.

I will be walking using my solid cast AFO and new forearm gait trainer, rebuilding my walking safely and gradually.

And I won't be stepping alone.

Participating in STEPtember wouldn't be possible for me without my support care workers. They will be walking alongside me, providing the physical assistance and support I need to participate safely.

So my 5,000 steps become at least 10,000 steps together.

Those extra steps matter because disability doesn't happen in isolation. Behind participation there are often family members, carers, therapists, support workers, equipment, medical specialists and entire teams helping to make inclusion possible.

And one particularly little member of our STEPtember team will be coming too. 

My American Girl doll, Annalease, has her own matching mini AAC device, headphones and AFO. She'll be taking her little steps alongside us.

To me, she represents something much bigger: what it can look like when disability is included, understood, represented and supported from childhood - when a child can see mobility equipment, AAC and disability as part of everyday life rather than something that makes them less than everybody else.

That's why this STEPtember is deeply personal to me.

I know what it is like to be the child who needed more support.

I know what it is like to be the child who was sidelined, excluded, bullied, discriminated against, misunderstood, struggling and losing countless opportunities to participate meaningfully.

I know what it is like to become the adult who is still living with the consequences and still fighting for the supports needed to have a good quality of life.

And I know the difference that the right communication system, therapy, equipment, medical care and people can make.

Will you sponsor my first 5,000 steps back?

Your donation will support STEPtember's work for people with cerebral palsy, including helping babies and children access vital support during the earliest years of their lives.

Whether you give $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 or more, every donation brings us closer to helping more children have opportunities that should never depend on whether their family can afford or access the right support.

If you can't donate, please share my fundraiser. Your share might put my story in front of someone who can.

This STEPtember, I'm not measuring success against somebody else's 10,000 or 15,000 steps.

I'm measuring it against where I've come from.

From not walking until I was three and a half.

From growing up without many of the supports and assistive technologies I needed.

From a lifetime of congenital spastic left-sided hemiparesis/hemiplegia and living with a rare genetic disorder.

From finding my voice through AAC.

From becoming an AAC Experience Advisor and using my lived experience to help improve communication access, support inclusive practices and guide others in creating more accessible experiences.

From three months in my wheelchair.

From fighting cancer.

From facing a second, unrelated cancer right now.

And now, finally, back on my feet with my forearm gait trainer, my AFO, my AAC device, my support worker beside me - and one very determined little American Girl doll coming along for the journey.

5,000 steps from me.

At least 5,000 more from the people supporting me.

And some very little steps from my doll.

But together, they're steps towards something much bigger.

Early intervention.

Communication.

Equipment.

Participation.

Independence.

Opportunity.

Quality of life.

Please support my STEPtember challenge.

Because when children receive the right support early, we aren't just helping them take their next step.

We are helping give them more possibilities for all the steps that come after it. 

Thank you for your donation, support, kindness and encouragement.