IT is a cliche but people often struggle to see beyond a disability.

Whether it is a missing limb, a condition such as Down’s Syndrome, or someone who relies on a wheelchair to stay mobile, it is easy for people to focus on what is wrong with them rather than on their talents and abilities.

Michalina Puskarczyk graduated from the University of Bolton last year and has been applying for jobs ever since.

She was born with cerebral palsy and now relies on a wheelchair.

With her qualifications, she has secured several interviews and interest from employers, but says things change once they become aware of her disability.

Ms Puskarczyk says she is as capable of working in an office as any of the other candidates ­— with a few adjustments to accommodate her needs.

But she believes employers are put off by her disability and she doesn’t hear from them again once they are aware of her condition.

Instead of seeing a disability and automatically thinking what that person is unable to do, they should think what that person can do. Can they answer phones, use a computer and the software a company needs? Can they deal with filing and admin tasks? If so, being in a wheelchair should not preclude them from getting a job.

Being confined to a wheelchair with the degenerative condition motor neurone disease did not stop Prof Stephen Hawking making some of the greatest scientific discoveries of our time.