I’m not claiming to be an expert in Cerebral Palsy, I’m not a doctor. I’m also not saying that everyone with CP has the same experience.
However, I do have a sister with CP and I do see a lot of similarities between her and Kate King.
I think a lot of people forget that CP is often as a result of a perinatal stroke in newborn babies, especially in those who are premature. Strokes cause brain damage to various extents, which can often affect emotional and psychological development. So, while you have someone with CP who might be doing really well physically (ie, Kate can walk well and has decent use of her hands), how she experiences stress, emotion regulation, frustration etc. may be a huge challenge.
With my sister, while she’s physically disabled with no leg movement and very limited arm/hand movement, her speech and intellect are very strong. That said, emotional regulation has been a lifelong issue for her. If she gets upset, she can get absolutely hysterical. It’s awful to see. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often but it really does impact her.
We see that in adults who have strokes too- they sudden find it very hard to control their emotions.
With my sister, she spent more time with adults as a child than other kids do. Because she’s always used a wheelchair, she wasn’t always able to go places with other kids (my sister is 35- I know things are different now). Plus she had a TA in school so wouldn’t have been privvy to as many little secret playground conversations as other children as that would have meant there was an adult present. Because of that, she’s probably a bit of an old soul. Nowhere near Kate King level, but you’d definitely have noticed it when she was a child- she came across as more precocious than other children of her age.
I never bought into the Evil Val bit. Absolutely, she could come across as snippy in some clips but those were five second snapshots of their lives. She and Mick/Michael seem very dedicated to their daughter, if not a little overbearing which I think comes from a place of love and a desire to protect.
Anyway, I’m rambling but what I mean to say is that I feel very sorry that this has happened to Kate. I hope she has some support around her and can either get to the stage where she’s happy to reengage with her interests, or finds a new outlet that she enjoys.