I was watching behind the scenes of Jamie Fox playing Ray Charles, and he didn't become the character until the director had his eyes sealed with a prosthetic. Until he was able to experience life without vision, he didn't understand what it was truly like. Similarly, the public has not realization on what a wheelchair user goes through both physically and emotionally. I will not pretend to understand or know everything; but do have each staff member working with us spend quite a lot of time sitting in and using the equipment we provide and try to perform daily tasks. This is an eye opening process, and even though they can get out of the equipment; they learn a valuable lesson.
A few years ago the PVAF held a bowling event where everyone had to bowl from a wheelchair or scooter device. It was a great opportunity not only to raise money; but awareness.
Any time we as a group can glimpse at the lives of others it builds a understanding and brings down barriers.
This article was written by Carey J Britton, Seating and Mobility Specialist at Active Mobility Center. He can be reached at 954-946-5793 or cbritton@wheelchairguys.com.
My Dad used a walker for the last fifteen years of his life. And I saw first hand how hard it was for him to get through heavy doors, navigate restaurants, and get to the bathroom if he needed to hurry. He became wheelchair bound the last six months of his life but had a caregiver and children who helped him with his chair. But a person's independence is severely compromised when their mobility decreases. And the awareness of those challenges is something we should all think about. So to ask your customer service staff to use the equipment and understand it is awesome.
ReplyDeleteKnowledge is important in life. However even more important is respect! Don't pity those who are disabled. Respect them and they and you will achieve more in life.
ReplyDeleteEXCELLENT COMMENT........by allowing, appreciating, and accepting each of us as we are, we live together harmoniously.
DeleteMy wife has been confined to a wheelchair for the last 17 years. During that time she has been part of a number of local Council committees to improve access around the towns we have lived in. One of the ways we got Council Engineers (particularly stubborn characters most of them) to see what was needed was to put them into a wheelchair for a day and make them go around the footpaths etc in the town so they could personally feel how frustrating it was not to be able to use pram ramps etc because they were too steep, or get into the shops because the new streetscaping has led to a step being created at the entrance to a shop or sometimes a series of shops.
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