Being disabled and living with Cerebral Palsy I’ve always faced barriers and found ways to overcome them. I want to share my experiences with my readers and therefore raise awareness so that disabled people experience fewer obstacles.
Hi, My name is Lucy and I live in Birmingham with my family and my retriever, Ben. I was born three months early and rely completely on my electric wheelchair to get around.
Barriers
Barriers can be physical or mental, for instance, the most obvious physical barrier for a disabled wheelchair user is steps. My biggest physical barrier is not being able to transfer from A to B by myself therefore I cannot get from my bed to my wheelchair without assistance. People’s mental attitudes towards disabled people can be empowering or they can be disempowering. Through educating people I will give a positive view of disability.
Equipment
I’ve brought many pieces of disability equipment to try and make my life easier over the years but although things have been helpful many ‘accessible’ places aren’t without a bit of ingenuity.
I have a goal to devise and create a more portable solution than a hoist to enable disabled people to transfer more easily. My purpose for doing this is to improve the quality of life I and others experience. Firstly, hoists are heavy and large pieces of equipment so therefore a more portable solution would improve access for all in all areas of society. Secondly, society is ill equipt in many areas to assist those with additional needs. As a result, Changing Places are on the rise due to people needing more equipment than are often available in toilets. It would be so much more convenient if people could bring what they need with them.
Lifestyle
I’ll highlight the good, the bad and the ugly facets that living with a disability brings. Awareness is knowledge and knowledge is power. I’ll update this blog every month, sometimes more if I have something particular to write about. Reviews of places I’ve been, my opinion regarding different assistive technology and general posts about living with a disability will be the main topics of this blog along with bits and pieces of dance and theatre here and there. 😉
The fact that I chose to create this blog on #AccessDay is a complete but very fitting coincidence.
If you have experiences or ideas you would like to share or even just to say hi, please comment below or contact me. It is only through shared experience and knowledge that the world will become more accessible to all.
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
Mother Teresa.
