What Annoys Me As A Wheelchair User!

Being in an electric wheelchair all of my life I’ve had various challenges and obstacles in my way.

I suffer from Cerebral Palsy which affects all four of my limbs, predominantly on my left side and my right leg, I have been very fortunate in the way that it has not affected me mentally.

I have many friends who are disabled and some who are not, so I am able to see life from different perspectives. Being disabled has had a big impact on my life, I have to depend on others to help me throughout my daily routine. However, what life has taught me is that ‘disability’ is such a wide spectrum and everyone with a disability is affected differently.

Though it becomes a big part of our daily lives and the way we see the world, we are still our own person with our own outlook on life personality and feelings and confidence.

 

Despite our own outlooks on life, I have noticed that disabled people particularly those in wheelchairs are faced with ignorance and attitudes.

I see that some people don’t mean it intentionally but it can still have the same effect of hurt and disrespect that it could have if it were intentional, in fact, it can cause more hurt or offence by them not meaning it intentionally.

One of the many items that I pick up on is how other people—who don’t know us too well—speak to us.

1. Communication

One of my biggest pet peeves is people talking to the person I am with or talking down to me as if I am a toddler. Most disabled people can understand you in some form so greet us like you would an able-bodied person you have met for the first time.

Just because I have a disability does not mean that I cannot talk and respond to questions you ask me directly. I am able to speak and if a disabled person cannot speak, you will know. Friends of mine have carried around cut-out keyboards to communicate, others have tablets that read their responses.

Have patience, don’t assume we have lost our ability of language just because some of our bodily movements don’t work like yours.  Try speaking to us as you would any other person first to see if we can talk or understand you and then if we can’t understand you then talk to the person we are accompanied by.

2. Not looking where you’re going

When I am out in public I find it annoying when people are so engrossed in looking down at their phones that they don’t notice I’m travelling along the pavement beside them and they bump into me.

Some are so wrapped up in what is going on their phone then they don’t acknowledge they ’ve bumped into me and continue walking.I have found that others have looked up at me and either glared at me or asked me why I’ve got in their way when it’s clear that they’ve bumped into me.

I have found some people just stare at me and are completely caught off guard and don’t know what to do so they just dive around me without apologising to get away from me as quickly as possible. They won’t be patient for a few extra seconds and just wait for me.

You shouldn’t be walking around with your nose in your phone anyway but if you do and you bump into someone, apologise. You probably would if the disability wasn’t too obvious, get over your fear of speaking to someone who is disabled and treat us like a human. It take

As I’ve said many times before I’m sick of people stereotyping all disabled people they come across assuming that everyone is the same.

We may not be capable of everything an able-bodied person is capable of however we are capable of things and we can achieve it to our own degree and in our own way.

An example of this is I was told that I would never be in mainstream education, that I would never get one GCSE. I ended up getting six.

I wish I knew the people that made that prediction so I could show them that actually, I’ve proved those critics wrong.

I have tried to do everything I can to the best of my capability and for those things I can’t do I have found other alternatives.

For example, I use my writing as a way of expression and a safe haven for me when I struggle with things.

At university, I’ve found that I can’t join many societies as a great number of them are actually sport and physically related. I’ve found that I can’t join many of the societies due to this which in turn prevents the integration and socialising of able-bodied people and disabled people.

This is a very important thing to do as I find that people who don’t know us tend to shy away from us and are reluctant to speak and be around us.

I have found that some people don’t speak to us because they don’t want to offend or ask too personal questions, but in fact, this, in turn, makes us feel uncomfortable and isolates us as we’re nervous about approaching them. We don’t bite.

Going further into detail about this particular subject, please don’t stare at us or pull a strained face, I for one would rather you come up to me and ask me about my disability then blatantly stare at me. It’s just common sense and politeness.

Parents of young children need to educate their children at a young age so this, in turn, prevents them staring at those in wheelchairs or those who are disabled when they are older as they understand more.

Another thorn in my side is long queues whilst I am waiting for lifts. There are often long lines of able-bodied people who could use the stairs whilst those who can’t use the lifts. I have found that I have got to the front of queue to use lifts and people have pushed in front of me to get inside first, or people have just stood there oblivious pretending they haven’t seen me and then innocent surprise crossed their face when they do see me as if they have just realised I am there.

It must have become such a regular occurrence both for myself and other disabled members of the public, as I have recently noticed signs which have stated ‘give priority to those who are mobility impaired’.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, a great problem that I have had is when I am out in public I have found disabled toilets engaged and non-disabled people step out of them.

They blissfully ignore me, pretending that it is a toilet that anyone can use when there is a clear sign on the door stating otherwise.

One of my favourite memories is when we had landed in Orlando Florida and went to use the disabled toilet, to find it engaged.

After waiting a very long time we found that it was being used by an employee that worked at the airport and he was speaking on his phone.

When we confronted him he got quite defensive and said that he could use the disabled toilet as to him it was like any other regular toilet.

Within the media, throughout casting roles for disabled characters, the industry sometimes offer these certain roles to able-bodied people without the disability they are foreseen to portray.

Therefore, in my opinion, the representation isn’t accurate in comparison to what it would be if it were to be played by a disabled person with that particular disability. This is an area I am going to be researching as part of my dissertation in my final year, as it is a subject that I consider personal.

I would also like to voice the fact that individuals who aren’t open-minded about people with disabilities will sometimes refer to able-bodied people as ’normal’, implying that someone with a disability isn’t ’normal’…

I’ve been living in Leicester on and off for the past two years now and I’ve picked up on attitudes of taxi drivers and bounces to clubs and compared them to the ones I’ve experienced in Birmingham.

The taxi company that I have used in the past when I have travelled around Leicester are quite reliable but can sometimes lack timekeeping capabilities.

However, everything considered the taxi company is a good one and 9 times out of 10 they are happy to take me but of course it all depends on the driver’s attitude.

I always remember that during Freshers Week 2017 I went out to a nightclub to enjoy everything I could and when I came out of Athena nightclub I saw a rank of taxis accepting people as they came out of the nightclub.

Approaching the rank of taxis, I was met with the same attitudes that I have come to know so well.

The reluctance to get out of their seat. The refusal to carry my chair. When we finally found a taxi to take me.

I lined up to the ramps to go up and into the taxi but when I tried, my chair climbed but the stabilisers got stuck and my wheels kept spinning around and around.

I had to keep telling him that my chair will go up the ramps, just a little patience needed.

Not only have I experienced this on a night out, but also, whilst entering a nightclub, like most girls my age on a student night, I have received glances and harsh whispers of judgmental bodies questioning my outings, why can’t I have the same experience as everyone else?