Sharing my life and areas of inaccessibility, as a full-time electric wheelchair user.
What is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?
I know how that sounds but bare with me.
My phone, the internet, and social media, it is how I access the world. There’s no other way I can do so without help, there’s no other place I can be me the way I want to.
My phone also gets me help when I need it.
It’s not unfair to say that it’s my lifeline.
So don’t judge people who live through the Internet, judge the rest of the world for making it there only option.
Due to a lot of the world around me being massively inaccessible, I almost always learn specific routes when I travel in well known areas. This is something now do without thinking because I’m so used to doing it, and I often don’t realise I’ve done it until I route I take has to change for some reason.
I only have to do a regular route a few times before I find ways that are comfortable to me. These are ways that are often so specific, they include travelling on a specific side of the road. I’ve even missed shops that are on the other side of the road to the route I’m taking, because I’m so focused on the way I have learnt to go.
When I have to change a route it can actually be quite scary and sometimes disorienting. One reason for this can be because I don’t know the condition of the pavements I will be on, or where drop curbs are. Sometimes I have to just change curbs that are new to me, because I can’t always tell how big a drop is going to be when I’m on the pavement. And as I can’t always see exactly where my wheels are, sometimes I hit pot holes, that I was unaware of previously.
To put it simply, I have to pay a lot more attention and take more risks when I travel on routes that are unfamiliar to me, so I obviously don’t like to do this.
Now I am able to manage better than some, when changing routes, despite my difficulties. For some being able to follow specific routes that they have learnt is more important than it is for me.
The point of this post is to hopefully remind anyone reading it that sometimes people have learnt routes for specific reasons, and they can’t just change them. Some obstructions like road works are unavoidable, what I mean by that is they require the say of the council not individuals to prevent. But individual pavement obstructions, such as where you park your car, is a different story.
It is worth remembering that people can’t just change routes. They can’t always just cross over to the other side of the road, to pass the obstruction you create.
So have a little consideration for where you park or leave things on the pavement. Just remember you may be blocking a path that is someone’s only way of travelling somewhere independently.
I am aware that this post may be considered slightly ironic given my current situation which makes travel difficult. But as I’ve had to explain this recently to others, after sharing pavement obstructions by hedges and vehicles, I thought it was worth also going over here as well.
It is the norm that many of the places in society are inaccessible to me, that is the result of systemic ableism. Both societies view of disability when they build buildings and business owners view when they find places for their businesses. It’s just life for me, and many others, unfortunately.
As I rule I try not to go to inaccessible businesses. This is both because of the obvious reality that the businesses simply aren’t accessible to me, but also because I do not want to fund businesses that are inaccessible. I firmly believe that those with inaccessible businesses make the decision to have an inaccessible business. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, sometimes they just haven’t thought. But I still hold them responsible for that, hence why I try not to fund them.
But sometimes needs must.
And while it annoys me, I’ve spent so long looking and trying different dog groomers, for some reason they never stick. I can say the same about cleaners, but that’s a different story. I got tired of paying the extra money for a groomer with a van to come to my home once, then to be let down when I need them to come again. I care to much about my babies to let them suffer because of my disability, and this groomer is a very good distance from my home.
So the fact I can’t actually get in, seems like a very small problem, given they were also willing to work with me. While the fact I have to compromise and be served from the street irritates me. Sometimes you just need to do what you need to do to get the service you need.
She does look lovely, and it’s Immy’s turn on Monday, and all being well I will stick with them. I can make it work, it just really annoys me that I have to be the one to make it work. It’s always me compromising.
To business owners out there who may stumble across my post, make the right choices and use accessible premises. It’s the right thing to do.
If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?
I’ve always wondered if I were to ever win a competition where something like this is offered what would practically happen? Just because I won a trip like this doesn’t mean it would be accessible to me.
Are used to think about answering those competitions where you could win a car. I always wondered if I’d be able to sell the car if I want it because I knew it wouldn’t be a prize that would have any value to me.
But let’s just assume this holiday would be completely accessible, like it would be for any non-disabled person that won it.
Vegas probably.
Or somewhere warm at least.
Where would you go?
Image if your worked stopped paying you as soon as you earned what someone else decided was enough for you to live on.
You then had to live off your savings until someone else decided that you didn’t have enough money to live on so you should be paid again.
All the while you were still working.
This is the reality for many disabled people.
While if you’re lucky you’re on one of the few disability benefits that aren’t means tested, most are.
Benefits are the only source of income some disabled people have. Even if they are able to work, despite there conditions and the ableism they face in society. They still need the benefits to pay for the disability tax. The increased cost of living in society as a disabled person.
And yet if you what someone else seems is too much money, most if not all of your income is taken from you.
What are your future travel plans?
Yes for the reasons you’re thinking of, but also not really for those reasons.
Let’s just say that money can solve most problems and if you really don’t believe that then you’re not paying attention to how privileged financially you are. Money could definitely solve the problem with travel for me. While much of the world is inaccessible, many of those inaccessibilities can be overcome with money.
Money the world does not want me to have because it does not want me to make a living for myself and have to see people like me in the real world. Money the world does not want me to have because I would not confirm to the useless disabled person they believe I should be. Money they’re able to keep from me.
Society wants me to be poor, and so I cannot travel. It is that simple.
That said, I would love to go to Vegas.
I know I said I was going to write much and I think I’m still going to keep this short and sweet but this one was to good not to answer
Posting just to continue the streak. Not sure if I’ll continue to do this or when I’ll get back to writing properly. I’m sorry.
I don’t know how long I’ll be away, but I just can’t right now. Sorry.
I haven’t decided if I’ll include more generic posts to keep my streak but I honestly doubt it right now.
What bothers you and why?
Take now as I start this post, I am on a bus, and the people I’m with decided to go sit at the back. I know there are supposed to be the better seats on the bus, but I can only sit in one place on the bus, and there were seats near me when we got on, I’d be lying if I said their choice doesn’t bother me. How can it not?
They could have chosen to sit with me, but they didn’t. And every little time someone makes this choice, it reinforces what I think I’ve always known, I’m not more important than the better option.
My disability is an inconvenience to them, to be honest, it is to me as well, but I can’t escape it. They can though, and worse than that, they choose to. I don’t know if it’s made better or worse by the fact I can’t blame them though.
I just wish society made being with me the easier option.
So floating around on the disability areas of social media today has been a question to the effect of “What is your worst experience of exclusion?”, so I figured for todays post I will answer that again here.
For me my worst experiences of exclusion are failed promises of inclusion. Now I know sometimes this can be more difficult to accomplish, but more than once it’s been easier and they’ve still failed. The part you have to really understand is whether I should or not, I don’t expect to be included in things. The truth is, exclusion is and probably always will be, my norm. I don’t expect an invite to the party. So why dangle the invite in front of me, if you have no intention of putting the work in?
Seriously, why are you doing that to me? To anyone?
If you genionely want to put in the work to include someone with a disability in something, then put in the work. I really don’t think this is to much to ask. And if it genuinely falls through, after you tried, then tell us. Don’t just ignore us, and think we forgot.
From experience, when you’re not used to the invite and you finally get it, it’s not something you’re going to forget. In fact you are probably going to hold on to it more than others, you will not forget. I certainly did not. I really looked forward to going to this party, and they said they’d find a way for me to be included, and then they just didn’t. I don’t even know if the party happened, I presuming that it did, because why wouldn’t it? But the basically just cut me off and stopped mentioning it. I honestly don’t know why.
Just tell disabled people the truth. We deserve that at least.
So go on then, if you find yourself reading this and you feel like answering – What is your worst experience of exclusion?”
My Inaccessible Life 