[senco-forum] disability in practice

Actually a skilled lightweight wheelchair user is more mobile (generally)

I've heard that Disney Land in the USA is good as is supposed to be the USA 
in general. France is a different kettle of fish, however. When we took our 
disabled daughter and her sister a few years ago, yes we got to the front of 
the queue in most instances, and don't that make the normals stare!!!, (it 
is actually better if you book and let them know in advance)  - it was the 
attitude of people mainly from visiting countries, to disability that really 
got to me - like people with them don't exist! Our daughter was continually 
stood in front of, pushed past, ignored etc etc. We met up with a family 
from 20 miles away from where we live (always the same isn't it!) and their 
wheelchair user son had been in tears over the way he had been treated.

So - moving on ( I could write a book at our travels or attempts at, - 
'toilets I have known and loved' was going to be another subject when our 
daughter was younger (artex was a wonderful invention!))
3 years ago we finally decided to try a cruise, as friends had continually 
told us that these were really geared up for people with physical 
disabilities. Choosing where to go was the first hurdle given our different 
interests ( eg only me likes sun!, younger daughter 12 going on 20!, we have 
to leave from England as we have been unable to find any airline, apart from 
trans atlantic possibly, who can accommodate our wheelchair user daughter 
unless she can lie down as a stretcher case for however many hours at a cost 
of at least 2 seats) anyway - we did find one that seemed to suit us all, 
and had tour excursions at each port of call that were advertised as 
wheelchair accessible - well yes they were, if you could get out of your 
chair, climb up the steps of the bus and have your folded chair stored on 
the bus,; as they all had the vertical pole in between the steps in the way. 
We sorted transport to the local towns/cities ourselves in the end but this 
sometimes took a while and again some of the foreign (and I am not being 
racist) passengers would push to the front of the queue when a special bus 
arrived for us.

I hadn't realised how much of this has actually stayed with me over the 
years. I will stop now before aforementioned book appears.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <KngBrndn at aol.com>
To: <annie41 at blueyonder.co.uk>; <S.J.Johnston-Wilder at open.ac.uk>; 
<senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 7:47 PM
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] disability in practice

> Actually a skilled lightweight wheelchair user is more mobile (generally)
> than someone on crutches. I know quite a few people permanently required 
> to use
> crutches who have gone over to a wheelchair -- and they get around much
> faster  and painlessly. And  -- if there are steps -- they can get out --  
> take
> their crutches out of the rear crutch holder and struggle up the damned 
> things.
> I envy them this as a complete non-ambulant.
>
> USA is good -- it is in the national constitution for every state to be
> accessible (buildings, transport and roads. So break you leg over there --  
> even
> Disney Land is good as they bring disabled people to the front of the line 
> and
> there is usually a disabled facility for accessing the ride etc.
>
> Fun, cheap, holiday countries on the Med are not so good but getting 
> better
> -- France is not bad. We are very variable and -- honestly --- pretty 
> awful
> despite recent laws. Every school should be completely accessible by
> unavoidable  law -- funded nationally by central government. At present it 
> is
> "reasonable  adjustments" -- a lawyers paradise. Brendan
>
>
>
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