Adam is 10-years old and
my son. Like any parent, I adore my child and would do anything for him.
Which comes in handy as
he needs assistance with everything he wants to do. He cannot sit unaided or
stand and needs help with every part of life.
Going out has always been a challenge.
Those “disabled toilets” marked with the logo of a wheelchair user actually
tend to be inaccessible to a lot of wheelchair users.
Some people need a hoist,
many need a changing bench, and others require adequate space in order to get
their wheelchair alongside or in front of the toilet in order to self-transfer
using the handrails. Extra space, enough to turn a powered chair, is vital. Hundreds
of thousands of people in the UK need Changing Places toilets – that is, an accessible toilet
equipped with an adjustable changing bench, a hoist, a privacy screen and
enough room for a disabled person, their chair and up to two carers.
Adam needs a hoist in
order to get him out of his chair and a bench to lay down on for me to sort his
clothes and switch to his toileting sling before hoisting him to the toilet. I
used to lift him, till I hurt my back very badly. I was unable to walk for a
while, could not drive the car for several months and I could not push Adam’s
wheelchair at all for a year. Even now, I can only manage short distances and
only on level ground. I don’t think I will ever be able to lift him again.
So we can only have full
days out at places where they have toilet facilities with a changing bench and
a hoist. Adam’s world has shrunk and he knows it.
Disabled by
toilets
Every day starts the same.
Adam asks where we are going today and, if we are going somewhere, the next
question is always “Do they have a toilet I can use?”
A few months ago I was
lost for an excuse as to why we would not be staying long enough to need the
toilet and I just said “sadly not”. My son looked at me and asked “Why not?”Two simple words which
changed my outlook.
I had accepted that this
was our lot in life. I had accepted that we were effectively excluded from most
places. At the end of the day, you don’t visit somewhere in order to use their
toilet but being able to use their toilet is what enables you to visit.
I expect toilet
facilities to be in place for me when I go out. Why shouldn’t Adam expect to
use the toilet too? Disability isn’t new. People have been disabled by
inadequate facilities for too long.
I want my son to know
that he matters. He needs to live a full life.
We can change the world, one toilet at a
time
I asked Adam where he
wanted to go and decided to ask those businesses to make improvements. The
first place he wanted to go to was Cornwall Services! I know, not the first
place you would think a child would ask for but many of his friends met there
regularly for lunch and to play. It is a great service station but Adam
couldn’t “go” there.
When I spoke with the
manager it was clear from the look in his eyes that he understood. He had never
before questioned what might be needed but suddenly he realised that he hadn’t
actually seen any wheelchair users going into their “disabled toilets”. Now he
knew why.
Within three months they
opened a brand new accessible toilet with a full-sized changing bench and
ceiling hoist. Adam was beyond thrilled! As were his friends. These facilities
are not just about the user, family and friends are affected too.
That response gave me the courage to approach more businesses. I started writing a blog to help get the message out to a wider audience, as a way to really share why these facilities
are needed and as way of recording progress.
It is called Ordinary Hopes because that is what we have.
Knowing what is needed is the first step
I started by contacting every place that Adam wished to visit. Now I will
contact those places that I would like to take him. Then it will be every other
place where most people would expect to use the toilet, because everywhere
should be accessible.
One more local attraction
in Cornwall, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, is 100% committed to installing a
Changing Places toilet. Four others are actively looking into it and want to
get it sorted by next summer. Others are in the early stages but are
considering it.
The common factor among
all the business I have been in contact with is that they simply didn’t know
what was needed. Once they knew, they wanted to help.
When you go out, have a
look inside that mystical toilet with a logo on the door and ask yourself how a
wheelchair user who could not stand at all would use the toilet. Speak to the
manager, ask them if they have ever thought about it and suggest they Google 'Changing Places' toilets.
One person can make a difference – imagine what
we can do together.
This guest post was written by Rachel George. You can read more of her ongoing quest to make toilets more accessible over at Ordinary Hopes.
Have you experienced problems with the accessibility of disabled toilets? Let us know in the comments below.
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