Sky Views: We can no longer ignore disability
Thursday 11 January 2018 05:34, UK
Rhiannon Mills, Paste BN Correspondent
Why are we so squeamish and dismissive about disability?
Reporting on a couple of stories recently has taken me away from my usual "Royal brief", leaving some to wonder why I have decided to look at issues around disability.
Sadly, it has been a reminder that discrimination against disabled people is alive and kicking.
I wanted to draw attention to the difficulties that tens of thousands of individuals face doing ordinary tasks on a daily basis in this country.
I have to declare a personal interest in this one. My mum has Parkinson's disease and sometimes uses a wheelchair.
While the reaction to my reports was largely sympathetic, I had not expected some of the comments on social media.
"Oh please, disabled people don't stop moaning, they get free cars, free parking, free travel, extra benefits and still want more," one person wrote.
Another said: "I'm sorry but you'll have to accept that the world caters mainly for the majority not the minority. Get over it."
Maybe I was being naive. I had expected people to be understanding or at least interested in seeing the world through the eyes of those with a disability.
These reports were not about the benefits system. I was highlighting issues with disabled access and, more importantly, inclusivity and equality.
Some disability campaigners feel that the negative sentiment expressed by some social media users is shared by businesses and retailers, leaving disabled people feeling shut out.
Most of us do not like to think about one of our relatives falling ill or being incapacitated. But with a population that is living longer, the odds of someone in your family facing some form of disability is surely increasing.
Mike Adams, from disability support group Purple, revealed less than 10% of businesses have a targeted strategy to pull in disabled customers, who are estimated to be worth £250bn a year.
It makes you wonder why retailers would not want a cut of that cash?
As well as better physical access, something as basic as training staff to help those who need assistance would be a start.
Mike and I agree, we have been into too many stores where shop assistants will not even make eye contact with someone who is disabled.
This is not done out of malice, but I suspect it is because they are embarrassed and just do not know what to say.
What has been heartening has been the powerful voices I have come across campaigning for better facilities and equality.
There is a passionate support network of parents, carers and people with disabilities themselves.
I have been amazed by parents who spend so much time and effort trying to get retailers, councils and the Government to install more changing places for disabled children and adults across the country.
These families have enough on their plate dealing with the needs of their children but they spend hours petitioning to make a better world for their kids and others.
Lying on a dirty toilet floor to show the problems disabled people face in public bathrooms, Sarah Brisdion said she felt her seven-year-old son Hadley, who has cerebral palsy, was being treated like scum.
She spoke passionately about how this should not be happening in 2018. It is hard to disagree with her.
I also went filming with Will Pike, who is paraplegic and made his own video showing the challenges he faces going shopping or simply trying to grab a coffee.
He said he was not just "another disabled guy campaigning about a ramp" but a person "campaigning for liberty". He also pointed out that the world has not kept up with the wonders of medical science.
As medicine helps to keep more disabled people alive, the high street and building regulations have not kept up.
Current laws say businesses and retailers have to make reasonable adjustments but at the moment it is up to the customer to fight for better facilities if they feel a business is falling short.
Most of us do not like to think about one of our relatives falling ill or being incapacitated.
But with a population that is living longer, the odds of someone in your family facing some form of disability is surely increasing.
Sometimes it can upsetting and makes life a little more complicated. But at the centre of it all are people who do not want any special treatment.
They do not want pity. They just want to be treated like everyone else.
Ignoring disability is no longer an option. Just get used to it.
Sky Views is a series of comment pieces by Paste BN editors and correspondents, published every morning.
Previously: Alistair Bunkall - Why a woman will not lead the military