Disabled for a Day?

I was at a conference this week and we were discussing how to engage with disabled people. Someone came up with the idea 'disabled for a day'. Hmmm is this a good idea? I thought. Initially it sounds useful, but when you think about it a bit more, I really don't see what can be gained. Actually I fear it might even be somewhat patronising. I mean thinking about it for a minute, there is a lot more to being disabled than sitting in a wheelchair. Oh yes, thats right, its not all about access and being unable to walk, in fact in my opinion, that's the least of a lot of our worries.

So assuming YOU are the disabled for a day person, what are you going to experience? Well lets start with bodily functions...

• Will your bladder and bowels stop working for the day?
• Will you get the hang of catheterising yourself?
• Will you find you have wet yourself half way around Morrisons?
• Will it take you what seems like hours just to get up and dressed in the morning, and will you be racked by pain to the point of making you speechless?
• Will you endure stares of well meaning people or the embarrassment of dropping the entire contents of your wallet all over a shop floor and be unable to pick it up?
• Will you fall out of your chair and have to wait for someone to pick you up, or get stuck on a dropped kerb that's too high?
• Will you be able to get yourself up all those slopes you never noticed when you were walking?
• Will everyone talk over your head to your friends all the time?
• Will you curse yourself a thousand times for your own stupidity and inadequacy, and will you wish you had your time over again?
• Will you rant at all those people who park with a blue badge that isn't theirs or those who just park and don't care so you find you either cant get in or out of your car?
• Will you end up always complaning because the access just isnt as you thought and will you sit outside the bank and tap on the window because despite their profits they cant be arsed to put in a ramp?
• Will you sit at home at night utterly exhausted from the physical effort of everything?
• Will you think you are missing out on so many things with your children?
• Will you curl up and cry big tears of sadness and frustration because the pain you had this morning is unbearable and you cant take any more?
• Will you spend hours unable to sleep because of painful spasms that torment your nights?
• Will you wish you could not be disabled for just one day more?

Will you really be disabled for a day?

I think not.