Reach For The Stars With Abbie

  Get Over Yourself... We're Only Disabled! Hey my lovely readers, hope you are well.   Chapter 17 Whether we’re male or female, ask us what gender we prefer for care, don’t assume  When we are receiving support, such as personal care, it is important to make sure that we are consulted about whether we prefer to have a particular gender support us.  This helps us to feel comfortable and dignified.  For example, males might be more comfortable to receive care from a male and females might be more comfortable with females.   I prefer to receive care from females as this makes me feel more comfortable.  It allows me to talk more freely about my care.  I wouldn’t want to discuss my periods with a male! From a social point of view, it is also important to ask whether we prefer to be with a certain gender for activities.  For example, boys might prefer to go down the pub and watch football with a male (unless there is a female who really enjoys...

  Get Over Yourself ... We're Only Disabled!  Hey my lovely readers, hope you are well. Chapter 16   Don’t ignore non-verbal people  People shouldn't ignore individuals that cannot communicate as everyone is as important as each other and even if they cannot speak, they may be able to communicate in other ways such as, communication aids and devices, pictures, sign language, eye and hand movements or even just making their own personal noise to let people how they are feeling or if they require something or even just to have a conversation with somebody.  Just saying hello to someone in their way is just as special and important as everything else they need to say.   Whatever people use to get their message across, the people who are supporting the individual need to be patient with them because they may take a lot longer to get their message across because of the pace they may need.  So the person needs to respect what they are trying to ...

  Get Over Yourself.... We're Only Disabled  Chapter 15 Girls can wear high heels, even in wheelchairs! Yes, you read the title correctly, girls can wear high heels even in wheelchairs!  People are always telling people in wheelchairs that they need to wear “appropriate footwear” to support them when they are in their wheelchairs or other equipment.  This is correct, however, when girls go out people should be a little more relaxed when it comes to the individual choosing the footwear they want to wear and what makes them feel like a women, not just “the girl in the wheelchair.”   Girls should be given a choice when it comes to footwear.  When people go out they want to look nice and be like other girls of a similar age to them.  If girls want to dress up and wear high heels, this is what they want to do and the people who are caring for them should allow this.  At the end of day, it is up to the individual whether they feel comfortabl...

  Get Over Yourself... We're Only Disabled  H ey my lovely readers, hope  you are well. Chapter 14 Remember we’re all different with our own interests and hobbies I wanted to include this chapter as I feel that it is really important to get to know people’s interests and hobbies, especially when carers and other people are working with us a lot of the time.   It is a key ingredient when you work with people with disabilities to get to know what they are like and their  hobbies and interests.    By knowing this, it can help when the person is feeling down or anxious; the key people should know how to keep them calm and happy.  Hobbies can be a vital way to distract someone when they’re distressed.  I know that music and doing any type of exercise can calm me down when I am feeling worried or  anxious. The person who is working with the individual has to remember that they are their own person and will be just as uni...

Get Over  Yourself...We're Only Disabled      Hey my lovely  readers, hope you are well.  Chapter 13 Working In A Diverse World Going out into the world of work is a massive step towards a person’s independence.  Working can have a different meaning depending on how people look at it.  People will be able to do different tasks according to their disability, meaning that people will prefer doing particular tasks that they would be able to cope with.  Companies should make allowances for those that may find it difficult to do certain tasks.  For example, someone in a wheelchair might not be able to stack shelves in a supermarket as they are too high but they might be able to work on the tills, as this may be more manageable for them.  It’s also about gaining the skills the person needs to work on, such as finding out an easy and accessible route to get to and from their place of work, or finding equipment that would suit their needs...

Get Over Yourself... We're Only Disabled! Hey my lovely readers.... Hope you are well. Chapter 12 We’re trying to be as independent as we can   A lot of people with a disability want to get the best out of their lives, and try to become as independent as they can be.  Sometimes, this depends on what disability they have and what is limiting them.  We all require support at times but with the right assistance, we can slowly become a lot more independent as we learn how to do certain things for ourselves. I love being independent and being able to do things on my own, it gives me a sense of doing daily tasks myself and allows me to learn what I need to do and what I need adapted to be able to be independent.  For some people, this might mean they can put the washing machine on without help or for others it might just mean being able to know the difference between ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and being able to use them correctly.  It depends on the individual person and what ...

Get Over  Yourself... We're Only Disabled Hey my lovely readers, hope you are well.  Chapter 11 We can use a computer and electrical equipment in our own way Technology and electrical equipment can be catered to an individual’s needs, depending on how and why they need to use it.  There are loads of different pieces of equipment in the world today for people that need adapted software to be able to use technology. There is always something new in the market to help people to use technology despite their disability.  It is amazing how far technology has progressed over the years, becoming smaller and quicker to support individuals and make their lives easier as a whole.  But it all depends on individual needs seeing what they are able to use with their retraction because of their disability.   For instance, 10 years ago I was using a large keyboard with chunky keys and a key guard, so I was able to press one key at a time and not accidentally press mu...