When people greet me by saying “why are you in a chair” I feel so tempted to reply “why can you still walk?” I just have a dark humour. I’ve only come across really cruel bullies in online and real life with my conditions etc- it has really put me off having anything to do with anyone like myself.
I want to thank you from my future, as a woman with scoliosis and a back that will soon give completely out I know a chair is in my future. I want to learn how to contain my anger at people's foolishness. I love your calm demeanor and forgiving heart. I hope it all soaks in. Blessings
I really like watching your videos because I'm new to being in a wheelchair I have ehlers-danlos syndrome hypermobility type and I'm in the US and there is literally no one trying to show anyone else how to deal with being in a wheelchair so finding your channel has helped immensely especially the staying warm one for winter I have kidnapped my husband's fishing vest because it has definitely stop the wind from getting to my legs but yeah there's been like no one to basically show me how to live life in a wheelchair and it's funny watching a lot of your videos because they really explain how it is and what was really funny is the first question you actually answered on this have you ever used your wheelchair as a weapon my husband and I were joking around for a good while because I was sitting here thinking how does that work can somebody teach me how to use it as a weapon so we had a lot of fun laughing about it so I just wanted to make sure that you knew that your videos do help other people
Hi Dawn, Im so glad that you have found my channel and you are find the videos useful to watch. I have EDS too. I haven't spoken about it much on here yet, but the main reason I use a wheelchair is due to my spinal cord injury. Any way its lovey to meet, you, any questions always feel free to message me on insta or twitter :)
Dawn Keith I have had EDS all my life and been in a wheelchair for six years full time not weight bearing on one side (can’t get a surgeon to fix it as they think I’d lose weight bearing on the other side before the surgery had healed - does that make sense?!). Please ask away if you have any questions, I live on my own in the UK. :)
I'd like fewer cobbles! It also annoys me when new buildings are built but the access isn't well thought through (for instance multiple new buldings at my uni supposedly fufil access requirements but really are hard work!). I guess I could go on about the change from DLA to PIP ;P but generally in the UK we're really incredibly lucky. I think also that people need to be better at speaking to the person in the wheelchair, not who they are with!
As far as things society could do - BENCHES. I have a pain issue and can't walk far (even with a walking stick). I manage public transport, but my heart sinks when I approach a bus stop with nowhere to sit (or a slanty you-can-only-perch bench).
Thank you so much Donna. Please feel free to check out my wheelchair basic master class videos. There is a lot of useful information on there to help you. Also many other videos that Im sure will help you. If you have any questions or need any help please feel free to get in touch. xxx
If you've enjoyed this video then feel free to buy me a drink to show your support to my channel! ko-fi.com/wheelsnoheels As part of my community I have turned on “community contributions.” I would be thrilled if you would like to add close captions, translations, and subtitles. Im all about accessibility for everybody. I working so hard on my channel to give you the best content I can make. Lets work together to reach more people to inspire, motivate and entertain. ru-vid.com_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UCNP1tYcve1MtivJtDjHsO-g
I liked your video a lot more than the original buzzfeed one, because the way you answered the questions were pretty similar to the way I would. I still can’t understand why people you actually don’t know and you start a conversation about your disability, often ask as one of the first questions: “ so, can you have sex, and how?” 😳 nobody would ask that kind of personal question to an abled body, so why ask it to a person with a disability, who gives you that right??? I’m pretty open to answering any kind of question, if it helps to educate people, but the sex topic is something between me and my husband! And another thing that kind of gets on my nerves is, when people suddenly start pushing me, without asking, because they think that you probably need help. And if you then hold on to your pushrims to stop your wheelchair, and you turn around to tell them, that it would have been nice, if they had asked first, they kind of get aggressive. I had people say then:” that’s the reason why I normally don’t help disabled people, because they don’t appreciate it” that’s the reason why I don’t have any pushhandles on my wheelchair, anymore. Those people don’t realize, how it feels like, if somebody out of the blue starts pushing you. You can’t see them, so you don’t know who that person is, and it’s also pretty easy to get your hands stuck somewhere, because you’re not prepared to that sudden movement and speed. You can compare this to someone just grabbing you from behind and lifting you up and start running with you under their arms, this would be scary and not pleasant at all, wouldn’t it? Sending you a lot of spoonies💜Katy
I know someone with a spinal injury who always get asked if hes able to have sex. thankfully, he's such a funny guy that he always has a great comeback...he's married so most of the time it regards being married as opposed to being in a wheelchair...lol
Love all your comments/answers! I think the only wheelchair questions/comments that are appropriate when first meeting would be something like commenting on your grippies or something that you use to decorate it just like they would comment on your clothes or accessories. I'm sure you'll see my 6 hundred million comments, but I'm in a flare so your videos are helping me get through it. And I'm a bit nervous about getting my walker next week. Much love 💜
Hi my name is Lori. I live in Brisbane Australia and have just found your site. I have had 4 strokes and a brain seizure since turning 50 (8 years ago) Thank you for the information you have given so far. I have an electric wheelchair as well. My biggest frustration is finding accomodation suitable. For me. We take my shower chair and mobile lifter wherever we go. I always ring a few times to reassure myself that the bathrooms are wheelchair / shower chairs are roll in and out friendly. I have even gotten to the point of inspecting rooms to make sure l have been given correct info before we sign anything. Several times we have not been able to get my wheelchair in the room. We went to Aussie World theme park a couple of years ago when l could still take 2-3 steps. The assistants were great as l was getting on but at end of ride staff had changed and only 1 assistant. Needless to say our friends had my chair in perfect position , my husband behind me and the seating moved and l ended up head first in my chair. Upon going to guest services was told, well you probably won’t come back then. GRRRR I have written to owners and had no reply so we do not recommend this venue. Other. Theme parks we go to guest services and like you they give you a sheet showing all areas you would safely be able to use. Thank you l will watch your channel in future. 🌞🌞
Hi, thanks for sharing. My husband is an Aussie too, so we go over quite a bit. We went to movie world, and sea world and Australia zoo a few times. Also Taronga zoo in Sydney. I have found that Australia have a little bit of catching up to do when it comes to theme parks and disabled access in general. (Manly's streets didn't have many dropped curbs) In movie world, they didn't even have a disabled que. And in Taronga zoo when we went to see a seal show, there wasn't priority seating for wheelchairs so i couldn't see! very odd.Oh and the staff were like "tough @#*%!" I know about your bathrooms and having to be reassured. You can never really trust people 100% when it comes to out own personal needs. Greetings from the uk, and I hope you enjoy my content :)
Wheelsnoheels thanks for getting back to me. I have subscribed to your channel. Generally l pretty careful cos your not always sure of who you’re talking to. My husband is from USA, and retired to care for me.. I do volunteer work for our local councils and hospitals etc to help them improve disabled services. I used to be a nurse and improving areas for Disabled’s helps with my self esteem. I hope to keep watching your videos and help contribute to give disabled persons a fair go. Lori PS: where is your husband from?
@@Wheelsnoheels Yes Sydney is where the oldest buildings are usually. Brisbane is much more accessible except for older buildings. Public transport is good on the whole, but during COVID they wouldn't let people with a disability use the front door on buses. But they let people with prams and shopping carts on!!
It bothers me when people don’t pay attention to their surroundings and will walk in front of you and never even turn around even when you have to make sudden stops to avoid hitting them. I also don’t like to be in public because I worry so much about where the bathrooms are, how the access is, the amount of shade, etc. I recently went to the zoo and it cost an extra $50 plus a couple hours of waiting for a power chair to accommodate me and I still over exerted myself and had heat stroke. I’m glad there are opportunities but I feel that it can really be improved. I don’t know about other countries from personal experience, but the US seems to really gouge people with health needs. The US is certainly able to make the accommodations easier to be in public if you have disabilities but seems to comply only with the minimum and it’s usually not well thought out.
Buttons on bathroom entrance doors and wheelchair tables make me so happy! I would love it if more places had them because they really help! More parking spaces is a must though. When I want to go to an accessible place, there often aren't enough parking spots. It's a shame because we're already limited to only going to accessible places
I hate when my disability is ignored and they pretend it doesn’t exist. I’d rather they just asked me about the things they’re curious about. I think the more open we are the less ignorance and misunderstandings. I’d rather just get it out in the open straight away. However, my sex life is nobody’s business, so I’d be offended by those kinds of questions. Just the same as an able bodied person likely would I suppose.
I like to use the disabled bathroom when I'm having a bad anxiety day. In America, the super small stalls make me feel claustrophobic and throw me into an attack when the disabled bathroom is bigger. Keep in mind, though, that I hurry up in there and I do my business as fast as possible for other people to use it. I hope that's not seen as bad on my part
As I said in my video, I would never question anyone using the bathroom, as not all "disabilities" or "conditions" are visible. Sounds like you need to use it so go ahead my love :)
Wheelsnoheels Oh my goodness! You replied to me! Best day ever! Thank you for your understanding and support of all disabilities, ones that you can see and ones that you can't.
Alexandria Wells I thought this was just me. If I'm having bad anxiety or a panic attack I don't like to be around other people. It freaks me out because I'm much more self conscious and that makes the panicking worse, because all I can think about is that other people are probably judging me. If I am sick to my stomach and I'm in a public restroom that can also make my anxiety worse so I try to avoid people. Sometimes if I hear/see someone else in a public restroom I will try to wait until they leave while my anxiety is bad because for some reason in my experience people feel the need to talk to everyone and I'd rather not deal with that. I've only ever used a handicap stall (in my country there's typically one of those in a multi-stall bathroom but larger bathrooms like in shopping malls, amusement parks, zoos, sports arenas etc have more) if there was literally no other choice. I've been in bathrooms where all the other toilets were broken or there was bodily fluids all over the place making those toilets unusable (This seems to be more common in stores or sports places in big cities). Or there are other stalls but the people in there are taking too long and I'm in a situation where I need to go like now (I have digestive issues that can be unpredictable). I feel terrible when that happens but I always make sure no one else in the bathroom is waiting and I try to be quick.
Alexandria Wells Don't feel you have to rush...your claustrophobia is a perfectly valid reason to use an accessible loo. The loos are there for those of us who can't use a regular stall due to a physical, mental or emotional impairment.
Hi nice to meet you! I have a few questions 1. What’s the Facebook group that you mentioned you get to talk with others called ? 2. I’m newish to the UK use a manual rigid chair. Any tips and tricks for cobblestone. That is a challenge and I have quite big casters. Any technique ideas ? 3. I just wanted to say thank you soooo much for the bathroom point. I really agree with you about how it could be beneficial for some in the DA community to ease up. For example I don’t know bout you but I don’t see many catheter users dragging a night bag around in primark lol 😂 you can’t always see. So I agree. 4. Thank you for speaking on this cuz it’s also helped me learn a bit more of the cultural differences or expectations in conversation in British society that could be different from other countries. No lie I’m too blunt for everyone here. I certainly do ask personal questions when I first meet someone haha. Thanks for the video! I’m hella shy about talking about my situation. I don’t mind it but it feels very private still so I’m kinda just always taken aback and impressed when someone has the courage to “go public “ if you will
A situation where I feel you can question is when two or three girls are just standing and chatting in the disabled toilet and I cannot use it. ( this is of course contextual. Assuming they’re just standing and chit chatting and one isn’t helping the other for example)
I use crutches, & agree you're definitely lacking in security & stability - oddly I felt I had more stability/security on a walking stick - but I think it's 'cos on crutches you effectively have four legs & no hands, & with forearm crutches (which are so much better for long term use than armpit crutches) if you fall over you can't use your hands/arms to catch yourself as they're trapped in the crutches - & getting tangled with the crutches just adds to possible injury. I'm looking forward to when I can save enough for a chair, & I can stop having to be constantly vigilant for possible causes of tangling/trips/falls.
I'm curious about a situation I was in. I was in a manual chair and saw someone with a child in an electric chair and at the time I was looking for electric chair, we were in a que for a roller-coaster and I just said 'hey, do you mind if I ask where you got the chair as I'm looking into electrics' do you think this was OK?
' probably a little bit to old to be .....' You seem like a lovely person. I am binge watching your videos. Pls dont look at someone ans assume that they are ' old enough ' unfortunately not every is mentally as capable as there age suggests. I know you understand that but just this phase drives me nuts. You can not assume someone should know xyz based on age. Im not trying to lecture you or have a ago.
eh... I don't think that you can generalize as a person in a wheelchair what its like for women in wheelchairs I think its more... what it is like for you, not that I'm saying you are trying to generalize really..
Personally as someone who has recently been diagnosed with lupus my view of able-bodied people using the disabled restroom 🚻 hasn’t changed. If I really needed to go and there were no other stalls available I would use it as quickly as possible. Now with lupus and walking with my cane I don’t mind if someone really needs to go and had no choice. Maybe if and when I move to a wheelchair I will feel different but I doubt it. Also I use public transit here in Peoria, IL. There are many wheelchair users here. In both my own experience and watching others I think even with accessible systems it can be difficult. Then there are the occasional jerks that just give a damn including drivers.
