I Am Able

This is a guest post by John Hargrave. Thanks to John.

A group of physically disabled people in Leicester are going into schools to teach 7-10 year old children about Disability Awareness. The project, called ‘I Am Able’, is the brain child of members from the Douglas Bader Centre, which caters for Adults with physical and/or sensory disabilities.

John Hargrave, who is a full time wheelchair user and has a hearing problem, says “The project started in 2008 with the help of our partners, the Arts and Museum Service, we produced a DVD aptly named ‘I Am Able’ which was filmed by Owen Tooth of Toothpix. Unfortunately we ran out of money, and the centre had to close for a time due to a failed fire inspection. The service users had to move out and the centre was threatened with closure. We then held a protest at the Town Hall, with the media present, and eventually we were able to re-open in January 2010.  We then looked at ways we could raise some money to get the project up and running again. Fortunately, in the Autumn of 2011, the Awards For All, Big Lottery Fund came to our rescue with a £10,000 grant”.

Vilas Pankhania, who is also in a wheelchair following a stroke, takes up the story and she says, “We had to draw up a programme that was suitable for schools, and with the help of our Drama Tutor, Dawn Bowden, the programme took shape. The children of the Abbey Primary School Good Values Club also came in to help, and with a few alterations we were able to take the project into local schools”. She added “It has been a massive hit from the start and the schools use it as part of their Citizenship programme, which is good”. “The children loved the programme from the start, they get lots of involvement and it is great fun. We have had rave reviews from the teachers”. We are able to deliver the programme free of charge at the moment and we are looking at other funding options too.

Darren Chisholm, another wheelchair user, has Cerebral Palsy says “John and Vilas are the presenters and I run the DVD, which is made of up seven scenarios”. The children use masks and balls in the classroom in order to demonstrate blindness. I also have a stand in for when I am away, she is Linda Lewin who has been at the Centre for over 30 years”.

Linda says “I like it very much, we are giving something back to the community. The centre staff have been very supportive of the project throughout and without them, and their help, the project would have failed”.

The group are now taking bookings for September, and they are looking at ways they can extend the programme to include community groups too.

Final words from John, who says “It is very important the kids get an insight into the barriers and attitudes faced by disabled people every day, including hate crime. Many have never spoken to a disabled person so we show them we are the same as they are, and only use our wheelchairs because of our legs don’t work. The children are susceptible to new ideas and we hope they will remember the session for many years to come”. I feel like a recycled teenager!