🥰 what are open on a Monday morning, especially when I have things to like anybody, my age here with you, Friday morning, saying 🥰🥰
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJmrUokQ/video of me, doing music time earlier at Prime yesterday
Happy Friday – Can’t Wait for the Weekend to Begin!
Happy Thursday Evening
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJm65ePw/😆😆😋😋
Wheelchair Dance Company On Debut Tour
A dance company featuring performers and musicians in wheelchairs has started its debut tour.
Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen is Propel Dance’s first live production.
Performances of the reimagined fairytale, at Birmingham’s Midlands Arts Centre on Sunday and Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on 27 April, will take place thanks to funding from Arts Council England.
Audiences are asked to pay what they feel, in recognition of the cost of living and to encourage more people to enjoy its work.
Happy Thursday :)
Happy Wednesday Evening
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMY7XL55y/
please click on the link to watch the video of me when I did Brontë increment in retail
Activities I Am Looking Forward To Doing At Mersea Island Festival When I Visit There in the Summer
The activities I am looking forward to include enamelling which I believe is making glass! This is an activity I have never experienced before so I’m excited to do so if they are running it this year, as there are a range of many activities that I could be doing whilst there.
Zipwiring is at the festival however I won’t be doing this as I am scared of heights! But you may want to do it.
They also run encaustic art which is making art out of melted wax.
They also run activities of African Drumming which sounds really fun.
I have had a look at a few camping bags and these ones are the ones I would like if I was to purchase one for future camping trips.
working on clocks we do earning for leisure two years ago and practising Prime reading a clock face
What’s Going On With The Paralympics TikTok?
It’s not unusual to scroll through TikTok and see something that makes you ask: “Is that ok?”
And viral videos from one account have been dividing opinion over their portrayal of disabled people.
In one, with almost 40 million views, a single-leg cyclist can be seen pedalling to the finish line of a race.
The description of the video reads “LEFT…LEFT…LEFT…” – also the lyrics to the comedy song that plays over the clip.
So far, so TikTok.
But what has shocked some people is the source – it’s been posted by the official Paralympics account.
And it’s not the only one. There are dozens of similar clips on the feed, always with a novelty track on top.
Things like wheelchair basketballers falling over, people running on blades and blind footballers scrabbling to save a goal.
It’s provoked a strong reaction, and the comments are usually full of people wondering what’s going on.
Has the account been hacked? Is it really official? Why hasn’t the person in charge been sacked?
‘Edgy and unique’
BBC Newsbeat asked the International Paralympic Committee, which organises the games, what’s going on.
And no, the account hasn’t been hacked.
The committee says the person in charge is “a Paralympian who fully understands disability” who’s “created a strong following through edgy and unique content”.
It admits that “not everyone” will like the content, but the aim is to “educate an audience who might be less aware of Paralympic sport and the achievements of our athletes”.
And beyond the criticism and confusion, quite a lot of comments on the videos are positive, and some people agree they’re raising the profile of disability sports.
That’s what British Paralympic table tennis player Jack Hunter-Spivey thinks.
Jack, who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, is also a comedian and doesn’t have a problem with the TikToks.
“A lot of the videos that I’ve seen on TikTok of people complaining are from able-bodied people,” the 27-year-old says.
He says Paralympians are often portrayed as inspirational, “and in our own right we definitely are”.
“But we can also make jokes as well,” he tells Newsbeat.
“We can also make light of our situation and if I fall out my chair in front of my friends and I’m not injured, we would make fun of it and we would laugh.”
Jack accepts there’s a danger that the videos could make people more comfortable to poke fun at people with disabilities and lead to discrimination.
But he thinks “nasty people” will make those comments anyway, and the videos are “trying to move the Paralympic movement forward in different ways”.
“This is one great way to do it,” he says.
“I think it gets more eyes on Paralympics, where we’re getting on the trends and stuff like that on TikTok.
“I really like it because disability is a fragile thing.”
Jess Whyte plays wheelchair basketball for Loughborough Lightning and agrees that it’s important to show athletes as real people with a sense of humour.
“The Paralympics is a great opportunity to celebrate difference and if we’re going to celebrate the great things, we can also laugh at the funny things.
“It’s trying to normalise being comfortable around people with disabilities and normalising the differences.
“I think it’s a great way to get it out there and showcase it and people are watching it and they’re learning from it. And they’re seeing the differences and I think it’s great.
“I think doing these videos and getting people to view them is just basically getting us noticed and recognising it’s OK to have a disability and it’s fine, normalise it, feel comfortable around it and have a laugh with it.”
But not all of the athletes Newsbeat spoke to agree.
England Amputee footballer Sean Jackson, 22, thinks the account should focus on positive things the Paralympic athletes are doing.
He says it’s disappointing that the organisers aren’t using a platform with millions of followers to “promote incredible athletes”.
“They just choose to sort of mock them and turn them into memes and try and use their sport to entertain people from a comedic point of view,” he says.
“Looking through that whole account, I might have seen one or two [videos] where the athlete actually does something successfully.
“I think everything else is just sort of mocked and whether it’s a fall or whether it’s the way they run because they’re using the the blades or the way that they use a bike
“Anything that they’ve used I think it’s just used to try and make make fun of what disabled athletes have to do to participate in the sports that they love.”
Jack sees where Sean is coming from and thinks the account owner must take care about what they post.
“Every disability is different, every person with a disability can view things in different ways,” he says.
“So I can definitely see that it is a fine line being toed, and the videos do have to be careful to not stray into that territory of being offensive or upsetting people.
“But I think the intention is coming from a good place. And I think as a whole, it’s good for the movement.”
Happy Wednesday :)
this is what I will be doing from September, and for the rest of my day of a smiling Kai :-) 💕💜
👩🏾🦽
Academic year house and social care level two certificate. I am man I hate maths but it will help me in the long run. Yeah you little to redeployment I dream of it and want #EducatedAnd #Mathematic #HowDoYouSayShallPassLeveltwo certificate. #Student #StudentsLife #StudentSocietiesAndCouncils #CollegeAztecFurtherStudy ❤️👩🏾🦽👩🏾🦽🤩
wish you a positive Tuesday give me the same difference, community and view is beyond
have a positive Tuesday
Outfits I Recommend for Camping
Here are some clothing items I will be purchasing for camping when on my Duke of Edinburgh exams, to not freeze and to stay warm, avoiding hypothermia!
Outfit One: Trousers with furry insides. I like these camo-butterfly ones and they look warm.
Outfit 2: A fluffy jumper to make sure I’m really warm too
Outfit 3: Fluffy pyjamas as I need to keep really warm as I can’t maintain my own body temperature
Outfit 4: Heated socks
Happy Tuesday! <3
Things to Make Me Comfortable When Camping at Duke of Edinburgh – The Ideas I Have of Things to Buy
Idea One: A human dog bed! Has anybody used a human dog bed in a tent when camping, and did it survive? Let me know in the comments.
Idea Two: A blow-up sofa bed. I’d recommend these to anybody who has mobility issues to use for camping as they are multi-use items.
Idea Three: A heated Oodie as I struggle to maintain my own body heat especially at night.
Idea Four: A heated/electric water bottle. I would recommend this and the above for anyone who struggles to maintain body heat or has trouble mobilising.
My Dream Job and Career/Degree
My dream is to get my Maths GCSE and go to college to study Biomedical Science and then go to university to study Palliative Care with a specialism in children and young people.
I would like to do this because a lot of my friends who I studied alongside at school, have conditions that were clearly palliative, such as Muscular Dystrophy, Cystic Fibrosis, and other long-term health conditions that could be palliative but they weren’t sure of prognosis. I have seen what the young adult and children’s teams at hospitals can do for people, still allowing them to study and live a normal life and being there for them when things go down hill.
Alternatively, if I can’t achieve this, I would like to work for the Make a Wish Foundation as a Wish Granter because again, I’ve seen the insane things they make work for people who are terminally or seriously ill, such as a racing car ramp round the Formula 1 track that they can actually drive!
I would like to study Palliative Care to gain qualifications to do this – first at Level 2, then Biomedical Science, and then to do Palliative Care at university and gain my degree in it.
my friend Grace for anybody that wants to donate to share it. Thank you mine
A man has completed a challenge to travel from John O’Groats to Land’s End in what is believed to be the world’s first Formula 1 modified wheelchair.
Adam Stanton-Wharmby, from Cheltenham, has cerebral palsy and his wheelchair was upgraded by the Mercedes Formula 1 team to help him complete the route.
He raised almost £3,000 for the charity Whizz-Kidz through the challenge.
Mr Stanton-Wharmby finished in 22 days which he believes is a new record but he is awaiting official confirmation.
Engineers put lithium batteries into the 38-year-old’s wheelchair and took out 70kg of weight to “be faster and go further” and allow him to travel 60 miles or more on a single charge.
However, it wasn’t all straightforward on the journey.
“There were many times during this challenge when I thought ‘this is it’, because my chair decided not to work three times,” Mr Stanton-Wharmby told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.
“We found Cornwall Mobility and the wonderful people there helped me get back on the road,” he added.
Mr Stanton-Wharmby said that completing the challenge, in which he travelled about 874 miles (1,406km), had been difficult.
“All those hours sitting in one position and really concentrating on where I am driving. It takes it out of you,” he said.
“When I am actually doing it, I do not notice it, only when I am in bed and I am still sitting in the chair position,” added Mr Stanton-Wharmby.
His record bid is still pending verification from the Guinness World Records team.
He said his next goal is to be the first person in a wheelchair to go around every Grand Prix race track on the Formula 1 calendar.
I plan to return to college to do my Level 2 in Health and Social Care, and will do this whatever the colleges say, I just may have to do it in a different way due to my Cerebral Palsy and the discrimination I will face. I know this because I experience it every year when applying to courses I want to take. I just want to be able to be accepted onto courses and into classes the same as anybody my age would be, but they see my wheelchair instead of seeing me, the career I want to have, the achievements I want to reach, and the qualifications/certificates I have to gain to get to my chosen career. Because of my wheelchair, I am seen as more of an inconvenience to everybody in enrolment teams – no matter what college I go to or what I do, I am seen as an inconvenience. But I will break down those barriers, I always do! Follow me on my journey as I try to get accepted into my next step in education – because YES, I am disabled, but I am NOT stupid.
This is the motto I will live by until I enrol in August and get accepted in September as I definitely feel that my next step is to go the Level 2 Health and Social Care at a college.
I will eventually have the pleasure of wearing one of these and no-one will stop me, because I WILL be wearing one of these one day in the next few years. And not just wearing one, graduating and wearing one, proving the whole world wrong.
https:/#RememberMyFundraiserOnPayday/www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/maya-richards?utm_term=RBMxD5GWW
#TerribleCoolDay, #RespiteCare #SupportedCoser #SupportLocal #ExamsComingUpOnLowPower
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYWH5E5y/
A video of me when I worked in retail, bring my retail job in the stockroom as a valued member of the team. #Rico #CerebralPalsy #StockroomAssistant #KeechHospiceCare #InDroid #Fashion #Stock
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYWHQcbC/
videos of me respite and also over the years doing different activities over the last year or two. Please click on the link to watch it. Hope you enjoy
grazing bedroom is that my want to contribute link in title. Thanks mate to everybody that may choose to donate or share the link if they can Oh don’t want Tereasa thank you
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/maya-richards?utm_term=MDBynWEjA rising ring, Paul respite and my qualifications to the port
Where I Would Like to Visit on Holiday in the Future, and Why – My Five Year Plan of Visiting These Places
Place Number One: Ibiza
I would like to travel on the Eurostar there as I believe you can do that. I want to go there because of the party scene just like most other people in their 20s! I would love to do a foam party and a party cruise while there. I would also like to get a massage at a spa on the beach in the sun. The photos below are what I imagine each place to be like.
Place Number Two: Greece with Limitless Travel
I want to see as much of the world as I can and go travelling like every other person who doesn’t have a disability, and prove to people it can be done, because for me, there is no such word as can’t or cannot! That is a word that is in too many people’s vocabulary in this day and age. I believe the water in the sea is very clear from what I’ve seen in pictures of Greece which is another reason I would like to go there.
Place Number Three: Blackpool
I want to visit Blackpool so I can experience the Pleasure Beach and play games like Hook a Duck, Apple Bobbing, and Tin Can Alley.
Hope you enjoyed reading, if you want to support me and my respite needs please feel free to donate to my JustGiving, or share it with friends and family ❤ https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/maya-richards
Facts About Lions Like the One I Stood Next To a Statue of in the Natural History Museum and Sayings I’ve Heard About the Lion
Fact One: Lions are ten times stronger than an adult man!
Fact Two: Their jaws are lethal if human’s get bitten by them as the force of their jaw is 650 pounds per square inch – a human bite is 150!
Fact Three: Lions can sometimes see humans as a threat if humans come into their habitat and they are not hand raised. They are more accepting of humans when they have been hand raised by their keepers, like they are commonly hand raised in Africa and similar countries if their mother rejects them.
Fact Four: They are commonly found in zoos and wildlife conservation parks, even in England, such as Whipsnade Zoo and Woburn Safari Park.
Assaults, Neglect And A Taser Revealed In ‘Deeply Shocking’ BBC Care Home Investigation
A company which ran children’s homes where residents were systemically abused also failed to prevent adults being harmed, BBC News has learned.
An investigation found 99 cases of abuse at a Doncaster home for vulnerable adults in 2010. One worker even ordered a Taser to use there.
The care home company – Hesley – said improvements were made at the time.
But children at other Hesley homes were later reported to have been punched, kicked and fed chillies.
The BBC reported in January how more than 100 reports of appalling abuse and neglect – dating from 2018 to 2021 – were uncovered at sites run by the Hesley Group. They included children being locked outside in freezing temperatures while naked, and having vinegar poured on wounds.
Now the BBC has obtained confidential reports from within Hesley and the local authority which reveal wider safeguarding failings spanning more than a decade at both children’s homes and placements for vulnerable young adults.
We can reveal:
- Staff members accused of assault were able to leave Hesley and work for different companies after the homes closed
- Hesley failed to immediately refer some staff to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) after abuse reports – while others didn’t have criminal checks verified for months after beginning work
- Vulnerable young adults were found to have faced physical and psychological abuse at its Hesley Village and College, according to a leaked 2010 Doncaster Council investigation
- Hesley’s accounts suggest the chief executive has received at least £5m since being made a director in 2006
Our latest findings come after an expert panel found that residents at the children’s homes had faced “systemic and sustained abuse” in the three years up to March 2021 – when the regulator finally stepped in. All three were closed shortly afterwards.
The homes, which included two residential special schools, held a “good” Ofsted rating throughout. Hesley continues to run a school and placements for adults with complex needs.
‘Strangled’
The BBC has spoken to five families whose children attended the children’s homes.
Oliver is autistic and has complex needs and was placed with Hesley in 2019 when he was 19 years old. His mother, Maria, says she’s been told he’s one of more than 100 young people feared to have been harmed.
She believes her son faced abuse and neglect despite his placement costing taxpayers around £300,000 a year.
When she visited him, Maria says she would frequently find him wearing no underwear and with unexplained bruises.
Maria says she was informed on one occasion that a member of the public – with a background in social work – had reported witnessing her son being strangled by staff in a minibus on a school trip.
Maria says documenting incidents and contacting bosses about worries became a “full-time job”, but she was left feeling “powerless”.
One email sent to the chief executive Chris McSharry – among dozens seen by the BBC – shares her concerns of a “culture of institutional abuse” two years before the site’s closure.
“I felt I should be able to protect my son from harm but I couldn’t,” she wrote.
Taser
The BBC has obtained a confidential report – produced by Doncaster Council – which reveals how vulnerable young adults were abused in a Hesley home in 2010 – eight years before assaults are documented to have begun at the children’s homes.
The council report – prompted by safeguarding concerns – details 99 cases of abuse it regarded as “proven” involving young people aged 18 and over who have a range of complex needs.
These included physical assaults, peer-on-peer abuse and neglect.
A number of failings, such as staff sleeping on duty and residents being found in soiled clothing, mirror later neglect reported in Hesley’s children’s homes.
Investigators learned that one resident – who required one-to-one supervision at all times – had been found unsupervised, wearing a soiled incontinence pad in a bath full of dirty water and faeces, after their carer had left the home during a shift.
A staff member also admitted ordering a taser from abroad to use in the home. Although the electronic stun device was never delivered – it was impounded by Customs and Excise – the worker told investigators he had bought it with the intention of using it as a last resort in the home, because he felt he didn’t have enough protection there.
Hesley says changes were made in response to the 2010 investigation and “poor outcomes” it was aware of at the time – and regulators were “satisfied”.
But the report’s author, Kevin Stolz – a social worker who ran Doncaster Council’s investigation team – says lessons have not been learned. When we tracked him down he told us that reports of abuse at Hesley homes nearly a decade later, was “history repeating itself”.
“[The 2010 report] doesn’t seem to have had any impact at all. Local authorities just continue to feed people into this system and Hesley continues to make these massive profits.”
Hesley’s latest accounts recorded a 16% profit of £12m for all the sites it runs – almost the same margin (17%) regarded as “excessive” by a government watchdog.
‘Deeply shocking’
The BBC has also obtained another report – an internal Hesley document – which casts further doubt on how far lessons were learned.
Written by a Hesley social worker, it criticises how the company investigated reports of abuse in its children’s homes between 2018 and 2021 – with cases having been closed “without rationale”.
The report found thresholds which required staff to be suspended were met but not followed, and risk “was simply transferred” by moving support workers to care for different children.
It concludes: “We portray an ethos that the welfare of the child is paramount, yet our approach at times has been to focus on disproving the allegations.”
BBC News has learned that some staff members accused of abuse between 2018 and 2021 were not immediately referred to the DBS.
Other staff facing allegations of physical assault were also able to leave Hesley and work with vulnerable children at different providers following the homes’ closure.
The findings are “deeply shocking”, says Robin Walker MP – the Conservative chair of the Education Select Committee.
“This fundamentally shows a company that is repeatedly not following the rules, not meeting its safeguarding responsibilities, that should be a red flag to the system as a whole.”
Hesley has repeatedly declined to be interviewed but, in a statement, said it’s aware of six cases where it was unclear if a DBS referral had been made at the time but had been now. It said the majority of its records showed that referrals had taken place but its systems “should have been more robust”.
It added that it did not redeploy staff where there was a known safeguarding concern and that references provided to those who then joined other companies were factual and agreed by the local authority.
The BBC has spoken to one company which says it took months to be notified – by the local authority – that a support worker employed from Hesley was facing abuse allegations.
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, has repeatedly declined to be interviewed about Hesley or comment on the remuneration received by its chief executive.
In a statement, the government said it was “horrified” by events at Hesley and plans to strengthen standards in children’s social care.
Last year, it also promised reform after the BBC learned that children in care had reported being groomed and sexually assaulted in homes run by a different firm making huge profits.
Happy Monday Everyone :)
supportinghttps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/maya-richards?utm_term=p3bVwQ9bn me through from Grace, here is the link to
respite plus exams for my recent qualification of DV. Donate if you can, thank you to everybody who views my content and is cool. Can we have a years time difference?
everybody
maybe my silver shoes and my friend/last summer Mima still refused and my friend is the Oaklands, Sama
Picture of my gold shoes and my friend stop
happy Sunday everybody in this community, smiling face 😋🥰🥰😋🥰
What I Will Be Doing for the Respite Element of the Summer, With the Help of Your Donations
I will be going to Mersea Island Disability Festival which involves going to the East of England and they don’t do anything similar near my county. Again, the government won’t fund any respite care other than the unit they say they will fund, which isn’t suitable for my needs as I like to be doing activities and socialising, and they don’t offer these opportunities themselves or in the communities surrounding it. They say that this local unit meets my needs, even though I know it doesn’t as I have been before. But they don’t care about the fact it doesn’t meet my needs socially, emotionally, or physically, as many of the service users there are more disabled than myself, and they don’t allow access to the local community where I would prefer to be given access to this, as I could go shopping and maybe even go to the pub as that is what people my age like to do. They seem to have the attitude “you’re lucky you get respite” even though it’s not appropriate respite. They say they are here for my family, but by not supporting me properly, they aren’t supporting my family! They seem to think the only activity people there want to do is sit, drink tea, and watch daytime television.
I am also going to stay in a hotel with a support person, in a place that has a bath as this helps my cerebral palsy, stiffness, and pain. The government won’t fund a bath in my home either, as apparently a shower is adequate bathing facilities, despite doctors evidencing the benefits of having a bath for my cerebral palsy. People with cerebral palsy that have access to a bath will understand how much of a therapeutic relief it is to get into a bath. They don’t seem to care about anything to do with my comfort, all they care about is their purse strings it seems! I’m hoping when they change the system later this year, I can be reassessed and able to get a bath in my home. I have baths at my Grandad and Grandmas house now, but they are going out of the country very soon for 3 months, which means I will no longer have access to their bath as they’re not there to help lift me into their bath. This is why I will pay for an accessible bath when I am away, as well as doing my qualifications which I have spoken about in previous posts.
Here is my link if you would like to support me to have some adequate respite over summer ❤ thank you ❤ https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/maya-richards
my headteacher working on my bronze and only camping out there, my headteacher from my school
Memories of Charlie from one year ago, Grandma/😍🥰
😍😍😇🙂🙂🙂🙂
happy anything different places
obituary of me three years ago with the necklace I made on I love doing jewellery making as one of my hobbies
One year ago today to go to a restaurant tomorrow 😍
you’re happy Saturday, saying and illustration
My Favourite Facts About Polar Bears, Like the One I Saw at the Natural History Museum
Fact One: the polar bear can camouflage itself into the snow as it is the same colour, so can blend in with the atmosphere and climate, and hide away from predators who may eat it
Fact Two: they can sneak up on fish, and dig for fish, without the fish even noticing they are going to be their pray, because they have such skill when doing so! I really like this fact.
Fact Three: polar bears often spend time in pairs of two to ensure the polar bears safety and so that they can fight off predators easier who may want to use them as prey.
Fact Four: they often live in the Antarctic and the North Pole, hence why they’re often on our Christmas card designs!
Here is my JustGiving link for those who may want to contribute to my respite and qualification exam support, that unfortunately I have to pay for myself due to a lack of funding from the government, and not being able to use my current funding when away from home due to going out of my County. Every little helps, even £1 each from everyone could make a huge difference to the level of respite I will be able to gain. Come and join in with my £1 appeal if you can! If not, please could you share ❤
fundraising link for those that want to contribute towards my respite and qualification expeditions and exams. Thank you Maya remember the £1 a pill
Sam is a guy at a pub concert #RestUp #EnjoyingLiveMusic #MyFavouriteHobby #CerebralPalsy
egg box art from about three years ago that I made it is one of the Sesame Street characters call Grove
Áine Rosa advertisement to everybody, that might know someone for being you, a diversion, autistic conserve
Travel Issues Myself and Many Other People with Cerebral Palsy and Wheelchair Bound Face
On Monday 10th April I went to go on a night out with my friend. To try and get there on time, we booked a train ticket as many people my age would do, who are not finding themselves in the same situation like having cerebral palsy and needing to use a wheelchair to get around. Because of the bank holiday, the railway provided a rail replacement bus as usual trains were not running. Me and my PA were promised that this bus would be accessible for a wheelchair bound person who is not at all ambulatory, we even phoned up special assistance, who are aware of my needs, who said they would be able to assist me at the station with staff who were working on the train/bus, depending on which one they ended up running due to the bank holiday.
When we arrived, there were no staff on the bus to be seen, as promised by special assistance, and no ramp access either, despite the bus having a clear wheelchair sign on it. There was a stationary passenger seat in front of the access door, that disabled people are supposed to be able to enter through according to the sticker on the side of it, that clearly shows a wheelchair. The door had no ramp or low-threshold access either. The driver had no idea how to use the features of the bus that he was driving. The driver stated that he was going to pick me up, from my wheelchair himself, and didn’t even offer for my PA to do it, who I know would be able to keep me safe as she is aware of my specific needs. Instead, he decided he would try to pick up someone he has never met before. Needless to say, me and my support worker looked at him in horror, and I said “have you ever heard of the disability act?” to which he did not respond, knowing he was in the wrong for not knowing how to use the features on the bus he was driving. As per the Equality Act, he should not have left the depot without making sure all passengers, including those in wheelchairs, could use the bus they were sending, regardless to whether he knew I was in a wheelchair or not. This excludes a lot of society that may use the buses to get to their employment, or go on a night out as I was doing this day.
The ticket people say they have never heard of this before, and aren’t sure what to do about receiving a refund or what processes to use. The people who do the special assistance have never heard of this either, and are trained to help people with mobility aid needs. I think this is because people just get told they can’t get on, and just give up and go away because they are embarrassed and feeling degraded by the experience. This means thousands of people may be missing out on things that are important to them, or missing out on employment or financial stability, who are not in education so have careers and employment that is paid. I feel, for me, like he had no respect for myself and my PA. Obviously my PA did not let him pick me up to board the bus, but he was adamant this is what to do and there were members of the public walking past, making this very embarrassing for me. We ended up walking away and getting on a public bus instead, with faces of absolute horror, embarrassment, and not feeling included in the service they apparently provide for passengers to get on when there are no trains. Passengers who are elderly, disabled people, or those with an illness are being needlessly excluded as there were only steep steps that people with mobility issues could not use. It looked like a bus from the 1950s that really wasn’t geared up for people with additional walking or mobility needs, but instead they advertised that it was accessible. To me this is false advertisement, what do you think? It is advertising something the bus can do, when it clearly can’t, and just resulted in disappointing and embarrassing people when they get there.
Luckily I was with an experienced PA, but God knows what would have happened had I been with a less experienced PA.
Let me know your opinions of this in the comments, and how I might be able to get my money back, if any of you in the SameDifference community have ever dealt with this alongside someone or experienced it yourself, as not sure how to deal with this to be honest! We are in 2023 not 1994, the way I see it!
fundraising link to help with my best free and my qualification eggs and donate if possible. Thank you Very much appreciated. Thanks for your support Maya.
Your Friday saying 😘🤩
The First Deaf BSL Driving Instructor
A 26-year-old man from North Ayrshire is believed to have become the first deaf British Sign Language (BSL) driving instructor in Scotland.
Kieran Cuthbert wanted to take up the vocation after watching his partner Erin, who is also deaf, struggle for years to find a suitable teacher.
The newly qualified instructor passed his test last week after two years of exams.
He hopes his journey can inspire other deaf learners to get behind the wheel.
fundraising link for my respite and qualification examinations support
I created for creative Prime about three years ago. This is for my three year memory for today.
who’s your happy Thursday? Enjoy your Thursday saying enjoy your Thursday, saying everybody at the same difference
I made in lockdown out of cardboard sheet 🌸🙂
