This blog is now featured on the FeedSpot '40 Best Wheelchair Blogs and Websites' for the best wheelchair blogs to follow in 2023!
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This blog is now featured on the FeedSpot '40 Best Wheelchair Blogs and Websites' for the best wheelchair blogs to follow in 2023! ♿♿♿♿♿♿
3 ways to build resilience
The biggest part of resilience for me is about protecting mental well-being. “Stressors”, things that affect our mental health negatively, can come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them will be expected and some unexpected. Some of them will be big and others will be small.
Building in practices that protect our well-being in daily life can be a big part of improving our resilience. Options include putting down our phone and getting some time away from screens or going to the park for some fresh air.
Using ICT for freedom
ICT is so ingrained in our daily lives that it can be easy to forget just how reliant we are on it. Some of the websites we visit or apps we use are playing a fundamental part of daily living, they also however have the potential to play a disproportionately positive role in the lives of disabled people, acting as a tool that improves navigating an inaccessible world.
As a wheelchair user, there are things that are going to be situations that lack of access makes more difficult and time consuming. I’m not going to be given any more time in the day, so I want tools to make processes easier.
My first rally experience
For as long as I can remember, I have always had a need for speed. My earliest memory of writing about a career, probably around six years old, was a stunt driver. I remember seeing incredible feats being performed on TV and being starry eyed thinking about how much fun it would be to do them.
Finding solutions for accessible homes
When it comes to housing, there are lots of good and bad examples. But what could the future look like for accessible housing? It is after all something that is fundamental to living a happy and healthy life.
While we need to ensure that the whole system is adequately regulated, it’s also important to think outside the box and what other solutions could provide a comfortable living space.
The lift breaking down prompted me to start thinking about what I wanted and needed from a home, where I wanted to live and alternative solutions.
Making innovation more inclusive
In this blog, I’m going to talk a bit about innovation. My understanding of the word, what I see the word mean to others and an exciting opportunity that has come up for me to explore that word a bit more.
How to make a start with wheelchair maintenance
Understanding how to look after your wheelchair and make necessary changes can be essential in enabling your wheelchair to do its job in getting you around.
When I first started using a wheelchair, I relied heavily on wheelchair services to take care of all of the repairs. While that’s what they’re there for, it’s not always ideal.
4 stage planning for wheelchair skills
Planning a trip to get out and about using your wheelchair can feel daunting. In this blog we will look at a simple tool you can use to help plan your trip and hopefully reduce anxiety.
7 reasons to teach wheelchair skills in schools
Wheelchair skills in schools not only empower students with physical disabilities, but also promote inclusivity, diversity, and a positive school culture. Learning wheelchair skills can provide children with the tools they need to navigate their environment, engage in activities, and participate in their communities with increased autonomy.
In this blog, we will explore why wheelchair skills are an essential part of development for children who use wheelchairs, and how these skills can have a positive impact on their confidence, independence, mental well-being, and future opportunities.
Launching wheelchair skills online videos
When I set out to launch wheelchair skills, I wanted to do it in a big way. I believe that everyone has the right to access wheelchair skills and get the confidence and independence that comes with having them. The things that I’ve benefitted from over the years because I have the skills.
Taking ideas out to more people is faster and easier over social media. Find out more about the ideas behind creating wheelchair skills videos and where you can find them.
How I found meaning in International Wheelchair Day
Last year was the first time that I ever did anything for International Wheelchair Day. There was a little bit of planning involved, but in all honesty, it was more luck that design.
This year I wanted to raise the bar. In my humble opinion, I did. I had the best time on International Wheelchair Day 2023 and hopefully I made a difference as well.
4 changes I made to my new wheelchair
Getting a new wheelchair is a big deal. Not so much because the right choice will make everything magical and sparkly, but getting the wrong wheelchair has the potential to make things difficult to varying degrees. As someone who uses their wheelchair all day, every day, I want (or need) it to do one thing – it’s job.
I’m a little embarrassed to say but I’ve been sleep walking into using a wheelchair that didn’t fit me.
3 key things planning a weekend away
With this being the first blog of the year, it seems fitting to talk about the year ahead and the goals that I have. Maybe even include a few goal setting strategies that I’ll be using. As I said, that seems fitting, to the point of being a cliché.
This blog has always meant to be something both personal and also practical where possible. With that in mind, I’ve decided to make this blog about how I’m going to plan for an overseas trip and my first time on a plane since January 2020.
3 stand out reflections of 2022
How often do you stop to reflect on just how far you’ve come? If you’re like me, then you might not dedicate enough time to it. It’s so easy to get stuck into the everyday hustle and lose sight of the journey we’ve been on.
How can we improve our healthcare?
The NHS is a complex machine to say the least. Costing the Department of Health some £192 billion in 2020/21, employing 1.2 million staff across 219 trusts (some running multiple hospitals) with 136,878 beds it’s not easy to find how an idea like mine might find its place.
I realised early on in my venture that what I needed was help in understanding how I could take my idea and develop it into something that could be delivered in the NHS.
Find out who I connected with at an event in Bristol to work on improving our healthcare system.
Wheelchair road tripping to find my roots
I like road trips. I like them a lot. The feeling of freedom with an open road in front of you and the sense of adventure it brings really doesn’t compare to anything else for me.
Last month I did my first road trip in my new car. I decided to go over to Ireland which has been on my to do list for the longest time. How this came about hasn’t happened on any road trips I’ve done in the past.
3 societal views of disability
Our own identity is shaped by the things we learn from the world around us. Views of our own disability will be shaped by what we learn as well. In this blog we look at three ways that society has historically looked at disabled people and how that has changed over time.
Making life easier with disability at work
Last month I received my award letter from the Access to Work scheme for a new manual wheelchair and a power assist. I thought that it was a good opportunity to share my experience of applying for equipment through the scheme and some of my reflections on work in general.
3 things I learned when speaking at TEDx
I had a story to share, but I didn’t know how to do it. As an introvert with no experience of public speaking, the task of getting onto the red spot at TEDx was daunting to say the least.
From the moment I decided to do my TEDx talk, to the talk itself was about six months. While I’m confident in my communication skills, getting on stage to share a story is a different ball game.
What I found getting dragged across a lake at 40kph
The physical and mental health benefits that sport or any kind of physical activity bring to our lives is widely recognised. Much like disability, it’s a very personal thing. Check out why I found my sport in water-skiing.
3 innovations supporting healthy ageing
On a recent visit to the National Centre for Ageing in Newcastle, I was introduced to innovative work and had my preconceptions about ageing challenged.