FOR
AN OPTIMAL RELATIONSHIP WITH:
PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY IMPAIRMENTS
PAGE INDEX
PEOPLE
WITH IMPAIRMENTS OF THE LIMBS.
There is obviously a great difference between
people who are paralysed in their lower limbs (paraplegics)
and those who can move neither lower or upper limbs (tetraplegics).
People who come under the first description (paraplegics)
are completely efficient in the use of their
upper bodies, while others (tetraplegics)
would depend on the help of their carers in
many daily situations - eating, getting dressed, writing,
using the wheelchair, etc. - although many individuals fall
somewhere between these two definitions. There is obviously
a difference between someone who can use their arms (they
can get dressed, shave, wash themselves, drive a car, etc)
and someone who cannot use them. A person who has an impairment
of the hands, for example, might need assistance only on specific
occasions - uncorking a bottle, opening a can, slicing bread
or carrying objects.
People with mobility impairment generally
appreciate the assistance of someone who accompanies them
at the same pace, who protects them from a crowd, helps them
reach the upper floors in a building and helps them on the
road. Most people with this impairment have difficulties getting
in and out of public transport.
Many can feel uncomfortable with people's
behaviour towards them: for example wheelchair users often
encounter people who assume a patronising attitude towards
them, patting them on the back or head, stroking them and
talking to them as if they were children, or at the other
extreme completely ignoring them and talking only to their
carer.
For example, some people using crutches might
need assistance in getting up or sitting down or going up
steps. Even the single act of lending them a hand can become
a problem for them as they would not know where to put the
crutches, some of them cannot put them aside without risking
a fall. Always ask them first if they need a hand and believe
them when they say that they don't.
RELATING TO PEOPLE WITH
MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT
In the case of wheelchair users, we believe
that the more natural and spontaneous we are in our dealings
with them, the better relationship we will have with them.
Here are some suggestions.
- First Rule: behave with them as equals, do not offer
assistance without asking them first.
- If he or she is with a carer, avoid talking exclusively
to the carer. If you are with a wheelchair user avoid patronising
attitudes and being over protective: if a child or anybody
speaks directly to the wheelchair user, it is absolutely
normal.
- A wheelchair user might prefer to speak to someone without
having to stretch their neck all the time, ask them if they
would prefer you to sit at the same level.
- In a crowd, push the wheelchair with care, the user might
be embarassed if it were to bump into anybody.
- When crossing a road with dense traffic or overcoming
steps, the wheelchair user may feel completely in your hands:
a rapid descent downhill can be a nightmare. Be considerate.
