Access Rant

You know what I wish they'd teach in schools? AUSLAN. Instead of teaching languages we're not likely to use (yes, and ok I know we are a multicultural country and being able to communicate with each other is a good thing, but this is known as an English speaking country where English is the predominant language so hear me out!) why don't the powers that be make it a prerequisite that Auslan is added to the curriculum? Auslan can be universal. Auslan uses symbols so that if English is not your first language then ALL of us get the general gist of what we're saying to each other!

The reason I am up in arms about this is that we have a colleague here who is Deaf. He is awesome. I love him to bits. He needs to attend meetings of all sorts but cannot participate to capacity unless there are Level 3 interpreters available to interpret everything for him. Of course you have to PAY for this service....and the costs are quite pricey. My colleague is given a budget for interpreting services but he runs out of that quickly. We went through the DHS credit line with a certain service so we could get interpreters for free but they just give you very second rate interpreters to the point where the interpreters don't know how to accurately sign what is being said. It sucks.

So, which brings me to my point. It would be AWESOME if we all knew basic communication in Auslan - not just the alphabet. Who wants to s-p-e-l-l o-u-t e-v-e-r-y w-o-r-d i-n a s-e-n-t-e-n-c-e? Why can't we start earning Auslan in kindergarten?  Makaton is often used in some childcare centres and kindergartens, so I think it would be great to extend this! I want to talk to my Deaf colleague. I want to just be able to go to him and tell him that we're out of milk and can he please go and buy us some? Or that I had an awesome weekend at the MBS Festival, or that my daughter is in the middle of exams. He and I get by, but often it's awkward and I feel rotten for not being able to communicate effectively with him. He appreciates people at least attempting - even if you mime to him. But if I had've been taught Auslan at school, rather than a smidgin of French, a smattering of German and two and a half years of Indonesian (which I've found totally useless and a complete waste of everyone's time!) both he and I......and many of the other Deaf people we encounter here on a weekly basis......would be able to communicate more effectively on a daily basis.

And while I'm at it.

Physical access. Lifts and ramps........ALL buildings should have them........and in easy to find locations........not round the corner, down the lane, through the freight access. They should be located at the FRONT of the building where everyone else enters so that EVERYONE can enter a building with dignity, not just as a second thought.

Access Toilets. They are for people with access requirements. Not for you to meet with your boyfriend or your girlfriend or random to get in a quick 5 minute bonk. Not for you to smoke a joint in or get drunk in or sleep in. Not for you to spend time fixing your makeup. Yes I know you might be in a hurry and you need to pee just as much as a person with a disability, but you can just go into a loo, unzip your pants and go. A person with a disability may not have the luxury of doing these things quickly and easily....or even without assistance.....so waiting outside the occupied Access Toilet to find someone walking out with no obvious access requirement REALLY pisses people off! (ok, I understand needing to inject yourself with insulin. This counts as an access requirement!) If you don't have a SPECIFIC access requirement which means you NEED to use the Access Toilet - please use the other loos, because.....you can.......and you can have your choice of ANY of the 6 to 12 cubicles available. Unfortunately, those with access requirements only have ONE choice - even if it's filthy dirty and filled with cigarette butts - or WORSE!

Access Parking Spots. I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE ONLY GOING TO BE FIVE MINUTES! If you don't need it, don't park there! I've got a Disabled Person's Parking Permit in my car, but it's not for me........so I park elsewhere when it's just me in the car because I can walk the distance between the carpark and the shops. When I have people in my car for whom the permit is for, then I use the Access Parking spaces. Access Parking Spaces are NOT loading zones. Truckies, don't park behind people in the Access Parking Bays to offload your freight. They need to get out at a time it's convenient to THEM - not to you. Just like everyone else who drives.

If we all just extended a little common courtesy to our fellow human being, disabled or not, then the world would be a much better place.

Rant over.

*Disclaimer*

You may have noticed that I have refered to the "disabled toilets" as Access Toilets. This is my acknowledgement that it is not just people with obvious disabilities who use these facilities. Often there are no Family or Parent Toilets/Bathrooms provided therefore it makes sense to me that having a baby or a toddler with you means that you have an Access Requirement and should therefore be entitled to use the Access Toilets/Bathrooms.

*Disclaimer #2*

I never question a person with a Disability Parking Permit displayed on their vehicle, even if (to me) they don't "look disabled" when they get out of their car. What I get riled about is when there is NO permit displayed at all.

What the photos don't show.

We gotta get us one of these!

I must preface this entry by saying that I don't resent what follows one bit. I'm simply writing it as a statement of what life is for us. All of us have accepted this reality and are at peace with it.

A trip to the beach is not easy. Once we're there and have secured our spot on the sand reasonably close to the water it's easier but the actual getting there and then packing up and heading home is, for me at least, exhausting.

Beaches are not made for wheelchairs; or maybe I should say, wheelchairs are not made for beaches. I have often said that some clever person should invent the "Hover Chair" so that one can just hover over the sand and stop at the waters edge if one wants a swim. I have seen a wheelchair with tracks like a tank which would possibly also do the trick but finances don't allow for anything so expensive, let alone something that would only be used sporadically and that we have no way of transporting anyway.

But no, wheelchairs are not made for beaches. However, I've never wanted the girls to miss out on a wonderful beach experience. As a family we've always loved the beach and I've never wanted the girls to ever miss out because their disabilities have posed a challenge.

And so I carry them down to the waters edge. I always have and, for as long as my body let's me, I always will. And yes it's exhausting, yes it's sometimes painful, but I've challenged myself to never let them feel as though having to do it is a burden to me. We've made it into a game on many an occasion; we've pretended we're the girls from Rabbit Proof Fence, trekking through the desert trying to get home. We've laughed. They know it's hard and I know they worry for me but it's more important to me that we have shared, happy family experiences together and I'd rather be uncomfortable for a short while than all of us miss out on something we love to do just because it all just seems too hard.

And I know the girls don't take it for granted. Between us there is a beautiful level of respect and gratefulness. I am so blessed to have such thoughtful, loving, positive kids. They make all the extra tasks that are part of their package into things I feel honored to be able to do for them, rather than being a burden. When they can, they try and make things as easy as possible for me. I look at them in awe sometimes because their positive, calm nature just astounds me.

So that's what you don't see in the pictures, but I'm kind of glad you don't because you see the important part; the greater part. You see a family just enjoying an evening on the beach.