Accessible Activities

AilsaS

Hello everyone, I am Ailsa. I am the proud owner of Brains on Wheels. Brains on Wheels is my personal blog, where I write about my experiences surrounding my disabilities.

I aim to raise awareness about disabilities because I feel that it is an important subject for everyone to be aware of. I feel many people dismiss me because they think they won't be able to understand me or vice-versa. There is no doubt that other people feel the same way, so I want to help to put a stop to this.

When I was born, I didn’t breathe. I was a stillborn, but I was resuscitated. In that period when my brain didn’t get the oxygen it needed, brain damage occurred, and I was on a ventilator for two days. The doctors turned my life support down so they could find out whether I would breathe on my own, and I did. I live with Cerebral Palsy.

When you have a disability that makes it difficult to use your hands, it is certainly a huge pain. My disability makes it extremely difficult for me to do some things because I can’t take part in everyday activities, like an able-bodied person would. This is incredibly frustrating for me because I just want to do what every person my age does. There are few activities that I can do; I try to keep my ability to do these things on my own, but that doesn’t always work.

I haven’t got much use of my hands. I often don’t want to go out because I’m bored with doing the same things repeatedly. To tell you the truth, I am sick of it! I know that I am not the only one who can’t use their hands. We need different things to do!

When I became eighteen, I also became entitled to respite care once a week. If you don’t
already know, my respite is where I employ two carers to take me out to go places, basically to do whatever I want to do. This is great if you know what you can do, but I don’t. I only have a few things that I know I can do…

It really frustrates me that no one has thought about setting up more community activities for physically disabled people to do without needing the use of their hands. I can’t be the only one, can I?

I think that it is possible to create more activities for people who have not got the use of
their hands because it has been done in other parts of the world. It is possible to create activities where you can use other parts of your body. For example; if someone has more use of their feet than their hands, then why can’t they take part using their feet?

In a way, I think that people who can’t use their hands have a massive disadvantage because they probably want to get out there and do things, but they can’t because there is very little that’s physically possible for them.

A few years ago, a good friend of mine had a major operation that could have damaged the nerve signals in his hands or arms, and could have resulted in him not being able to use
his hands ever again. I was extremely worried that he would lose the use of his hands because I didn’t want him to go through the same experiences that I am going through now.

I run an online petition, which I created to try and help create more activities for physically disabled people who can’t use their hands. It would mean the world to me if you’d
help me and a lot of other people by signing and sharing my petition.

I'd like to help change opportunities for physically disabled people who have not got use of their hands. A few people have doubted me about being able to keep this up, so let’s prove them wrong!

Can you relate to Ailsa’s story? What activities would you like to see being made more accessible? 

Vin

Family things in cumunity 

mossycow

Oh fantastic.
How amazing to have such a positive start to life, so determined to be alive. I'm not religious but it does make you think you were born to do amazing thibgs

AilsaS

Thank you