Text says That's not my toilet. Photo shows a gnome squatting beside a tree with his trousers round his ankles.

That’s Not My Toilet!

Admittedly, it is a lesser known version of the popular series, but it is actually more real than many of the well known ones.

For many wheelchair users, those signs on the door featuring a wheelchair logo might as well say “Keep Out!”

Here goes…

Boy using a powered wheelchair is unable to get it in the disabled toilet. Texts says, That's not my toilet! I can't even get my chair in the room!!!

Ugh!!!

Back of a girl using a wheelchair is visible. She is inside the disabled toilet but the door can't be closed as it opens inwards and there is now room. Text says, That's not my toilet! I can't close the door with my wheelchair in the room.

Ugh!!!

Photo taken from above looking down at the top of a girl's head. She is inside a disabled toilet and is using a wheelchair. Her chair cannot turn in the room due to small size and three bins. Text says, That's not my toilet! I can't move due to the bins!Ugh!!!NTpng

 

Ugh!!!Text says, That's not my toilet! There isn't even a toilet! Photo shows a dark tent, concrete floor, manual hoist and changing table.Ugh!!!

Text says, That's not my toilet! I was too worried to even take my powered wheelchair inside the small room. Photo shows a small room with a toilet, basin, bin and fold down baby changing table.

 

Ugh!!!Text says, That's not my toilet! Are people who need a hoist not visible? Two photos, one of a door with a sign saying "Not every disability is visible" and the other showing the back of a wheelchair user who cannot get out of their chair to use the toilet. The floor has a big puddle of liquid on it.

Please

 

Text says "Yes!!! That's my toilet" All it needed was a hoist and bench. Photo shows a toilet with a basin, ceiling hoist and adult sized changing table.

It wasn’t hard to do, and this particular location considered it very cheap as well! They wish they had known about the need sooner, because they would have installed it sooner if only they had known. That is good business sense!

Text says, "We all need to pee and poo... And then we always wash hands too! Photo shows a toy Elf being hoisted to the toilet, then being hoisted to wash his hands at the sink.

Without a toilet facility with a hoist and adult sized changing table hundreds of thousands of families are excluded from everyday outings and activities.

It really is as simple as a toddler’s book – please feel it with your heart.

If your business does not have toilets for all, why not make 2018 the year of equality and inclusion?

If you have been somewhere recently and used their toilets, please ask them to install toilets with a hoist and adult sized changing table too.

And do feel free to share your stories of places where it wasn’t your toilet either!

 

Published by Ordinary Hopes

Cape-less Crusader, changing the world one toilet at a time.

34 thoughts on “That’s Not My Toilet!”

  1. Reblogged this on yarn and pencil and commented:
    The reality of using ‘disabled’ toilet rooms. I use them to avoid the noisy hand dryers that reduce me to tears. I can’t think of the right words here to express what I feel but I can say that this needs to be widely reblogged.

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    1. Thank you! I have several friends with children who need to be away from those hand dryers but many of these so-called accessible toilets are impossible to avoid them in. I have upset my son many times by accidentally setting one off.

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      1. It must be very hard not to set them off in such small spaces.
        Are there leaflets available that can be given to businesses etc about the necessary requirements for a fully functional ‘disabled’ toilet? I’d like to acquire some.

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  2. The “disabled” toilet at one of the toddler groups I go to one with my youngest is a normal-sized cubicle with a disabled sticker on the door and a handrail to one side (which therefore makes it narrower than a standard sized cubicle). There’s also a step to actually get into the toilets in the first place. Not exactly disabled friendly! We’re fortunate enough not to need a Changing Places toilet (at present anyway!) but your campaign has made me so much more aware of just how poor disabled facilities are.

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    1. We have given up even trying to access the sink at far too many places, especially when he is using his powered chair. Using the toilet is already impossible in most, but accessing the sink should not be this hard!

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    1. All too often businesses just haven’t thought about what is needed. And they haven’t spoken to any disabled people to ask them!

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    1. Thank you. Every person who helps spread the word is truly appreciated. Any one of us can become disabled at any time.

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  8. My mum is a carer for a disabled adult and she often complains about how difficult using disabled toilets actually are. Shared, this is definitely something that I hope companies need to improve upon. #KCACOLS

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  9. Such a shame that they don’t think about who will be using the toilets when they design them. My sister is in a wheelchair and needs a hoist to use the toilet but she knows that they are never accessible and so never goes anywhere too far from home 😦 Thank you for linking up with #KCACOLS hope you can join us again next time!

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    1. That is so sad. I cannot let this go on. My son is suffering enough at 11, and I am determined that this must change before he is an adult.

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  10. It’s awful that disabled toilets can be so badly designed as to prevent disabled people from using them. I’ve shared your post on Twitter. #KCACOLS

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  13. The work you do on raising awareness is really good and this is again showing what needs to be done, thank you. I’ll share on my social media.
    Mainy
    #KCACOLS

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  15. It wasn’t my toilet at the Victoria Palace Theatre – currently hosting Hamilton, London’s hottest ticket. Not only were there folded transport chairs being stored in the accessible loo, but the “accessible” loo was too small to get my chair into if I wanted to pee with the door closed….

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    1. These places have a shocking attitude to accessibility. The theatre or cinema really are places where everyone sits and watches a show – it should be the perfect outing for all theatre lovers. What response did they give when you raised it with them?

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      1. They said they couldn’t do anything about the inwards-opening door because it was next to a fire door (itself an issue) and that the theatre’s wheelchairs wouldn’t be there in future – except a friend whose been since I went said the chairs were still being stored there!

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        1. They can raise it as a serious issue and look into what might have to be changed. An inwards opening door is surely a major fail? What if a person left a powered chair in the door area and then fell?

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            1. That is a relief. Hopefully they realised that the previous door was actually something which could have prevented timely rescue of someone.

              We have a sliding door in our bathroom as I was worried my son could have become trapped with a regular door.

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            2. Yes, I pointed this out in the email. Makes wheelchairs that fit a hindrance to health and safety, and also prevented most wheelchair users entering in the first place! I’m glad complaining actually changed something !

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