Two stick figures, the first a wheelchair user saying "But where should a business draw the line at inclusivity?" The second stick figure is standing and saying "Isn't he clue in the word "inclusivity"? There is no line!!!"

What is this “ideal world”?

I am fed up with hearing that “in an ideal world everything would be accessible, but it isn’t an ideal world“.

What the heck does that mean?

What an enormous load of nonsense!!!

Believe me, disabled people already know that the world is far from ideal.

Disabled people live it every single day!

You saying that that it is sad but “just how it is” and that “it will not change”, is actually part of the problem. Excuses and platitudes are useless. Giving excuses as to why businesses do nothing to improve doesn’t actually help at all.

Instead of saying that things are awful but nothing will change, get out there and defend the rights of all! Do more. Be better. Lead the way.

Sign petitions, write letters, support people who need it. Add your voice to campaigns on social media, and, above all, listen to what disabled people tell you they need and  DON’T QUESTION IT! 

Disabled people are experts in their own needs and in the solutions that work for them. If they tell you that they need toilet facilities with a hoist and adult sized changing table don’t question them about a hundred scenarios, just get on with supporting them.

Blind people. Deaf people. Autistic people. Wheelchair users. Learning disabled people… People know their own needs. They know what works for them.

Disabled people often have years of experience.

Defer to the experts if you are asked to solve something.

Help them to shape that “ideal world”.  We all have a role to play.

Are you playing yours?

Published by Ordinary Hopes

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

11 thoughts on “What is this “ideal world”?”

    1. I have heard far too many comments along those lines this last week. People often do actually mean to be kind, but it would be far better to take action to support. We can all do something.

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  2. Yes absolutely! Though I would add that parents sometimes know what their child needs more than the child especially if the child has complex needs and can’t advocate for themselves. Everyone can help make the works a fairer and better place for all.

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    1. Absolutely! My son can’t take things from other people, no matter how much he wants them. So he will politely say “no thank you” and then get very distressed because he doesn’t have the thing that was offered. Children often rely on their parents to get their needs known.

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  4. I agree. When I want to replace my teen’s bed with an identical one which has built in rails (wheelchair dependent – cannot stand/weight bare ) and I’m told that because of restrictive practises, that her safety is no longer the priority and no one will sign off on the bed she needs.

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    1. It is shocking. My son’s profiling bed was condemned as unsafe over a year ago. An assessment was done, we were told they were ordering another.

      My father was very sick and my focus was on family life. It was a mistake to place my trust in the authority responsible. They didn’t order it and have now decided that he doesn’t meet their criteria. Yet, all that has changed is that he has got bigger! And I have grown older and have more health problems of my own.

      And, all the while, my son is using a bed classed as unsafe. If they had told me a year ago that I would have to sort it myself I would have done it by now. But I was told they would sort it. I keep getting told to trust the official services, but when I do, they fail to meet his needs.

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    1. Nothing changes by people sitting around just saying that it is most definitely sad but that nothing will change. Sign a petition, write a letter, ask your MP to support change… There are so many small things which we can all do to help make the world better.

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  6. Great article and every word of it so true. I get so fed up of people not listening to what we are saying or listening to part of what is said.
    Also adding a ramp in the front of a building does not make it accessible to all people with a disability. We are all different it’s not like one size fits all.
    Come on people, open your ears, open your eyes, listen to us and see what we need.

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