Why we work: being disabled and employed

Some people may think that disability and employment don’t go in the same sentence. But in this blog I have interviewed a number of disabled workers who I hope will change people’s views. 

Research from the Scottish Government says that: “Disabled people are 20% of the population but make up only 11% of the private sector workforce and 11.7% of the public sector workforce.” Which is quite poor in 2018 especially when everyone tries to be included, especially disabled people. But there are a lot of disabled people out there who work and love working.

I am 26 and have cerebral palsy. I am in a wheelchair and communicate through a communication device. I don’t let my CP get in my way, so I work which I love. I am a Communications Assistant at Bobath Scotland where I started out as volunteer and then I got an internship for 3 months through Inclusion Scotland. But luckily enough Bobath got funding from Community Jobs Scotland to keep me on as an employee, which is fantastic. As I said before, I don’t let my cerebral palsy stop me, but I need to have two carers to support me to get to and from work and who also support me during the day at work, which is funded by social work. Last year, social work tried to change my carers around and they asked me what do I get out of working, making it out, if I am disabled then I shouldn’t be working, but lucky enough me and my fantastic Mum and Dad got it through to them how important my job is and they kept my carers as they were. Why do I want to work? Well, why not? Just because I have a disability doesn’t mean to say that I can’t or shouldn’t be working. I love it that I get up in the morning and know that I am going to work and putting my ability to use.

As a disabled person I am really interested to hear from other disabled people about their own experiences of employment, so I have been in contact with a few people who are happy for me to include their experiences in this blog.

Marion Burns

Marion Burns is 34 and lives in Renfrewshire, She has cerebral palsy and currently volunteers with Bobath Scotland. Previously, Marion has been employed as an Advocacy Worker, a job which she said she “loved”. For Marion, work is an important part of her life. She told me, “I love being a working woman, despite my disability, so that I can be part of society – that means a huge deal to me!”

When Marion was an Advocacy Worker, she enjoyed supporting other people. She said, “When I worked as an Advocacy Worker, I used to be a voice for people who were disabled or had other health problems, helping them from house issues to care issues. Once, I got a lot of money back for someone.”

But, she also found it difficult to get a job in the first place and felt that she didn’t get the help she needed. “It was quite hard to find something, especially when I found no support from the Job Centre. I was lucky enough in that I knew about Advocacy, and thought that I will give it a try”

Andrew Tomlinson

Andrew Tomlinson is 35 living in Glasgow. He has cerebral palsy and works at Penilee Credit Union as a Financial Admin Assistant.

Andrew was unemployed for two years but he wasn’t about to give up looking for work. He started as a volunteer in Glasgow South West Regeneration Agency in the accounts department before he got his paid job.

But Andrew thinks that it was more difficult to find employment because of his disability, and he thinks there’s steps that can be made to make it easier. He thinks the Government has taken backwards steps with access to work and that better public transport infrastructure would help everyone.  And he added, “We need to work as a community of equals – both able bodied and those impairments working together to create pathways in the future”.

Andrew points out that, “Everyone wants to work I think. It’s about community working together for a common goal. It’s important socially and it’s important for creating relationships. I think employment is great in creating a sense of achievement, of adding value to society and the economy building for tomorrow. It’s also better than watching Jeremy Kyle”.

Elaine Boyd

Elaine Boyd is 48 and lives in Glasgow.  Elaine works as an Associate Director of Audit Quality at Audit Scotland.

Elaine was lucky enough that she got her job without any problems but she notes that she is very aware that this isn’t the case for everyone who is disabled.

Elaine adds that, “It is important for me to work and have self-worth and contribute to my family’s income to enable us to enjoy life. I also like to think I can be a good role model for disabled people in demonstrating my ability to work”.

Michael McEwan

Michael McEwan is 34 and lives in Glasgow.  Michael has cerebral palsy and leads a busy working life, including being a freelance journalist and working as the Chair of East Renfrewshire Disability Action.

Michael notes that it was quite difficult for him to get a job because of his disability but added that, “but I feel that my Disability should not stop me in any way and it should not be any more difficult.”

Michael likes working because it gives him a chance to make new pals and to get more confident at his job.

From all of the feedback of these four people’s experiences, and my own experiences of employment, it shows that disabled people do want to work, but there might be a few issues for some disabled people such as myself and Marion who want to work but have had to fight for support workers to be able to do so. Or Andrew and Michael who found it difficult to find a job because of their disabilities. So overall, yes there are some issues but we all work around it because we do want to work and we don’t want to let our disabilities get the best of ourselves.

Coming back to my own experience about my social worker asking me what do I get out of working, I really hated that because I could have been like, “Oh well, I have a disability and I don’t need to work, so I am not going to get a job because I am disabled”. But from a young age I always wanted to work and I have worked so hard to get to where I am today, so for someone to question me because I am working was really hurtful for myself and my Mum. Without being cheeky, and I’m sorry if I hurt anyone by saying this, but there are a lot of people out there who have nothing wrong with them and don’t want to work, but there are people like myself who are disabled and do want to work.

I am very proud of myself for getting a job and I can honestly say I do love my job. There are some days when I don’t want to get up and go to work like everyone does, but overall I am very proud to have a disability and to be able to work. I hope this blog has shown that disability and employment can and do go together.

What’s a Neater Eater? 

In the first of a series of equipment reviews, blogger Bernie tells us about the Neater Eater

The Neater Eater is an aid to assist me when I am eating, it is a piece of equipment that attaches onto a standard table, with it’s own plate and spoon which attaches onto a bar and this moves up, down, back and forward- this is how you control the spoon, it has also got grips on the bar and this makes it easy to hold.

 There are two versions of the Neater Eater… a manual or electric version. The electric one is for people who are not able to use their arm to physically hold the Neater Eater’s bar to control it down to pick up the food then up to their mouth. This one can be programed for the times at the rate that the person eats at, it is usually operated by a button but it can adapted to be operated by switches. The manual one is not electric and you need to use your hand to use it to operate the Neater Eater which I can to do.

 I have Cerebral Palsy    which effects my movement, I find it very challenging to eat certain types of food by myself especially liquid foods like- cereal, soups, beans, peas, noodles and yogurts. All foods that require you to eat with a spoon, I can’t physically get these onto a spoon and into my mouth without dropping the food. This is because of my involuntary movement, so I have had help from family members, who I feel comfortable with, assisting me at meal times for most of my life.

In 2017, is when one of my family members found out about the Neater Eater and we looked into it. I got in touch with my O.T department and an O.T came out to my house and assessed me. The next step was to request a home visit from the company to assess me and to demonstrate the Neater Eater…this was to see if I would benefit from having one of my own and also to see what type of Neater Eater that would be suitable for my needs…the electric or manual one. The process of the order took a few weeks as funding has got to be sorted out but it was definitely worth the wait.

 Once the piece of equipment is set up by the company, to best suit people’s individual needs. It is ready to use. As I have said, I have the manual version of the Neater Eater. To operate it all I have to do is put my hand on the bar which has grips on it which secures my hand and the spoon is attached onto this part, I lower the bar down until it reaches the plate, I pull the bar forward in order to get the food onto the spoon and then you have the option of keeping your hand on the bar or taking you hand off as it has springs built into the movement of it, meaning that the bar comes back up automatically to the level that my mouth is at and then all I have to do is pull the bar forward, towards me and take the food off of the spoon. You just repeat these steps up until you are about to finish, the plate spins round and I use my other hand to spin  it round while holding the bar down in order to get the food that is round the edges of the plate. There are also other types of accessories such as cutlery – spoon or fork that you can get for the Neater Eater. I personally just use the one spoon and plate for all foods as I can manage but other people might prefer to change the spoon or plate, depending on the type of food that they are having.

Overall, the Neater Eater has made a big difference to me, it has given me independence at meal times, I don’t need any assistance with liquid foods anymore…I have more of a choice of foods now whereas before, I always had to pick the easy option like solid foods that don’t require you to eat with a spoon. It’s amazing how my movements does not affect how the Neater Eater operates.. No matter how much I move, the bar and spoon stays in the set position.

I have to put so much more effort into doing tasks as my muscle tone tenses up when I’m concentrating on something, this makes me really tired as I am putting a lot of energy into it and before I got the Neater Eater I often felt tired after eating foods that I needed a spoon for, even know I had assistance at meal times- I still tried to do as much as I could myself. Now I have got the Neater Eater, I don’t have to put just as much energy into it- making me enjoy my meals more.

Check out my demonstration of the Neater Eater here: https://youtu.be/S6HYyDMdF6I

To find out more about the Neater Eater go to the following website: http://www.neater.co.uk/neater-eater/

 

Bernie’s top equipment and gadgets – eating and drinking

Neater Eater

This piece of equipment allows me to feed myself, using a spoon. I have Cerebral Palsy so controlling my movements can be difficult but this feeding aid really makes a difference to my daily life, read my blog about the Neater Eater for a more detailed explanation of the aid.

Plastic Cutlery

As I have sudden hand movements because of my Cerebral Palsy, I am not able to use metal cutlery. If I was to move the wrong way while using metal cutlery, I could hurt my mouth. I can feed myself with certain foods so I use plastic cutlery, which I feel more confident using as I know that if I was to move I couldn’t hurt myself. The plastic cutlery comes in a pack with forks, knifes and spoons (6 of each), they are a bit thicker which makes it easier to hold and they come in light colours too- grey turquoise and pink. Where to purchase the plastic cutlery – Ikea, in the cutlery section of the store, or alternatively online.

Plate Guard

This is a plastic guard that fits tightly around the rim of any plate, it fits on a smaller size of plate better. The plate guard is curved and it prevents food from falling off of the plate. The aid acts as a barrier too, you can push the food against it while you scoop your food onto a fork or spoon and it works better with certain foods such as mashed potatoes. It really helps people who only can use one hand as you don’t have to hold another piece of cutlery in order to get the food on the spoon. The plate guard clips securely onto the edge of a standard plate and it is easy to get on and off. The product can be purchased from the following website.

Dycem

This is a non-slip mat, it is a rubber texture, that is designed to grip and hold things still. Dycem prevents most things from slipping and is really helpful to people who have Cerebral Palsy. It can be even more challenging if items are moving about while you are trying so hard to do a task. Dycem stops movement and this makes life a lot easier. The mat works best on hard surfaces and needs to be totally dry in order for it to grip items. I use Dycem daily to help keeps things steady- at meals times to hold the plate, using my roller ball mouse when I am on a computer, writing and drawing- Dycem can grip paper and many other items. This aid is essential to me and I properly wouldn’t be able to do tasks without the non-slip mat as it would be a real struggle for me. The Dycem product can be purchased online.

Safe-Sip

This is a silicone drinks cover that fits over cups, glasses and cans. It basically stops your drink from spilling even if you accidentally knock it over or find it difficult to hold a cup or glass still, like myself. The Safe-Sip cover prevents any leaks. It really is an amazing aid that allows me to drink out of a cup or glass independently and I don’t have the worry about it spilling. The covers are easy to put on and off although you have to be careful as the silicone can rip easily. In order for the covers to grip onto cups or glasses, they both need to be completely dry. Another point about the covers is that they hold straws in place….there is nothing worse than having a straw moving about while you are trying to have a drink. This product has made a big difference to me, I now can have my tea out of a mug whereas before I had to use a plastic bottle with a straw so I love the drink covers and I would highly recommend the product to anyone. Visit Safe-Sip’s website to purchase a pack.

Bernie’s top equipment and gadgets – wheelchair accessories

In the third of her equipment review blogs, Bernie Hunter provides a round-up of top accessories for wheelchairs. 

Cup Holder

This is to carry my drink, the cup holder attaches onto my wheelchair and this allows me to take my drink out with me. I don’t understand why wheelchairs do not have cup holders already fitted onto them. It is a very useful accessory to have as I can easily access my drink and I don’t need any assistance to get it out of my bag, if it is a bottle of juice. The bottle just fits in the cup holder and I can take a drink when I want, the cup holder has a hook so it is hooked over my arm rest of the wheelchair and taped on just to make sure it is secure. It does make my chair a little wider but it just depends where the cup holder can be fitted onto the wheelchair. I got the cup holder from a hardware shop but there is a range online under ‘Car Cup Holder’. Here is a car cup holder which is available to purchase on ebay.

Net Bag

This is a bag which is made out of fabric, that attaches onto the handles of my wheelchair. It is very lightweight and it doesn’t stop you from putting any other bags on the back of the chair. The net bag is for to put lightweight items in like essentials and snacks, it saves you from having to take another bag out with you and it means that there is one less bag to carry about. The only thing about this bag is because it is clipped onto my wheelchair permanently which means I can’t access it independently but it is still very useful and I highly recommend it for anyone who uses a wheelchair- the net bag is available to order on this website.

Clutch Bag

This is a small bag with a wrist strap that attaches onto my belt, on my wheelchair, which means the bag is secure and can’t fall off. I use the bag to put my phone and money in as it is safe and I can easily access it myself. The bag has a zip and I have a keyring on it, this makes it easier for me to open and close it. The bag helps me to be more independent and I don’t have to worry about carrying my money or phone about with me. Clutch bags are available in stores like Primark, New Look or alternatively online by searching for “Clutch Bag”.

Bernie’s top equipment and gadgets – computer equipment

In her final gadget review blog, Bernie Hunter provides a run-down on her top three pieces of computer equipment.

Roller ball mouse

This is a computer accessory, it is an alternative to a mouse. I struggle to use a standard mouse because of my hand movements and I find it really challenging to keep the whole mouse steady while I try and click the mouse button using my finger. The roller ball mouse plugs into any computer the same way as any other mouse does, it has two buttons which are at the side of the roller ball and these are used for right and left clicking. It is very easy to control and both of the buttons are easy to access whereas some other roller ball mouse’s have a guard over them and it is challenging for you to press, every time you have to click something. If I didn’t use a roller ball mouse, I wouldn’t be able to access a computer so it is important that people do get the right equipment, that is required.  The roller ball can be purchased online. 

Big keys keyboard

This is a keyboard that can plug into any computer. It has larger keys compared to a standard keyboard making it easier and faster to type. The size of the keys makes a big difference because of my hand movements, I accidently press the wrong keys all the time as they are small and the letters are really close together which makes typing annoying, if you keep on making mistakes. The keyboard takes this problem away, I still sometimes press the wrong keys but not as much as I would using a standard keyboard. Having the big keys keyboard means that I can access a computer and type up articles etc, without it I would manage but it would take me double the time and it would be very challenging. The keyboards are available to purchase on eBay.

Stylus

This is a stylus pen that I use if I get tired typing with my fingers. It is thick so I can grip it easily and it also has a rubber tip, this saves it from damaging the keys. The tip makes it a bit slippy and it doesn’t grip the keys as good so I tape a small bit of Dycem (Non-Slip Mat) onto the tip of the stylus and that seems to work. The stylus makes typing easier and prevents me from accidently hitting the wrong keys. The stylus is available to purchase from Amazon.