Wheelchair Dancing – A trip to Blackpool

This week Marion tells us about her experinces of wheelchair dancing

Hi it is Marion again! Recently just back from Blackpool with my Wheelchair Dancing team and thought I would tell you a bit about it!

I have been dancing in different teams on and off since the age of 10 I have been travelling to Blackpool every 2 years.  The years we were not in Blackpool we spent in Glasgow for the Wheelchair dancing festivals.

Sadly over the years the teams of dancers have become less and less. Due to not as many teams the Wheelchair Dancing Association has made the deicision to stop competing in England.   However the Scottish Wheelchair dancing association hope to continue to get more people involved and run competitions under new rules.

So we meet every second week to practise our dance routines, there are 7 of us in my team and what a laugh we have! We are called the All Stars Dance Team and are a C team meaning we are less able to move our chairs due to our disability and use power chairs.  We have to learn 3 to 4 dances, these include formation, set,   novelty   and couples dances.  It can be hard work remembering the moves especially on the run up to the competition!

In the past we have won many medals for our dancing there were gold, silver and bronze medals and plenty trophies.  This is an activity that I love as my friends are there too.  I’ve met many people over all my years at dancing.  

As this was the last of the English Championships they changed the way they usually do things.  This year was to be more of a fun day rather than a competition.  It seemed so wrong to me not be buying and taking any lovely   costumes with me which I have done for years.  Also felt strange not being judged and there was no couples section which made me sad as me and my dance partner have won many medals together.

We all set off on Friday morning and when we all arrived at the Hilton Hotel we met up and joined the other 1  dance team from Scotland and 1 team from Cornwall.  We had some dinner and got into the hall for one last practice

The next day was very relaxed compared to previous years.  We did our own dances which we had practised although one was missed out due to the floor area being too small for us all.  We also went into new dances with all the other competitors meaning we had to learn quick,  thankfully we all managed and was really good fun.  Later that night we all met for dinner and as if we didn’t dance enough there was a disco in the evening for us all to enjoy and let our hair down! 

Over the weekend I had a great time laughing and spending time with friends and fellow dancers.  I will really miss out trips to Blackpool and hope we can get the new Scottish association up and running quickly and make it more of a competition. . . . . . . who doesn’t like some friendly competition? 

 

If you’d like to find out more about getting started have a look at http://www.swda.org.uk/

As from 19 March 2018 the AAC law started, which means that every health board in Scotland must  provide AAC equipment and support to children and adults who require AAC to communicate.

There was a lot of work put into making AAC the law for many years, from speech therapists, people who use AAC, lawyers, people from different organizations and people from the Scottish Parliament to make this law happen. Also, as I am a AAC user, I was very involved in making AAC the law myself.

For many years I have been a part of a few AAC steering groups, spoke at a few conferences, met people from Scottish Parliament and a lot more. It was really important to me to be really involved in making this law happen, because I know how difficult having no voice and not be able to talk is. Although, I am one of lucky ones who got a Communication device and support no problem! But I know that there are people out there who had to fight for their Communication devices or AAC support and that’s not right at all. No one should have to fight for their own voice, but this new law should make things better for those who had to fight before.

Some people who are reading this may think oh ok no big deal!  But this law is a big deal for so many people in Scotland because AAC opens up a new world for so many people who can’t talk themselves.

A very good example of how AAC changes people’s lives for the better is Steven Hawking. Steven had MND from a very young age and due to having MND lost his voice and therefore he used a Communication device to communicate. And without AAC Steven wouldn’t have done half of the things that he did in his life. People see Steven as the greatest scientist ever but for someone like myself who uses AAC, Steve was someone who I looked up to and think well, he was disabled and used AAC like me and he did a lot of amazing things in his life, so there’s nothing stopping anyone from doing anything. So having this law in Scotland is really important to lots of people.

I have been using Communication devices from a young age, so if I needed a Communication device the education board always funded my Communication device without problems. But it was a big worry for me once I left school that I wouldn’t get any funding for any Communication devices in the future, but like I said before I am one of these lucky people who got funding and support from a speech therapist to get a new Communication device. But it always worries me that someday I won’t get any help or funding for any future Communication devices. But now, with this law in place I feel    like that I don’t need to worry any more that will I get funding.

Another part of the AAC law is the time factor and what I mean by that is, if someone loses their voice, they should get help from a speech therapist and any equipment that they need to communicate right away (like the next day) because no one must go for a long period of time without being able to speak, no way at all.

Also, making awareness of AAC is a big part of the law. Making awareness of AAC is really important in the new law too. Quite a lot of people out there don’t know what is AAC? Or what is a Communication device? Or how to talk to someone who uses a Communication device? And it is really a shame that a lot of people don’t know anything about AAC, because communication is the key to life! As I am someone who uses a Communication device I do get a lot of people who ask me what is that, meaning my Communication device, or people don’t know how to talk to me because I  use a Communication device, and that’s not right because everyone should feel comfortable to talk anyone that they want, so making awareness of AAC is really important to have in the new AAC law.

I hope having this new law will make Scotland a better place for people who use AAC because no one should have to fight for their own voice and everyone has the right to speak and to be heard.

To get more info about the AAC law

At Bobath we have been running a group called Teen Academy for many years now for one week in the summer holidays.  Teen Academy is for young people between 14-18 with cerebral palsy to come and learn and build up new skills like cooking or make-up or DJing and many more. Teen Academy has made a big difference to people’s life.

One of the girls who took part in last year’s Teen Academy, Abigail, contacted us to see if we could have a Teen Academy  reunion for everyone to come together to share their experiences of Teen Academy or just catch up with friends they made at Teen Academy.

So we are hosting a Teen Academy reunion on 11 April 2018 here at Bobath Scotland, 10 High Craighall Road, Glasgow G4 9UD between 12-2.

We are inviting everyone who took part in a past Teen Academy to come to catch up with friends and look back on people’s time at Teen Academy. And also we would like to invite any future Teen Academy attendees who are 14, or will be 14 before August, to come and get some information on Teen Academy .

If you are interested in coming along on the day please contact Jill at jill.clark@bobath.scot by 4 April or call the centre on 0141 352 5000. 

We look forward seeing you there.