Categories: uncategorized
Date: 16 March 2006 13:36:15
The SCM theme for the year is Life in all its Fullness. One of the issues that was brought up at the weekend, was whether or not you can enjoy life to the full if you have a disability. In the past few days, I have been able to have some greater understanding of disabilities. My knee has been worse since this weekend - it now aches more frequently, especially if I don't wear a bandage on it. By no stretch of the imagination is it a 'disability' as we are familiar with, but it has affected my day to day activities to a degree. I can't walk for any length of time - after a 10 minute walk to uni my knee isn't particularly happy, and anymore than that I am trying to avoid undertaking. Before all of this, I would walk everywhere around Swansea. Walking and cycling are usually my sole means of transportation within the local area. Now I struggle to do either. And to be perfectly honest - its a bugger.
But, it has made me have some degree of empathy for the people I have cared for with severe disabilities. Until you have some experience of a health problem with affects your day to day life, it is incredibly hard to appreciate how much of a pain it is. How much it can get you down. How easily a physical problem can affect your mental health. So, is it possible for a disabled person to experience 'fullness of life'? I mean, when I've worked with disabled children, our aims often involve enabling the child to play/explore/express themselves, in whatever ways they can. Finding ways around their disability. Using technology and equipment to empower these children and to make their lives as enjoyable as possible. So, with the right care and support - with a multidisciplinary approach - can disabled people enjoy 'fullness of life'?