Where were you on the Royal Wedding Day?
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at April 26, 2011 | 6:56 pm | 0 Comment
On 29th April 2011, the day of the Royal Wedding in the United Kingdom, people throughout the World will be out and about celebrating... many will be in a wheelchair. 65 million people in the World are in need of a wheelchair and won't be able to share in this celebration! Please join us in a global initiative to provide wheelchairs for those 65 million people and to
It’s International Wheelchair Day
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at March 1, 2011 | 8:02 am | 0 Comment
All wheelchair users of the World unite and celebrate the 4th International Wheelchair Day. In Wales, they're celebrating St. David's Day. In the Flanders' family they're remembering the late Michael Flanders, famed wheelchair user in the 60s comedy musical duo, Flanders and Swann, who was born this day in 1922. But throughout the World, everyone who uses a
Give & You Shall Get A Happy New Year
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at December 31, 2010 | 1:20 pm | 0 Comment
As we sign off 2010, the year in which Accessible Business CIC and AccessiblePlaces.Net was launched, it's a good time to reflect on the progress made so far and the optimism there is for a successful 2011. Throughout my life, I have always followed the motto "Give & You Shall Get" and that is certainly the ethos behind the business and the website. Give
Celebrating International Day of Disabled People
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at December 3, 2010 | 12:29 pm | 0 Comment
Today is International Day of Disabled People and I'm "celebrating" by being stuck in the house due to the snow. I was due to attend an awards event at the Remploy Employment Services office in Newcastle, but wheelchair access in the snow and ice has meant it is impossible for me to get there. I've had an excellent relationship with Remploy and their staff since I
Snow is socially disabling
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at December 2, 2010 | 9:18 am | 1 Comments
If ever there was a clear indication that the social model of disability is more appropriate than the medical model, it is now. For over a week now, snow and freezing temperatures have dictated how everyone's lives run. As a wheelchair user, this has meant being housebound throughout that time. However, my medical condition is no different to what it was before the
Who’s really suffering?
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at November 16, 2010 | 11:23 am | 1 Comments
I was born with Spina Bifida. Despite a lot of surgery as a child with the consequence that I now use a wheelchair most of the time, I’ve always lived life to the full. One niggle I have, particularly with the media, is the use of the term “suffers from”, when it comes to describing me, and others, with some form of disability. I suppose there are some
It’s all about attitude
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at October 30, 2010 | 10:18 am | 0 Comment
I’ve travelled recently on the Tyne & Wear Metro, as I often do, in my manual wheelchair. I cope reasonably well getting on and off although there is often quite a gap to negotiate between the train and the platform. I don’t know how anyone without my upper body strength in a manual wheelchair or someone in a powered wheelchairmanages. And, of course,
Equalities Act 2010 … is it better than the DDA?
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at October 6, 2010 | 11:52 am | 0 Comment
Well, at last, it’s here. The Equalities Act 2010 came into force on 1st October 2010. For years, we have been told it will make things a lot better for disabled people. Would someone please convince me it will? The issue I had with the DDA was disabled people had to make claims themselves if they thought they had been discriminated against. I believe the same
Disability Discrimination Act – 6 years and counting
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at October 1, 2010 | 11:46 am | 0 Comment
October 1st 2010 marks the 6th anniversary of when the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 required businesses to make reasonable adjustments to remove physical barriers so disabled people could access their premises, products and services. Has the legislation been effective? I suggest not! We still have many places making no effort to provide for disabled
20 million disabled people in the UK?
By Steve "WheelchairSteve" Wilkinson at September 16, 2010 | 11:34 am | 0 Comment
I was encouraged by the message in the recent Office for Disability Issues report that the current Government believe there is a strong business case for companies to make their premises, products and services more accessible. Atkins Management Consultants were commissioned to produce the report entitled 2010 Legacy for Disabled People: Inclusive and Accessible
