I'm a trainer for Saint John Ambulance. Nothing fancy it just means that I am meant to know the correct way to put a bandage on (effective safe and promptly!!).

Following an awful evening when a member treated me like an absolute idiot because the chair had been mentioned I have been writing up a teaching plan to enable me to go to divisions and teach about disability awareness. Basically the right and wrong things to do should they have the misfortune to treat one of us.

- Blind
- Deaf
- Learning disablity
- Mental Health
- Physical Impairement (wheelchair, walking stick, amputations, disfigurement.....)

It'll only be a short session (an hour maybe an hour and a half) but it'll cover the basics of
- How to approach
- How to communicate effectively
- Moving a patient if needed
- How to deal with their belongings (including chairs)
- Dignity and Privacy.

Can anyone suggest things that they think ought be covered in this session? I hope to get a few practical bits in (i.e. familiarisation with aids / scenarios treating a person....)


Thank you

Why think of us as being differant.
We aint
A broken bone, fall down, broken toe nail
All should be treated with dignaty and compassion
Not just because I'm in a chair or what was dat again or ummmmm whats 2+2

I ran a archery club at one time for all types of kids
Never treaed one any more differant then the other, and to do so took a lot of patience counting to 10. Wouldn't have done it any other way, loved it

If my chair is in the way while my bent leg is being seen to . . just like a ladies bag of groceries
You don't shout at people to be still . .you encourage them to be still

Can't you see that treating us differantly implies we are
Well I'm not

Do keep up the good work though, your much needed in society, groupactivities and by me

Clara,
Why don't you give us your scenario so we know what you're talking about?

I'm sure you don't mean things like, "bend down to eye level whilst talking with someone in a chair."

This was a CORRECT ANSWER when communicating to w/c users in a Certified Nursing Assistant book. Go figure. Now you know why people treat us differently when we simply want treatment.

But, I'm sure your talking about something more involved . . . .

Unfortunately it seems with many people confidence is the key - confidence to approach someone and talk to them normally, for them we want to do an almost ice breaker to make people more comfortable. Also there are too many stereo types out there and I have noticed many members of society who you would expect to be calm and polite are actually the idiots we mention in the "10 things never to say to a disabled person".

Saint John has members from all ranges of society and because of this their opinions / experiences of disabled persons vary. The aim of this session is to educate and remind people that we are just normal people and not freaks fresh from Mars. It's to tell them that grabbing someone's wheelchair or walking stick without permission is likely to seriously piss someone off, or that you don't ask the person next to the patient if it hurts just because they've got a white stick.

Think of all of those really bad experiences you've had with nurses or shop assistants - how they humiliated you or made you want to strangle them. This is what we want to prevent happening in the future.

I hope that makes sense - I have taken rather a lot of pain killers this evening.

It would be nice to reiterate the idea of sitting down to my eye level, if possible. And the only reason I'm thinking that is because my neck is killing me tonight! If you're going to yap at me, take a seat.

Please don't talk to me like I'm five years old - unless your profession is a kindergarten teacher. Then maybe you could get away with it. Don't ignore me, run away, or not look at me in the eye.

Please be within eyesight or yelling reach if you're a salesperson in a store. Super Target (large discount stuff store, like an upscale ASDA) is a nightmare if you need something up high, and you can't find an associate. Don't be obvious about it - but seriously, I hate having to scale half the store to find someone who is not interested in leaving grocery to help me with a damned towel on the top shelf. Don't creep me out by asking me every ten minutes if I need help though (hello, Best Buy).

Don't expect me to be the happy little crip all the time, overcoming the odds with a smile on my face and all that shite. No, um, I get crabby just like you. Maybe even more often.

If I ask you for help, please do. If I don't ask you for help, know I've got my 'system' going on. The perfect example would be if loading my chair into my truck. It's not easy, but I get it in pretty decent. Please don't help by taking off the wheels for me, or moving the seat, or whatever. I get all discombobulated!

Oh, and when people try to be helpful by opening a door - and then standing in the doorway - this is pretty counterproductive.

One more thing - DON'T TOUCH MY CHAIR! Especially now - I'm still getting used to this one. I had someone try to give me a little push while doing a complicated maneuver - up a slope, turn 90 degrees in a tight space, open a heavy glass door, get over a vestibule, turn another 90 degrees, open another heavy glass door, get over another vestibule. Seriously, when he did that, it's the equivalent of someone tipping their chair back - back - back - and then catching themselves just before they tip backwards, and simultaneously sending their stomach into their throat.

So many things ... so many things ...

Oh, and when people try to be helpful by opening a door - and then standing in the doorway - this is pretty counterproductive

Says Chickadee

You are so right .. Should connect a speaker to my chair so that I can press a button and a recorded message says .. Mind Your Toes

I don't mind someone offering to help ONCE. But when I say 'no thanks', f*@k OFF, don't keep bugging me or worse, "helping" anyway. If I need help, I'll ask.
And I NEED my, repeat, MY chair and it needs to be within reach. I'm not gunna leave my damn chair in edmonton to go back to vermillion and use a hospital chair. Seriously, use your damn head!

And evolution gave you a bum to use going up steps

Ohhhhhhhhh

You have some stiches don't you

Thanks wonderfuls. I've been asked to take this and turn it into a four hour (to be done in two hour slots) session on communication in general which perhaps once I have permission from the bosses I can tour the county with (beats watching Eastenders).

Your ideas are really helpful to me.

Right now I am excited and rather scared at the prospect too. I hadn't realised how bad communication can be until someone told me that first aiders forget to ask people's names when treating them. Oops!

It'll probably take about 10 hours to get this into shape so don't expect me to be in a good mood tonight (esp as it's 08:13 and I've already taken all of my pain killers for the day).

How about when you are in the hospital and they need to take you for a test and bring you one of those hospital chairs and then leave it about 2 feet from your bed and then ask you if you are able to get in the chair. When you say no, they only scoot it about 2 inches closer!! duh! This just happened to me several time at Cleveland Clinic.
Or.....every nurse on the shift asks you to see you bend your toes just because that is the only thing you can move. I felt like a side show!

Thanks for that. This wont be too much on the hospital side of things - the course is just for first aiders rather than nursing staff or doctors (though there will be some in attendance) but I hope to use the suggestions in a different way.

- Blind: (I'm legally blind so my vision WITH glasses is 20/300 in my good eye & finger counting with my left) Don't just DO things.....tell the person what you are doing, this includes poking them with I.V.s as well as when you do things like start pushing them or when they 1st get put on the gurney say "OK we're going to lift the gurney up". If one of you needs to walk away say to get the nurse you're handing them off too......say "I'm going to get the nurse & will be right back" and when you come back don't just stand there tell them "I'm back". Identify yourself as to who you are name AND ambulance transport etc. If there is a guide dog & if the person is unresponsive do NOT separate guide dog from the person! Guide dogs are not trained to be aggressive in fact they're trained & selected for the opposite; however this does not mean that the dog would not see you as a threat especially if the person is combative the dog may mistakenly think you are trying to hurt their human......but this would be the rare case. Do not try using the harness for anything.....don't even touch it.....just take the leash.....the dog will fallow you so long as you hold the leash & have their human. Let the hospital deal with the guide dog......most schools have 1-800 numbers on the dog's tags with a serial#, when a hospital calls that # with the dog's info you can use that to find out who the person is if they're brought in as a John/Jane Doe & the schools usually have contact info for the human student & if necessary will come & get the dog & place them in a kennel or temporarily take the dog back to the school depending on how long the person will need to be hospitalized for. Also if you have anyone who wears glasses or uses a cane.....these are VERY important & although a cane can be easily replaced.....glasses can NOT & often these are not the kind of glasses that could be made in an hr at one of those eye glasses place you sighted folks use......uh-uh.....we're talking special labs that take upwards of 6wks for a pair of glasses.

- Deaf: (Arizona put blind kids & deaf kids at the same school.....I went to ASDB Arizon School for the Deaf and Blind before moving to California) When people are hard of hearing or profoundly deaf they often use lip reading, if you start talking s-l-o-w-e-r OR LOUDER you aren't helping them....if anything you just made it harder for them to know what you're saying. Speaking normally is actually the way to go. Also anyone with a mustache OR accent of any sort would be more difficult for many deaf people since the mustaches often hide the upper lip, think not just the pink parts of the lips but the whole mouth gives cues to the deaf or hard of hearing person......accents tend to make the person move their lips in a different way than what the person is used to.....so to them a southern drawl is the same as a stiff British accent or speaking with English as being their 2nd language it doesn't matter......anything that changes the lip movement will mess them up. Most deaf people are used to note passing......so if they can still write than you just have to communicate that way.

- Learning disablity: They've got a learning disability & even if they've got downs syndrome & have been classified as "retarded" they still have the same feelings as everyone else & just need things explained in a more simplified manner much like you would a child but do NOT talk down to them or treat them as if they were 5yrs old! Children when they're hurt they don't understand what is going on & often that makes them even more scared and so you explain things to a child as best you can so that they understand enough but of course you don't tell them certain things.....and depending on how badly the person/patient has trouble would dictate how much of a difference there would be & whether or not EVERYTHING should be explained.....if ya get my drift.

- Mental Health: Sorry this is one area I don't know a whole lot about.

- Physical Impairement (wheelchair, walking stick, amputations, disfigurement.....) These are often two DIFFERENT things......the needing a device vs. disfigurement. Physical Impairments.....do NOT separate us from our equipment! With the exception of a scooter or electric chair you should be able to take most manual wheelchairs with you just put it in before the gurney & have the wheelchair where the side door leading in is at & the paramedic in the back would sit on the bench instead of the seat behind the driver. Crutches & walkers I'd find it really hard to believe that a crew couldn't figure out how to take them with. Ask the person if they need to be in a different position. If they've got a disfigurement than don't stare at what ever it is that is disfigured.....don't look away either.....just try to look past the disfigurement and focus on the person behind the disfigurement.

Hope this helps......and kudos for asking!

That is fantastic. Thanks so much!!

I've been able to come up with some myself but it's wonderful to see new ideas (and better ways to get things across) and reinforcing the bits I already have.

Also BE SURE the dispatch. drivers, ect know that the equpment needs to go too so they dont attempt to take 2 people at once then go 'there's no room to take your chair, so too bad'