It’s been a tough few weeks. 
A lot tougher than I’d anticipated, actually. 3 weeks ago, one of the interview panel for Teachers College asked me, “Have you considered the challenges you’ll face, teaching in a wheelchair?”. Naively, I scoffed at his question. “Every day is a challenge, mate”, I thought. “I’ve spent 24 years negotiating hurdles, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
But I was wrong: this truly is a whole new ball game.
Negotiating everyday tasks
For many of the obstacles that present themselves in my day-to-day life, it’s simply a matter of finding another way of doing things; another route, if you will. Stairs? Take the lift. Can’t reach the box of Corona? Ask someone to grab it for me.
Easy.
Many of the solutions I find for negotiating everyday tasks are sub-par in comparison with their able-bodied alternative. Lifts can be slower – and more prone to breaking down – than stairs. Asking someone to pass me a pack of beer takes a little longer than grabbing it myself. In most cases, however, the difference between the two routes is negligible.
. Point is: I love my technology, and particularly the way it can enhance my life and the lives of other disabled people.
