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We are currently discussing the following topics
Changing thought patterns regarding the needs and abilities of persons with disabilities is a complicated and lengthy process. A contributing factor to the chasm between the community and persons with disabilities on a social level is that children often are discouraged from approaching persons with disabilities in a spontaneous manner. This results in children feeling uncomfortable in the presence of persons with disabilities in later years and finding it more difficult to cope with integration of these people in the work place and in the community as a whole.
The National Council for People with Physical Disabilities in South Africa (NCPPDSA) recently compiled a pamphlet with a few guidelines regarding the interaction and socializing with persons with disabilities. Some of the guidelines discussed are: A wheelchair forms part of the personal space or comfort zone of the person concerned – do not lean against it or touch it unnecessarily. Communication with someone who experiences loss of hearing, can improve significantly if the following guidelines are applied: Speak in your normal tone of voice, unless the person concerned actually requests that you either speak louder or softer. Changing mindsets is a long process that slowly moves through various phases. Research has shown that those people, who are exposed regularly to persons with disabilities, will systematically move from total ignorance regarding disability, to a reasonable degree of knowledge regarding the matter. The next phase is one of anxiety – an excessive degree of concern and being overly protective towards the person with the disability. This is however a process of growth. The last phase is only reached once the community realizes that the person with the disability has the same rights as anyone else. This approach based on human rights is the mindset we should all aspire to attain. What is your opinion regarding the mindset towards disability in South Africa?
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Parking bays, reserved for the sole use of people whose mobility is impaired, are often abused by the public. Becoming informed regarding these parking bays can change the public’s attitude. Apparently there is not a universal set of regulations in South Africa with regard to parking bays for the disabled. This leads to frustration for many, as each local authority has it`s own system for issuing parking discs. The NCPPDSA in partnership with the NAPCP and QASA are in the final stages of compiling a position paper on parking for people who are mobility impaired. One system with one parking disc, underwritten by the National Department of Transport will be suggested for South Africa. Not all “disabled” are necessarily eligible for a parking disc. The term mobility impaired include quadriplegics, amputees, cerebral palsy, stroke victims or any other illness or condition that results in extremely poor or impossible mobility. A selection committee consists mostly of occupational- or physiotherapists, representatives of associations for people with disabilities, representatives of traffic departments, as well as people with disabilities themselves. They decide on the validity of an application. Parking discs should be issued to the person with reference to the identity number and not to the registration number of a vehicle. Parking bays for motorists and/or passengers with mobility impairment should be at least 3,5metres wide. Clearly demarcated bays with yellow borders and a wheelchair sign in the middle of the area are indicated by road traffic signs. The reason for the wider bay is to allow sufficient space next to the vehicle for the driver to transfer into his'her wheelchair, without damaging the car alongside. What is your opinion regarding the attitude of society towards accessible parking bays? Write to us at marketing@apd-wc.org.za
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