The real cost of being a disabled person will not be known unless you are the disabled person, because we are all different, even persons with similar disabilities. For there are many forms of disabilities and people who have them will have them with differing degrees of severities and will more than likely have more than one disability.
Yes, there are some disability benefits, but there are many criteria which needs to be matched and the forms are very lengthy and not all that easy to compile. So, in many instances the amounts of disability benefits which could be received will in most respects never be sufficient to cover all costs related to disabilities.
This is even more so in today’s circumstances due to the very high living costs and the severe shortages in both social care and health care available.
Everyone should be entitled to equality, but being disabled means more needs to be done to get anywhere near to be equal to persons without disabilities.
Other than the severe shortages of social and health care, just consider the different forms of transport.
After many years of campaigning some forms of transport are now more accessible than previously.
Buses, for example now have to have wheelchair access and wheelchair spaces on every bus. However, in many instances these spaces are already taken, maybe with baby pushchairs and even though there is a message there to say that wheelchairs have priority, but trying to gain access is in many instances difficult to do.
Then there is only one or two spaces so what happens if room for a third wheelchair is required, yes, they could wait for the next bus, but the 3 persons could be together and who is to say the next bus will have room or when it will come.
Other forms of transport have their own inequalities.
But one of the worst forms of travel is by plane, as people in wheelchairs or even some with other mobility problems will be unable to board and disembark without special assistance and there could be lengthy waits for it to arrive, if it ever does and will the assistance be as sufficient as it should be. Then what about toilet access on the plane as the wheelchair will not be allowed to be with the person, so will all assistance be available throughout the flight. Surely, in this age of technology the ability to travel in your own wheelchair on a plane should be there and when boarding or disembarked they should be the first and not the last.
To a person who uses a wheelchair, the wheelchair is an integral part of them, not just an accessory to be taken away for easy of loading a plane.
So even though costs is a major factor there are many more factors that have to be taken into account, causing much more unnecessary stresses to the person with disabilities, equality has so much more of a way to go and it is a very long way, which should not be so in many various areas.
These are Human Rights which are not being adhered to and any areas where full equality is not available actions should be taken against those who are not providing this full equality whoever or whatever they are.
Source: I’ve worked out that being disabled costs me an extra £13,000 each year | Metro News
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