Travelling with a wheelchair
I’ve been using our travel photos to jog my memory when writing about our last two trips and I’ve noticed there’s something missing from our New Zealand photos. Mostly, me! There’s few photos of all four of us but they’re not great. And as much as I enjoy being behind the camera, as the kids get older, I want them to remember I was there
Although the main focus of our blogging is around travelling as a family, we’ve found one of the places where BJ needs support is when he’s at respite (short term accommodation). When he started going to respite we had a sit down meeting and went through every tiny detail of his care, his likes, dislikes, quirks, medication and everything in between. It was A LOT
When Jen privately contacted me to share photos of her family’s holiday in Vietnam, I asked her if she’d be happy to write a guest blog so their family’s experiences may benefit others. I know family life is always busy so I appreciate it when our readers contribute and it sounds like Jen’s family had an incredible time in Vietnam. It’s great to read the
If you’d told me when BJ was little I’d be excited to take delivery of a new wheelchair in the future, I’d have said you were crackers. And yet, here we are today, thrilled to get BJ’s new chair. It’s been a long time coming, given we first signaled it was needed in December 2016. We had an occupational therapy assessment, looked at chairs and
Nothing beats the energy of a live show but it can be daunting going to a big event if you are unsure about the accessible facilities. Last weekend our family went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at Quodos Bank Arena in Sydney. While the Harlem Globetrotters show isn’t as major as say seeing Ed Sheeran in concert, it was a reminder that there are special
Fantastic news! Today I received an email from Virgin Australia announcing a new initiative which may make travel achievable for people who are unable to fly independently. From today, Virgin Australia is implementing a Disability Assistant Concession fare. The fare offers a 50% discount (applied to the base fare) for an assistant’s airfare. The fare has been made available in recognition of the many travellers
Although BJ has both a power wheelchair and manual wheelchair, we only travel with his manual chair. We find it’s more flexible for travel and BJ loves it. However, I’m regularly asked advice on travelling with a power wheelchair so I thought I’d get some tips from an intrepid traveller who does use a power wheelchair for travel. Marlena, also known as the AAC Journalist,
Although I’m sure many of our readers are familiar with the Australian Companion Card I wanted to share information for anyone who is new to needing disability services and to remind those who have one of some of the places you can use it. The Australian Companion Card promotes the rights of people with a disability, who require a companion, to fair ticketing at events
Some people only need their memories of a trip, others enjoy photos and videos and then of course there are souvenirs. I like all of these things and being sentimental I love buying souvenirs that remind me of a certain place, or a moment we enjoyed as a family. I don’t tend to buy many of the touristy souvenirs because they end up being dust
Air travel isn’t easy for so many reasons, most people find it uncomfortable especially on long-haul flights. For someone with a disability there are many factors which make flying even more difficult including the lack of support of an airline seat, transfers, bathrooms and more. Even though BJ sits quite well without the assistance of supports, he finds the confined space, the necessity to sit
When we travel we have a pile of items which come with us ‘just in case’. These are items which are handy if something goes wrong with the wheelchair or help in the event things aren’t quite as we thought they’d be. Yes, it adds to our luggage, but after driving around a city looking for a store which could help with a puncture (on
We’ve found a cheap roll of matting has many uses and has become a great travel friend. When we are at home we have everything set-up and easy to use but it’s amazing when you travel the issues that arise. It’s certainly resulted in us needing to become quick and clever at finding solutions. A couple of trips ago Hubby bought some cheap matting to
We made 3 trips to the post office before we had everything right to submit BJ’s passport application. We’re sharing our tips and what we learnt about applying for a passport for someone with a disability.
Sponsored Fighting to keep mobility is something I believe in wholeheartedly; however, I think there needs to be balance in this process. Sometimes resisting using equipment is counterproductive. Although we’ve continued to keep working on BJ’s mobility, we know it takes enormous effort for him to walk, even with assistance. It’s therefore not a practical way for him to get around all the time. I
In the early days of BJ’s diagnosis I didn’t want to have any of the items on the list below. I didn’t think we needed any extra allowances, but over time I’ve found that these can make life easier. Particularly when we are out and about for a day or when we are travelling it’s crazy not to do everything possible to make things as
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