Harnessing lived experience to address health inequalities

I’ve been using a wheelchair for 15 years. When I look back over that time, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been able to take on. Whether career aspirations, travelling dreams or social endeavours, I’m living a full life. A key enabler of this has been learning wheelchair skills.

I often think of the irony that the wheelchair is seen as a symbol of disability when it’s actually one of the most empowering tools you can give someone who needs it. Having the skills to use any piece of equipment is essential to make sure that you can use it effectively. Having the skills to use a wheelchair is no different.

Early on after my injury at 19 years old, I was lucky enough to learn wheelchair skills. 

Wheelchair skills are the techniques that enable me to get around in my wheelchair, from pushing efficiently and carrying cups of coffee to getting up and down stairs and escalators. Wheelchair skills are the things that enable you to live the life you want to. So, naturally, they will differ with the person who is learning them, whether that is down to interests or ability level.

Having the skills to use any piece of equipment is essential to make sure that you can use it effectively. Having the skills to use a wheelchair is no different.

One thing that has bothered me for many years, something that I cannot understand, is why this incredible skillset is limited to such a tiny fraction of the 1.2 million wheelchair users across the UK.

Last year, I set up The Wheelchair Skills College, a Community Interest Company with the vision of ensuring that every wheelchair user has access to the skills they need to live a fuller life. I delivered pilot sessions with wheelchair services in NW London that demonstrated the impact I knew it could have. One man who had been using a wheelchair for 5 years told us that learning how to push properly had meant it was easier to get to his local shop and a woman who had been using a wheelchair for 31 years went up and down a kerb independently for the first time in our training session.

Wheelchair skills are for everyone. I’ve taught 4‑year-olds and I’ve taught 84-year-olds wheelchair skills. I’ve delivered sessions at primary schools, including to kids with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities. I had to make some changes to my teaching style but they all took something away from that session. 

A woman who had been using a wheelchair for 31 years went up and down a kerb independently for the first time in our training session.

The content and structure of a wheelchair skills session will vary depending on those taking part. The outcomes however will remain the same. Building confidence and gaining independence are the focus in the training sessions which when taken back into daily life can make improvements to mental and physical wellbeing.