3 stand out reflections of 2022

It’s getting to that time of year when things start to wind down. It’s getting darker earlier, uncomfortably so at this point and we start making plans for the festive period.

Even as I’m writing the first sentence of this blog, I see that I’m looking at the here and now then what is about to come up. Ironic really, when what I planned on writing about was the importance of reflecting on how far we’ve come and making time to do that.

How often do you stop to reflect on just how far you’ve come? If you’re like me, as I’ve done at the start of this blog, then you might not dedicate enough time to it. It’s so easy to get stuck into the everyday hustle and lose sight of the journey we’ve been on.

I’m always focused on the end goal and the next step in getting there, but actually this year has been very eventful and had a big learning curve for me as a start-up.

That’s why when I was listed as a finalist for the Bates Wells Stephen Lloyd Awards for social innovation, it made me stop and reflect on the last 10 months since working full time at The Wheelchair Skills College.

It’s feels nothing short of amazing to be recognised like this so early on in my venture after setting up as The Wheelchair Skills College.

But what are the things that really stand out for me when I look back at the year? Well, here are 3 things that top my list.

1 - Not knowing what to do is okay

I started off with a huge goal. It’s ambitious to try and reach every single one of the 1.2 million wheelchair users in the UK, but I believe that it’s a fundamental human right to get these skills that can give so much independence and are nothing short of life changing. That’s talking from personal experience.

The real question that I had to answer was how I reach everyone. After piloting some sessions with wheelchair services, I found that while it made sense to get the training when you get your wheelchair, it wasn’t going to be the quick solution I had hoped for.

So where to go from there?

My focus is all about removing barriers to getting wheelchair skills. Instead of getting people to come to wheelchair skills I moved forward with the notion of taking wheelchair skills to people.

I reached out to community groups, DDPOs (Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations), charities, sports clubs, schools, colleges, universities, GPs, hospitals and other parts of the NHS. Basically, any touch points in a wheelchair users’ life.

While I don’t have the answer yet, what I do have are some clear pathways that I’ll be focusing on in the next year or two. More importantly, scoping out what could work has made me ask some important questions around what is needed and how it’s not what I originally thought.

2 - Speak up, speak out

I know I have an important message that I want to share in the importance of wheelchair skills. I want to tell people about the changes they could make and share what a difference it made to my life.

Digital communication is my comfort zone. So starting out that’s what I did. I set up my website, social channels and newsletter (you can see them all on my Linktree here). That wasn’t going to be enough though.

I took a step out of my comfort zone and started talking more in real life situations. Sometimes it was through presentations in meetings, sometimes it was networking. Then there was the big one. The TEDx talk.

Most other introverts will understand what I mean about the feeling of not being the loudest person in the room, or maybe not even getting the chance to speak in meetings. So the thought of public speaking was a big step and something that I’ve not done before.

Doing the TEDx was one of the best experiences of the year. Not just being on stage at the event, but the preparation before and how useful it’s been since in connecting with other people. You can read more about my thoughts on the TEDx talk in a previous blog here.

3- Independence is unique

At the Stephen Lloyd Awards evening, there was an opportunity to pitch ideas to groups of people and then for them to ask questions about your project. This is probably my favourite thing.

I can talk all day about wheelchair skills. But when people ask questions, it gives them something they want to know and makes me think.

One question that I really liked at the event was “I have a friend who is a wheelchair user, but he’s not got full function in his arms like you. Would you be able to support him?”.

I couldn’t have written a better question myself.

Whenever I talk about who wheelchair skills are for, I always make it clear that every wheelchair user can gain something. Whatever age, ability level, type of wheelchair being used, ambulant or full-time user, temporary or permanent.

Everyone can learn something.

I like to dispel the idea that wheelchair skills are for active users. That is an unhelpful narrative. Personally, I use wheelchair skills to something of an extreme level on escalators and stairs, because that’s what I need to get around. If someone needs to learn how to carry their coffee at home, how to open a door or how to push in order to get to the shop easier then that’s what independence looks like for them.

Throughout this year, I’ve seen such a range of people with different abilities and them taking different skills away from training sessions that they will find most useful. The skills might be different, but the outcomes are always the same. Building confidence and gaining independence.

And the winner is

The awards evening was a fantastic event at the Bates Wells offices in the City of London and full of amazing opportunities to listen to others’ stories and network. The awards went to three extremely well deserving organisations in Real Ice, R;pple Suicide and The Vavengers.

While I didn’t win the prize on the evening, what I’ve got by reaching the finals means a lot, making some incredible connections that pave the way for exciting opportunities in 2023.