Happy New Year!

It’s that time of year when we can feel a bit blue after seasonal festivities. Let’s flip that. It’s also a great time to hit the proverbial reset button and make a fresh start for the year ahead.

Have you set any goals for 2022? I’m usually not one for setting new year’s resolutions, but this year is different, and in a big way.

Late last year, I resigned from my job and I’d like to share with you why I decided to do it and what I’ve got planned.

Wheelchair skills

I’ve been a using a wheelchair for 15 years and have been lucky enough to do some amazing things (you can read my story here). Everything that I’ve achieved is built on the wheelchair skills that I learned and continue to practise every day while getting on with life.

From better pushing techniques to using public transport, the wheelchair skills I’ve learnt mean I get to live and work as I want to. Sure, there are still obstacles in the way. But now I have the skills to get past them.

Wheelchair skills are a foundation on which people can build the confidence to explore other aspects of their identity. But while it’s so important, it’s not offered as standard to everyone who uses a wheelchair.

I’ve been teaching wheelchair skills since 2008, and I’m continuously amazed by what people can achieve in short training sessions. Only last month when teaching a wheelchair skills training session, I saw a woman drop off a kerb independently for the first time – after 31 years of using a wheelchair!

Big ambitions

Last year I set up The Wheelchair Skills College, a Community Interest Company with the vision of ensuring that every wheelchair user – all ages, all wheelchair types, all abilities - has the opportunity to learn skills that will make a difference in their life.

It’s an ambitious goal, but I know that if this doesn’t start now, then in 5 or 10 years time nothing will have changed, and we’ll be in the same situation of people not getting these vital wheelchair skills.

In the last 6 months I’ve been delivering training sessions in partnership with Camden and Islington Wheelchair Services. You can read more about our fantastic sessions here .

Get involved!

As we move to 2022, I’ll be using my 15 years’ experience of using a wheelchair, 13 years of teaching wheelchair skills and 10 years of working in third sector programme development to take wheelchair skills to more people.

How can you get involved? Drop me a message on our contact form!

If you’re a wheelchair user, or have a friend or family member who uses a wheelchair, let us know if you have any questions about wheelchair skills or how much of a difference they’ve made to you.

If you’re a healthcare professional, community organisation or charity, it would be great to talk about how we can deliver wheelchair skills sessions.

The best way to keep up to date with what we’re doing at The Wheelchair Skills College is to follow our social media channels here .