Five-Star Disability

Hey folks!

How do you get in your car?

You probably open the door, then swing your leg in, plop your butt down on the seat, then swing the other leg in.  You might even close the door…

Simple!  Right!

For those with low vision, blind, partially sighted, Deaf-Blind, how do they get in a car?  It is just as simple!  Here is what you need to do, step by step!

• Guide the person to the car door, open it.
• Next, take the person’s hand and place it on the top corner of the door frame.
• Then, walk around to the drivers side and get in.

That is all!  You not need to stand there and make sure he or she gets in alright.  Please don’t gawk and/or help.  The person will get in the car by feeling the door handle and lower themselves in.  They will probably, especially those who are Deaf-Blind who cannot see or hear if you are standing close by, slam the door shut on your hands while you are reaching in to help give with the seat belt.

Another tip: Please don’t help them put on the seat belt.  He or she may be older than you, give them their dignity!

The moral of this blog is: people with vision loss have not just fallen out of the sky with no idea how to get in a vehicle!   And they can put on their own seat belt just fine!

I want to close this blog with a funny memory from my childhood about getting in and out of cars.  Now, I was born in 1968, and the seat belt law in my province started in 1977.  This memory is from my Dad’s 196 Beetle.  That was a fun car!  But what was more fun, there was no backseat!  Dad ripped them out and put carpet on the floor.  My brother and I would roll around while my Dad fishtailed around corners and my Mum yelled at him to slow down!  Weee!

Hold on, how is that memory connected to getting in a car?  I was probably close to 4, with unclear thinking processes: I pictured Mommy getting in the car and closing the door, she left her legs outside.  Even at 4ish, I dismissed this notion with after we arrived and saw my mum legs attached.  Interesting illogic!

In my next blog I will elaborate about this unclear thinking process!

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