The Paralympic Games in Vancouver will have a lasting impact on the way Canadians view people with disabilities, according to B.C. Paraplegic Association.
BCPA executive director Melanie Crombie says that while Vancouver ranks as one of the most accessible cities in the world from an infrastructure point of view, social inclusion hasn’t reached the same level.
“Inclusion is really an issue, and not just for people with spinal chord injuries,” said Crombie. “I was at the [2010 Accessibility Showcase] and a lot of people were talking about it, all kinds of groups.”
Many BCPA members have had difficult experiences that prove a gap still exists between full social acceptance of people with disabilities and reality.
There are great challenges when it comes to job hunting and even shopping can sometimes be an alienating experience.
“The store may be wheelchair accessible but the way racks are laid out make it difficult to wheel around,” Crombie said. “Trying on clothes becomes complicated because staff may not know how to deal with someone in a wheelchair.”
Michelle Gentis knows the struggle for inclusion better than most.
Her eight-year-old son, Josh, has significant neurological motor deficits from an undiagnosed brain disorder and Gentis is always on a mission to make him feel accepted.
The pair recently ran with the Paralympic torch together and was cheered on by friends, classmates and family.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said. “I was honoured to be a Paralympic Coca-Cola torchbearer being a single mom with a severely disabled child. It takes a heroic effort [for families] just to function; it’s on an Olympic effort daily.”
While society has come a long way, Gentis admits she’s shocked at times to see how insensitive the world can be.
“Josh was excluded from his school’s Christmas concert. I actually had to go advocate for him,” she said. “I still have to fight these battles. As he gets older there are different issues, but the hardest issue for me is inclusion.”
Gentis hopes that the attention on the Paralympic Games can usher in a “quantum leap forward.” Crombie says she’s already seen a subtle shift.
“There were 60,000 people at the [Paralympic] opening ceremony and it looked like most of the people there were able-bodied,” she said. “Those people were really exciting and inspired. They were seeing the abilities of the athletes rather than the disability. It’s created a greater awareness on all levels.”
According to Statistics Canada, more than 15 per cent of the population claims to have a disability.
One of the International Paralympic Committee’s goals is to have the Paralympics be a “catalyst for change” through sport and human spirit.
