The importance of human support
UP to now, advocacy on disability rights in Malaysia is mostly focused on accessibility in the built environment and public transportation, education and employment. It cannot be denied these are crucial areas that still need substantial improvement where disabled people are concerned.
On my part, I have written extensively in this column on how removing barriers in the built environment and public transportation can enable and empower disabled people. The ability to access these two facilities allows access to other essential services such as education and healthcare.
However, one area that is often neglected and not emphasised enough in advocacy activities is human support in public spaces. It was only when I was invited to talk about this topic at the seminar in Tokyo that I realised its importance. This is a gap in support for disabled people that is largely unfulfilled in Malaysia. Part of this article is derived from the presentation I made at the seminar on this topic.
Removing barriers in the built environment and public transportation cannot and does not always solve disabilityrelated problems. Disabled people, especially those who are more severely impaired require some form of human support. In Malaysia, where a barrier free society is still a long way off, human support is even more vital in public spaces where the environment is full of obstacles, unfamiliar and constantly changing.
The extent of support from places like shopping malls, hospitals and train stations is usually limited to accessible facilities and the loan of wheelchairs and scooters only. No staff is specifically trained or allocated to provide assistance in any other way to disabled people who consist more than just wheelchair users. Blind people, deaf people and people with intellectual impairments may also need support in some ways.
Not many businesses see the importance of providing human support to customers, believing it is sufficient to make their premises accessible to comply with the law and no more than that. There is a need to impress on them that it makes business sense as more disabled people will patronise them if they provide support in some ways as part of their customer service.
Disabled people who require human support when they are in these places have three options. The first is we have to be physically independent and perform all tasks by ourselves. The second is to depend on parents, siblings, spouse, and for those who can afford it, a foreign domestic helper to help us. The third is to request for assistance from random members of the public.
Take a blind person shopping for groceries in a supermarket for example. The multiple aisles and large varieties of items on the shelves are already intimidating for sighted people. The blind shopper will need some guide to locate the items he needs. Do any supermarkets here have workers who can help the blind customer manoeuvre around the place and complete his shopping?
It is uncommon for disabled people here to request for support from the workers of premises or the public unless absolutely necessary. The common scenarios are that if we need to go out and require support, we will usually go out with a companion. Otherwise, we have to stay at home. This needs to change if we want to be more active participants in society. We have to be more open in requesting for assistance.
Although the Malaysian public is generally helpful, they have little knowledge on how to help disabled people. It is not difficult to provide support to disabled people. The point to bear in mind always is twoway communication and basic understanding on interacting with people with different impairments.
In that sense, the disabled people requesting assistance must understand the kind of support we need and convey this precisely to the persons providing the assistance. Not giving proper instructions may result in injury to both parties and damage to the wheelchair and adaptive equipment we use.
When I sat for the highwaycode test for my driving license, the exam room was on the first floor. There was no elevator. I had no choice but to ask for help from the people nearby to carry me up two flights of stairs and then down again when I completed the test. They willingly helped but I had to instruct them on which part of the wheelchair they could grab and which part would come off. Thanks to these people, I was able to take the test and passed with flying colours.
I must add that once in a while when I am alone outside and look lost, strangers would approach to ask if I needed any help. In those cases, I was usually waiting for my wife to finish her shopping and did not require any help. But it is consoling to know there are still people who are concerned for the well-being of others.
There have been requests to provide training from the general public, who are keen in learning about disability etiquette and how to support disabled people. In view of this, there is a need to develop and streamline training modules to ensure effective delivery and uniformity on correct methods of support. Disability educationists also need to conduct more training for the public so that they are aware of how to provide proper support when necessary. This is an area I am working to develop currently.
The inaccessible environment makes going out difficult but the availability of human support makes it easier. Human support in public spaces is still not the panacea to all disability-related problems. When we know that we can get help should we need it, we tend to want to go out more often. It makes going out less stressful and generally improves our quality of life.