My name is Grace Wolstenholme I am a life style blogger raising awareness for a physical disability called Cerebral Palsy.

 

Now that Covid has eased I have started going out to more places such as shopping centers, well known event venues and just places in general like cafes/restaurants etc.

 

I have unfortunately had quite a few unpleasant experiences with non disabled people using the disabled toilet even though it is a radar key locked toilet because people are able to buy these special keys of online shops such as EBay, Amazon and even Argos without needing to provide evidence that they have got a hidden disability or a physical disability which is in my opinion extremely disgusting because for us disabled “differently abled” people we do not have a choice weather or not we’d like to use the normal toilet or the disabled toilet because in personal experience wheelchair users can not just pop into a small cubicle just to do a wee because we can’t fit in there,  I have noticed that some venues have a larger cubicle in at the end for disabled “differently abled” people to use which if I’m having a good day I always prefer to use this toilet in case someone who needs the disabled toilet more than me because I can just leave my wheelchair right outside the cubicle and me and whoever I am with can both fit in with ease.

it has come to my attention that the minority of able bodied people that use the disabled toilet is because they need a poo which is absolutely unacceptable because not only they take forever in there whilst there is a wheelchair user waiting to use the toilet just for a wee after they have finished their poo they leave the toilet in such an state I do not want to use it and I have to go to find another toilet whilst needing a wee.

 

There are other disabled toilets which are so amazing and brilliant for us wheelchair users which is called Changing Places with these toilets make wheelchair users lives just that bit easier because they are so big which means it’s excellent for wheelchair users to position themselves to get easy access to get to and from the toilet from their wheelchair there is also a hoist with tracking and if you need a hoist you know how much a toilet with tracking means to us wheelchair users because normal disabled toilet have standard adaptations which not all people can use because they need hoisting and to go with the hoist there is a changing bed big enough for an adult to lay on which the hoist reaches to freshen up which has a shower to the side to help you do so then when your finished getting freshened up there is a sink that goes up and down so wheelchair users can adjust the sink to the perfect level to wash our hands.

 

parents of babies/children use the disabled toilet as well which I can totally understand because you don’t want to leave them outside because it is so dangerous these days that parents can’t just pop into the toilet and leave their child outside.

 

at some shopping centers such as Westfield in Stratford I definitely know they have parent and child toilets on every floor so it is the same size as a disabled toilet just without adaptions that disabled people need to be able to access the toilet which is just through some big automatic sliding doors with some characters on and through those doors there is a huge area to change your child and even a breastfeeding area in the room and as mentioned there is a big toilet for parents to go to the toilet and be able to take their little one in with ease there is even small lower toilets right next to the standard size toilet for little ones to use in this toilet which I find fantastic that you and your little one can sit on the toilet at the same time to also make your toilet stop even quicker.

 

So please everyone let’s make this well needed change in society to just make going to the toilet for disabled people just that much easier and more pleasant because seeing non disabled people using the disabled toilet has really messed with my mental health.

 

SO PEOPLE IF YOU ARE WITH ME LETS MAKE THIS CHANGE HAPPEN TOGETHER!!!!!

This is a link to see how amazing changing places are and how they make wheelchair users lives that bit easier

Here’s a link for my Instagram to find out more about how disabilities effects people

Here’s a link for my tiktok to find out more about how disabilities effects people and to find out more about my goal