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Tips for Travelling with a Disability

 

Now that summer’s arrived, the chances are that your mind may have wandered to the idea of some form of travel, whether that be a foreign holiday, a staycation or simply a day trip. If you or one of your loved ones has a disability, however, planning any kind of trip can seem even more arduous than it is at the best of times. That’s why we’ve put together this brief collection of tips and things to consider to help make your travelling experience as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.

 

Medication & Assistive Equipment

As important as it is anyway, it is absolutely vital when travelling to ensure that you or your loved one have all of the medication that may be required for the duration of your trip. If you’re travelling abroad especially, you are likely to find it difficult to refill prescriptions or otherwise get hold of medication you might have forgotten.

In a similar vein, it is also important to really think about what assistive equipment you might need and to take that with you too. It pays, after all, not to rely on items such as wheelchairs or other assistive equipment being available at your accommodation or at attractions you may visit.  Special Tomato products are great for travelling as they offer special needs seating for any situation. The Special Tomato special needs seating solutions offer support to your child’s sitting experience while sitting in almost any chair making sure your child is comfortable away from home.

 

Check Out Accessibility in Advance

In the same way as some people might call ahead to a hotel to check what facilities they provide, it pays to make a similar call and ask about things like wheelchair access and other accessibility issues. Just a few such phone calls can ensure that you and your whole travelling party will be staying somewhere where you can all be comfortable and get the most out of your trip.

Potential attractions and places to visit, too, can be researched online or over the phone to check out how well they cater for disabled visitors. That means that you will be able to quickly and easily build the perfect trip itinerary.

 

Enquire After the Available Assistance

General disabled access and help for disabled individuals is by no means perfect but it is a lot better today than in years gone by. As such, there are a lot of ways in which locations and organisations will assist you or a loved one if you are travelling with a disability.

Contacting an airport or a train company in advance, for example, and explaining to them your needs can often lead to them providing extra help along your journey. If you want even more of a helping hand, too, there are some specialist travel agents which excel in planning entirely accessible trips and holidays.

 

Don’t Narrow Your Own Horizons

A final and important piece of advice when travelling with a disability is to not simply assume that your options have to be limited. You may find it a pleasant surprise just how many locations and attractions are now accessible and take catering for disabled visitors far more seriously than ever used to be the case. There is no need, therefore, to allow your own fear that certain places may be out of your reach to automatically narrow your horizons.

 

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About Austen

My name is Austen Burns, Digital Marketing Consultant at Moorings Mediquip and I will be uploading blogs and news for you to read. I have a disability called Cerebral Palsy (CP). This affects my movement and co-ordination and as a result use a walking frame or mobility scooter to get around. I have a Degree in Computing & a Masters in Marketing, in my spare time I have always been involved in disability sports, competing in both disability swimming and equestrian at international level. My main focus has been on Equestrian where I am currently on the Irish Para dressage team. Despite having had success internationally I am yet to make a Paralympic team and with Tokyo 2020 coming closer it would be a dream to make this happen. As a consultant for Moorings Mediquip I hope to write fresh online content, information and debate within the disability and health fields, as well as work on many new digital marketing initiatives throughout 2017.