Nobody wants a disability \u2013 until it gets you free travel, better parking spots, or freedom from queuing. <\/p>\n
I will admit, these are definitely perks \u2013 but do they make up for not being able to see the sun? Not really.<\/p>\n
Did you know that there are many accessibility hacks which have made their way into the mainstream world for us all to enjoy, regardless of whether a person has a disability?<\/p>\n
The electric toothbrush, for example, is something many of us use several times a day and is often recommended by dentists. In 1954, Dr Philippe-Guy Woog developed the first electric toothbrush to help those with limited mobility to brush their teeth more efficiently \u2013 and the rest is history.<\/p>\n
We all have a complex about needing to be \u201cgood\u201d, and never wanting to appear as less able. Disabled people have this complex too, only it is far more severe because we are always on the back foot. If it was common knowledge that so many efficiency hacks and tools used today were originally created for people with disabilities, I wonder would they be as popular, or would they be seen as something that was only needed by the less capable.<\/p>\n
Say you are an able-bodied person with a very heavy, very big suitcase, standing at the bottom of a staircase. You stand there coming up with a survival plan to make it up these stairs in one piece when you hear a lift open. You follow the man in the wheelchair as he enters the lift and make it to your floor easily, with no muscle damage. In this moment, without realising it, you benefited from the same thing as the disabled person \u2013 in fact, you followed them.<\/p>\n
Society has taught us to believe that the disabled person must follow the able-bodied, that the latter have all the answers: when the playing field is levelled and we both need the same thing \u2013 and only then \u2013 will the leader position be given to disabled people. <\/p>\n
A few days later, when you are making your way to the airport with your suitcase, you begin to notice the kerb cuts, and more importantly, you notice when they are not there: you wonder how wheelchair users navigate the world when kerb cuts are not in place. At the airport, you squint to read the screen to find out your gate information, wishing it would be made bigger and clearer; you find the nearest lift and make your way to the gate \u2013 you get there quickly because your suitcase has been checked in. <\/p>\n
[\u00a0Hugh Linehan: My right eye is now failing too. The world is slipping away, just a little, just enough to noticeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n I often refer to myself as a professional blind person: I have held this position for 26 years, and have learned so much along the way from \u201ccolleagues\u201d (fellow blind people). One thing, for instance, that never fails to amaze people who can see is that I can cook \u2013 and even enjoy it sometimes.<\/p>\n Understandably, the idea of a blind person using a knife is not appealing, I get that. But let\u2019s be real \u2013 it\u2019s not like I\u2019m operating at great speed here: my carrots are chopped with great care and over a long period of time. The biggest issue, for me, when it comes to cooking, is the temperature. Luckily, I am not the first blind person to cook, and a \u201ccolleague\u201d has created something to combat this issue.<\/p>\n In 1922, Swedish Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dr Gustaf Dalen created the first Aga cooker. Now often associated with the upper class, the Aga was originally created to take the stress and fuss out of cooking for blind people. Dr Dalen had been blinded in a terrible accident, and during his recovery, realised the hassle that is temperature control with no eyes.<\/p>\n