Challenged or Disabled, That is the Question?

The word disabled has so many negative meanings in society. People think because I have a disability, that must define my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure I travel around in an electric wheel chair, and my speech may be hard to under stand, but my thinking process is all there. I want you to know that I’m able to do what ever I want to do. I prefer the word Challenged. We all have our own challenges, of some sort, don’t we? Now that I got that off my chest, I feel so much better, so from here on in it; challenged not disabled….

How do you serve the challenged in your place of business? Please let me give you some statistics directly from the Government, that you may not have thought of before now. According to Employment and Social Development Canada, about 3.8 million Canadians (13.7%) reported having a challenge in 2012. The percentage of people living with a challenge increases with age, with more than one-quarter of the population (26.3%) reporting challenges at 65 years of age. As the Canadian population ages, those numbers will only continue to increase.

Our American friends to the south are in a similar situation with the challenged person, only on a much bigger scale given their population. According to a comprehensive report by the U.S. Census Bureau, about 19 percent of the American population – some 56.7 million people – reported having a challenge in 2010. Based on a broad definition of challenge, more than half of them reported their challenge was severe. As the population ages, this number will only continue to increase.

Let me give you a real life example of what I mean of poor customer service that happened to me. A friend of mine and I went into a pub for a bite to eat. When ever I walk I stagger like I’m drunk, and my speech is slurred from the effects of cerebral palsy. We made our way over to the table where we sat down, so we could talk. The waiter came over to take our order. He asked my friend what would he like, and then without looking at me, he then said what would you’re friend like to eat. I was outraged. It was like I didn’t have any brains in my head. I called this young chap back and told him that I was paying my part of the tab, and he was not getting a tip from me. You know, looking back, this thing could have been handled much better. I should have sat down and explained that the way he handled me was not very good.

There should have been a training program in place to address this very problem.   For the 3 years I have been providing a training package to address this very dilemma, and I’m in the middle of a redesign on my website. So my friends, I would like your input by way of the questions at the bottom.