MOTIVATIONAL speaker and author Sarah Griffiths who is known to many as ‘Wheelie Momma’ through her popular blogs and social platforms has called for reasonable adjustments to be made for those living with a disability after securing tickets to see superstar Gareth Brooks proved to be more challenging than she had anticipated.
Now, the mum-of-three and MBE recipient who was born with cerebral palsy is taking a stand against disability discrimination as she believes that “everybody” deserves the same quality of life.
Like many others back in November, Sarah jumped on to secure tickets for country legend Gareth Brooks, however her hopes were initially met with disappointment after the button used to purchase wheelchair accessible tickets had frozen.
After numerous failed attempts, Sarah contacted Ticketmaster who eventually rectified the situation but the ordeal in itself made a lasting impression on Sarah who believes that society as a whole should “do better.”
“There seems to be this sort of unspoken opinion in society where as long as your very basic needs are met as a disabled person then you should be grateful but this should not be the case,” Sarah told the Herald.
“In relation to not being able to purchase the tickets for so long, I was so frustrated because I thought to myself this could be so easily fixed.
“I’m not looking to transform the whole thing, I’m talking about simple planning and having a simple procedures in place.”
While Sarah admits that “most people” with a disability like herself are blessed with a good sense of humour and can very often pass things off quickly, she wants to be voice for those who aren’t as resilient.
“Even though I put up a fight and contacted Ticketmaster, the fact of the matter is how many other thousands of people were there in a similar situation to me that just gave up.”
Sarah continued, “Now being a mother of three, I want my kids to have amazing experiences and I don’t want to be sitting in the house or left on the sidelines while someone else gives them those experiences.
“I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone now so I can fully participate in my children’s lives, to give them the best childhood and life experiences as I can which I know means having these conversations.
“I’m trying to see it through their eyes, I don’t want them to feel like they have to opt out of things or miss out on experiences just because of mummy.
“I have to show them that everybody deserves to have a great quality of life. Whether that’s going to a concert, restaurant or whatever it is and that it shouldn’t be up to someone else what quality of life is enough for me, I should have the option to choose that for myself.”
The Enniskillen blogger also opened up about the financial restraints that business owners are putting on themselves as a result of being ignorant to the needs of disabled people.”
She said, “More than 1 in 5 UK consumers have a disability, while 73% of potential disabled customers experience barriers on more than a quarter of websites they visit and 75% of disabled people and their families have walked away from a UK business because of poor accessibilty or customer service.
“There is endless research out there which shows how various sectors lose money each month by not being accessible and the current financial strain that businesses are under due to Covid suggests that this is not the time to be turning people or profit away.
“This is why I really want to start this conversation, I want to speak to the business owners, web designers and all the big players who are making these processes and to make them see that it actually doesn’t take as much planning as they might think to make things accessible. It’s the tiny wee changes that could make the world of difference and that’s my mission going forward.”
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
