Sure, he can't drive... but he can't walk into the shops, either.
He can't even climb out of the car by himself.
We know the parking permit will make shopping a lot easier.
For one thing, the parking spaces are a little wider, which helps us lift and move Dexter from his car seat.
Dexter's a tall boy. He's getting bigger and he's getting heavier. He isn't fat, but he's difficult to carry and move. His cerebral palsy prevents him from clinging to you, holding on as you move him. His sister is easy - wrap an arm around her and move in any direction you please. Drag her from her seat, and she will cling on like a baby orangutan, shifting to the best position.
Dexter doesn't do that. Dexter can't use his legs to cling to you. He has difficulty using his arms to hold on, though we have been teaching him and he is getting much better. He sometimes throws his head back in a dystonic movement, and we need to be ready for that. He's tall enough that we can rest our head against his, to prevent sudden movements, but... we have to think about the way we carry him. Currently, Dexter is using an ordinary pram. We see them everywhere. Dexter's has been modified, to provide him with the additional support he needs. |
Here's our worry... We park. We lift and carry Dexter from the car, and place him in his pram. We shop. And, we return to find a note left on our car... a hate letter.... a letter questioning our right to have a disabled parking permit. That sounds ridiculous, but it's already happened to a lady in Melbourne. Her son was four when the note was left. Her son was carried from the car and placed in his modified pram, too. She went shopping and returned to find a hate letter. We're expecting to find one, one day. |
If so, he grew up in a time when people with disabilities were rarely considered. Someone like Dexter, with cerebral palsy and no voice, would have been easily dismissed. Cripple was a word used without thought... but with no respect or care.
It's 2014, a good time to have cerebral palsy, but still Dexter has to suffer the remnants of these old beliefs.
Cripple.... Retard... Gimp... associations with the word Spastic.
We jump up and down about bullying and name calling, so... for Dexter, we'll jump up and down about the words being used to describe him...
(We prefer cheeky and determined, just so you know!)
And the last line of the letter...
"Have your rego" Is that a threat?
So what? The car was legally parked, because the car had an attached disabled parking permit. And the permit? Those things are not easy to get.
And, we're worried. We're worried for the day when someone writes a thoughtless, stupid note and leaves it on our windscreen.
If we can raise enough awareness of cerebral palsy, we might never find one of those notes.
Dexter's CP Classification
It's a Good Time to have CP
My Sister knows I have Cerebral palsy
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