Disability Events by Kate Stanforth

Statistics show one in five people have a disability, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I often feel very lonely with mine.  A few years ago, I went to my first disability event and I finally felt like I was surrounded by people, brands, and organisations who just understand.  The good news is that several disability events are coming up over the next month and I’d highly recommend giving them a visit.

Event Calendar

Naidex – Birmingham – 6 & 7^th July 2022.

Motability One Big Day – Exeter – 23^rd July 2022.

Motability One Big Day Harrogate – 13^th August 2022.

Motability One Big Day Scotland – Edinburgh – 17^th September 2022.

North East Mobility Day – Details coming soon.

The Event

The disability events have a wide range of people attending for different reasons, from professionals sharing their expertise at seminars to disabled people going to make friends. It’s a perfect place to meet new people, try new products, conduct essential research for your next wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) and listen to speakers.  It’s usually busy, so bear that in mind when deciding if visiting will suit your health (especially with masks no longer being compulsory) and remember to arm yourself with earplugs and water at a minimum!

How To Prepare

• Meeting friends. Plan and pick a meeting point and time in advance.  It gets busy and it’s really easy to get carried away talking so it’s hard to organise on the day.
• Highlight important stalls and seminars. If you’d like to listen to a certain talk or visit a stand, plan this early on and put it into your schedule.
• Set alarms for medication and breaks. It’s so easy to get carried away and forget medication, lunch, and rest breaks.  Plan the day out and remember it’s a bit of a marathon, so don’t go for the sprint in the morning because you’ll regret it later on!

What To Bring

• A highlighter or pen. The maps can be overwhelming so being able to highlight places or tick off ones you’ve done, is useful!
• Business cards. Whether you go to professionally network or just make friends, these are such an easy way that people can get in touch with you after the event.
• Stickman communication cards. Sometimes things are just overwhelming.  A set I love is ‘I can talk / I can’t talk right now’ which is useful when I’m teaching or just out and about.  Stock up before you go!

See You There!

I (Kate) will be at Naidex this year and Allied Mobility will be exhibiting too.  So please come say hi!  We absolutely love meeting new people and would love to meet you!