In the traditional sense, most family members with temporary or physical limitations would be forced to stay home during a trip. However, with proper arrangements, there is no reason why a family member would be forced to remain at home while the rest of the family is going out for a trip.
Below are some of the important things you should remember when traveling with someone who is physically disabled.
Arrange Accessible Accommodation
Have you ever gone shopping in the supermarket with a physically disabled person and realized that the building doesn’t have a ramp? What did you do? Did you return home? How did you feel afterward? Now, if you are planning for a trip, it’s really important to check every box to ensure that wherever you have booked can be easily accessed.
To ensure this, consider what you use at home. For instance, you might have a shower at home with a shower bench. While booking hotels, ensure that the hotel you have booked has that. Sometimes, hotels are labeled as fully accessible though many people do not understand what that really means. This may lead to missing one step, making it difficult for a person with a wheelchair to access.
Know Your Rights
Before traveling with a physically disabled person, please familiarize yourself with their rights. You cannot assume that every staff member is aware of the laws and rights governing traveling agencies. In case of traveling by air, ensure that you review the air access carrier act for rights on airlines. You can also look for disability lawyers to brief you with such rights.
Moreover, understand the laws of where you are going. You can be surprised that laws governing air travel in your country may be different from those governing traveling in another country. These discrepancies may cause havoc to your trip as you may fail to secure things that you already had planned for.
Make Sure Travel Insurance Includes Medical
There have been instances in the past where some insured people weren’t aware that some insurance companies cover only financial losses. Moreover, some insurance does not cover medical covers for overseas travels. As such, while making travel arrangements, a person must choose an insurance cover that includes medical evacuation. This would really be helpful in case of emergency.
Ask for Assistance
Whenever traveling with a disabled person, be it on bus stations, trains, or even airports, you should alert the staff so that they can assist you whenever necessary. This can help you clear with the security faster.
Since several traveling agencies have different security clearance procedures, ensure that you are familiar with the security clearance procedures for the agencies you are using. If properly followed, agents may readily be available to help you carry the luggage to the train. Even so, the staff must be made aware of your traveling issues since the person you are traveling with might not be present at all times.
Plan Meals and Snacks in Advance
Meals are of prime importance when traveling with a physically disabled person. For instance, if the person has diabetes, it’s recommended that meals and snacks rich in fiber and protein be considered. Moreover, some of these items can easily be found at the terminals.
Also, while eating, beware of the portion you take. You should ensure that the meals chosen offer a balance in protein. In planned trips, request the traveling agency give a special diet to the person with special needs. In some instances, it has been reported that some physically disabled people consumed meals without fiber. This really affected them along the journey, forcing them to stop over at unplanned places. This becomes a hassle. If, for instance, a wheelchair was used at the terminal, it would not be easy to access a wheelchair along the intermediary stopovers.
It’s really enjoyable to travel together, be it with friends, family or even business associates. This can only be achieved with proper planning. Looking at our needs, if we are, to be honest, not all of us are the same. Let’s all remember to check all these before traveling so that together we can ignite memories.
