Special Assistance

[robmoriarty]

Exactly. I'll give you another example - not exclusive to SM. I’ve had a massive bee in my bonnet recently about universities and fire evacuation procedures for those with disability or accessibility needs.

Staying at the Olympia Hilton immediately next door, last week was the first time in 20 years I have ever been given an "accessibility pack" when checking in. It had information about everything: parking, entrances, rooms, lifts, flooring types, slopes, loops, the restaurant.

Most importantly it simply and concisely stated what would happen in the event of a fire or a drill. Even though I was on the 4th floor, it reassured me they knew what they were doing. I've stayed at other hotels where not only have they not known what the procedure was to get someone in a very big electric wheelchair down to the ground floor in an emergency, but they've never even taken the evacuation chair out of its wrapping to test it/practice at any point.

I've got to the point now with the local university where I now refuse to involve myself in any work until they have such a document to provide and a practiced procedure in place that can be shared, unless a ground floor room can be used.

It's the 21st century ffs, not medieval times!

</here endeth the rant>

Edited July 30, 2018 by robmoriarty

[EllaBlair]

@robmoriarty that pack sounds amazing I have never been given anything like that at a hotel. The best I've seen is actually my work who on my first day had their health and safety person come visit me. She immediately set me up with with an evacuation plan that involved me having two buddies and a closer place to the building for the fire meeting point. She also gave me a special pass to enter the building without going up any stairs and gave me access to the underground car park.  Absolutely wonderful. I do work for a large international company though and I'm sure they have been put under lots of pressure to be disability friendly but it made me feel great and really welcome within the company.

[Ravogd]

We were going to stay at that hotel @robmoriarty but me being the doofus I am had too many windows open all at once when looking at hotels and I thought i was booking there and ended up booking the Double Tree at Hilton in Kensington about 15 minutes away by car. Kicking myself even more now you’ve said that and next year I’ll make sure I get us in there. Our hotel had nothing like that and really narrow corridors and a similar sized lift as the one in the Olympia so no idea what we’d have done in a fire. it was never even mentioned!

I was hoping to say hi to you this time as I have seen you in a few queues at other events but our fandoms obviously never crossed over this time. I’ll be sure to say hi when we meet in the extra help Queue for DST.

[_ItsWilliam_]

I can't thank all the Showmasters staff and crew enough for all the help that was given when needed, I nor my Mum have a visible disability at first glance yet everyone from the staff to the people in the queue with myself was not questioning anything or treating me any differently (which is something you face and worry about A LOT when you have an invisible disability) and were quick to help us in any way when it was needed.
It's sad to hear that this wasn't the same outcome for everybody else, however I'm glad it's being noted and looked into so it doesn't repeat itself for future events.

I sound like a broken record but thank you again for all the help offered, had it not been given it could have been a really bad day (which was my biggest worry) but I'm so glad that wasn't the case and look forward to the more LFCC's to come <3 

Edited July 30, 2018 by _ItsWilliam_

[Ravogd]

4 minutes ago, _ItsWilliam_ said:

I can't thank all the Showmasters staff and crew enough for all the help that was given when needed, I nor my Mum have a visible disability at first glance yet everyone from the staff to the people in the queue with myself was not questioning anything or treating me any differently (which is something you face and worry about A LOT when you have an invisible disability) and were quick to help us in any way when it was needed.
It's sad to hear that this wasn't the same outcome for everybody else, however I'm glad it's being noted and looked into so it doesn't repeat itself for future events.

I sound like a broken record but thank you again for all the help offered, had it not been given it could have been a really bad day (which was my biggest worry) but I'm so glad that wasn't the case and look forward to the more LFCC's to come <3 

So glad you enjoyed it after your scare on Saturday when you forgot your letter. Good to hear you had no problems with the extra help. Did you get to do everything you wanted over the weekend?

[_ItsWilliam_]

1 minute ago, Ravogd said:

So glad you enjoyed it after your scare on Saturday when you forgot your letter. Good to hear you had no problems with the extra help. Did you get to do everything you wanted over the weekend?

As am I! The woman at the Extra Helpdesk couldn't have been more helpful when I told her my situation, the first thing she did was assure me that everything is fine and I'm not the only one who's been in this situation and I thankfully had something else that was enough proof in support for the wristband.
I did! Every worry I had over my three-way clash as well as being claustrophobic/struggling to walk etc was all out the window because if I ever needed a seat or anything, the staff were quick to offer me there's for as long as need be. 

The only negative thing I'd say is there should be a lot more seats jotted around the venue, possibly maybe even a section of it just for tables and chairs etc for the people with the Extra help wristbands because any other seats were taken (which was perfectly fine of course, just a bit of a struggle walking from one end of the hall to the other just to sit down)

 

[Dreamsphere]

Can i just pitch in and say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Showmasters for ridding me of my fear from last years mishap,because this year the crew went above and beyond in helping me and my friend who was my carer. from the moment i entered to the moment i left every single need was cared for. i even screwed up during the line for meatloaf talk and lined up in the wrong one but the lady in charge saw my band and waved me in rather then have me go back out and line up in the correct line. the crew at the green screen photo area's were lovely too.

Literally the only downside was from OTHER con attendee's. i heard, more then once, people complaining that we were being left in ahead of them. one lady said she was in line for over half an hour so why couldn't we do the same and was trying to push in ahead of the extra help people at the talk area being pretty put out about us getting in ahead of her. trust me, if i could line up like a "normal" person, i would. i would gladly do it wholehearted because it meant i didn't have a disability that caused me terrible pain that then brought on terrible anxiety. 

All in all, thank you showmasters, your rock!

[CosmicAvatar]

1 hour ago, robmoriarty said:

Quote for those who cannot see it: "Able bodied people like to think that everything that could be done to make life easier and convenient for disabled people has been done, but when you find yourself in that position, you realise it really, really hasn’t."

Oh, yes.  I have a few friends with disabilities, some of which are visible, some of which are not.  One is a US friend with fibromyalgia.  She loves me showing her around London when she comes to visit, but gets so exhausted she has to use a wheelchair a lot these days, and it really is an eye-opener seeing how far you can (or rather, can't) get with one.  It is gradually getting better, mind, but there's a way to go.

Edited July 30, 2018 by CosmicAvatar

[Ravogd]

1 hour ago, Dreamsphere said:

Can i just pitch in and say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Showmasters for ridding me of my fear from last years mishap,because this year the crew went above and beyond in helping me and my friend who was my carer. from the moment i entered to the moment i left every single need was cared for. i even screwed up during the line for meatloaf talk and lined up in the wrong one but the lady in charge saw my band and waved me in rather then have me go back out and line up in the correct line. the crew at the green screen photo area's were lovely too.

Literally the only downside was from OTHER con attendee's. i heard, more then once, people complaining that we were being left in ahead of them. one lady said she was in line for over half an hour so why couldn't we do the same and was trying to push in ahead of the extra help people at the talk area being pretty put out about us getting in ahead of her. trust me, if i could line up like a "normal" person, i would. i would gladly do it wholehearted because it meant i didn't have a disability that caused me terrible pain that then brought on terrible anxiety. 

All in all, thank you showmasters, your rock!

Totally agree. We had a few people complaining about “queue jumping.” Three people who we were put in front of on Saturday in Lance Hendrickson’s Q started complaining to the blue shirt about how long they’d waited and talking about us as if we weren’t there. It then got worse when they decided to cap the line as he was off to a shoot and they selected us as the last people, they went nuts then and even though they’d been pretty horrible we actually defended them and asked the blue shirt to cut the line after them but he wouldn’t and again I don’t know why we bothered as they didn’t acknowledge us or even make eye contact. Then there was the guy that leant on Lyndsey’s wheelchair handle in the Meatloaf Q as if it was there for his benefit. Society really does still have a long way to go.

Edited July 30, 2018 by Ravogd
Usual rubbish spelling

[Tyzer]

It was my first time at LFCC and I went with my wife as my carer. I have mild Cerebral Palsy and walking does take it out on me, the LFCC crew members were fantastic, allowing me to go near to the front of the queues for photoshoots which helped immensely as my feet were killing me towards the end.

If I had one suggestion, it'd be for more chairs dotted around Olympia as if I had sat on the blue mat I wouldn't have gotten up again  

 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Tyzer

[unkown error]

Having us on the name list saved a lot of time and hassle, as always the crew members were great. I did have one problem however and that was trying to get an autograph for Sam Neill, I was given a VT ticket and I knew Sam was going to be busy but I could not stay in that queue any longer as I was getting claustrophobic with people walking in and out of the queue and while being in a wheelchair it feels like everyone is standing on top of you. I was surprised they didn't put me near the front of the queue and yes I did try several times. This is the main reason why I stick to photoshoots as I know I'm guaranteed to enter first in line. Once again I've never come across a problem with the staff though I do agree they should have extra seats dotted around for people to sit on while they wait.

[Glitchypink]

I have a question if it's ok to ask? I saw a really beautiful assistance dog over the weekend and I'm curious to know what breed it was? I want to say husky as I have one at home (a 12 year old boy husky) but the face was quite pointy compared to my boy. Obviously I know never to disturb a dog when it's working so I didn't go over to ask. I work in an animal home so my attention is always drawn to dogs. I hope it is ok to ask on here! :) 

[timelordthete]

This was my first LFCC and my first experience of photoshoots with extra help. I'm unable to stand and queue for a long time (I spent a lot of the time sat chilling on the floor on Sunday) and I wanted to give thanks. Without the extra help bands, the entire day would've been a more painful experience for me. I was suffering pretty badly when I left, but it would've been worse if I'd had to queue for ages for photoshoots. I'm so grateful that the support for extra help was there. :>

[Ravogd]

4 hours ago, unkown error said:

Having us on the name list saved a lot of time and hassle, as always the crew members were great. I did have one problem however and that was trying to get an autograph for Sam Neill, I was given a VT ticket and I knew Sam was going to be busy but I could not stay in that queue any longer as I was getting claustrophobic with people walking in and out of the queue and while being in a wheelchair it feels like everyone is standing on top of you. I was surprised they didn't put me near the front of the queue and yes I did try several times. This is the main reason why I stick to photoshoots as I know I'm guaranteed to enter first in line. Once again I've never come across a problem with the staff though I do agree they should have extra seats dotted around for people to sit on while they wait.

If you had an extra help band you should have been fast tracked to at least the sales desk once Sam’s Diamonds were done. That should have minimised the wait to just a few people in front of you. The trouble is too many blue shirts did not understand the procedure. For future reference, if you are being forced to wait grab a red shirt. They will know the correct procedure and should take you right up to the sales desk. Thankfully we only had to do that once all weekend but it does work.

[unkown error]

1 hour ago, Ravogd said:

If you had an extra help band you should have been fast tracked to at least the sales desk once Sam’s Diamonds were done. That should have minimised the wait to just a few people in front of you. The trouble is too many blue shirts did not understand the procedure. For future reference, if you are being forced to wait grab a red shirt. They will know the correct procedure and should take you right up to the sales desk. Thankfully we only had to do that once all weekend but it does work.

I know but there were no red shirts to be seen at any time.

[Ravogd]

14 minutes ago, unkown error said:

I know but there were no red shirts to be seen at any time.

If that’s the case grab a blue shirt and demand to speak to a red shirt. They can get hold of them and they will know the procedure (99 times out of 100).  It’s always worth persisting.