HAVING begun life in the mainstream, I have every intention of staying there. Being good enough for mainstream events, venues and activities once upon a time means that, quite simply, I am good enough for them now.

But now, having developed a disability, it seems that some people - from individuals to institutions - act as if this is no longer the case. This is, at best, irksome, at worst, insulting. This is also precisely where this column comes in.

Realising that through indifference, ignorance, or thoughtlessness, many in the world conspire to turn conditions or impairments into disabilities, it became clear it was time to bring this debate into a mainstream publication, and this column is designed to go some way towards widening the debate about disability.

The range of disabilities is huge, reactions to them equally varied and idiosyncratic. We needed to put a human face on this, so The Northern Echo has given me a platform - individual with a particular condition - on which to chronicle publicly my attempts made to get out and about. All this while remaining as normal a family man as society would allow.

Access All Areas is not an attempt to be a definitive guide to access in the North-East. Nor is it an overview of all disabilities. It is a genuine attempt to put disability issues on the map and to instigate dialogue on a wide range of disability issues in a regional daily newspaper.

As Mahatma Ghandi once said: "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

These features have been running for a year now and I have tried to focus on some changes I would like to see - particularly in areas of access - but it also seems a good idea to flag up examples of what I perceive as good practice generally.

Steady feedback over this period has yielded much useful information. This has taken many forms such as meetings with institutions and individuals featured who wish to take matters further; with councils who have had things brought to their attention and with clubs and societies who are asking for help and advice on how to change things themselves. In this sense, then, we are going some modest way towards being the change that we want to see.

It is the mix of me raising issues and readers' feedback - in whatever way they feel is most relevant - that will help open up the whole debate of access. Readers are encouraged to see the features as the opening of a door to debate on a particular subject; a pointer to additional information on a subject and not as Phil Donegan's equivalent of the Egon Ronay guide to disabled access.

Looking back over the year, there have been many useful contacts made and some modest achievements. Readers have written requesting investigations into subjects as diverse as the condition of pavements in their local town to difficulties gaining access to a female toilet in a Working Men's Club. Local authorities, including Durham City and Darlington Borough councils, have responded to features by providing additional information or inviting me to discuss issues that were raised. Specialist groups for people with disabilities have written to give information about forthcoming activities - perhaps there is scope here for a Notice Board in the future? - their philosophies and reasons for setting up in the first place. There is often a very welcome invitation to meet and have a coffee.

Such groups in the recent past have included Newton Aycliffe Activity Club, Durham Area Disability Leisure Group, Bede Day Centre - Barnard Castle and, only very recently, Wear Valley Disability Access Forum to tell me of their forthcoming Disability Awareness Day at Bishop Auckland College on the April 25. Norton Sports Centre invited me to discuss how they can improve access to their wide range of facilities, and a church in Barnard Castle wished to include suitable disabled access in a planned extension and wrote inquiring as to suitable contacts for reliable advice. The Life Interactive World in Newcastle wrote to say they take on board my suggestions and added, promisingly: "We are still learning and are pleased to hear from anyone who has good practical suggestions as to how we can improve our access."

So let us see this feature as an opportunity to engage as many people as possible in the debate about disabled access. Help me to include you and your disability by writing to me about it. Pass on your comments about my perception of good and bad practice to Phil Donegan at The Northern Echo or to Hear All Sides, Features, Priestgate, Darlington DL1 1NF.

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