This Xmas, think of the disabled

It will be Christmas again this Friday.

Here’s a quick checklist on the things that we can do to include and involve people with disabilities and the elderly in order to make the festivities meaningful to them.

At church

Midnight mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas service on Christmas Day is a must for those celebrating the festival.

There is no excuse or reason to exclude celebrants with disabilities and the elderly from taking part in the festivities.

Families with loved ones in wheelchairs or use walking aids should make the extra effort to bring them along to church, Christmas dinners or parties.

Even if they initially refuse, some encouragement will do a lot of good, especially if they have been cooped up at home for a long time.

There is nothing like a change in surroundings from the mundane to do wonders for the soul.

Some advanced preparations may be necessary though. Things like checking to ensure that the wheelchairs and walking aids are working properly and even calling up the church to enquire about their access conditions for wheelchairs and seating arrangements for the special day.

Parishes should ensure that wheelchairs and walking sticks have unimpeded access into the building as no one likes to have to apologise to those seated to make way for wheelchairs and other parishioners with disabilities.

It is a clever idea to place the disabled in the front of the sanctuary or the stage so that they have the best view.

However, we should be mindful that this may cause them to be separated from their loved ones. So a good rule of thumb would be to ask them where they prefer to be seated.

Of course, in every situation, the disabled should be placed nearest to the wheelchair-friendly restrooms. As church events can be long, they may need to make several trips to the loo.

Some of them may require an able-bodied helper, especially for longer distances and churches should be sensitive to such needs.        

Disabled-friendly toilets should be kept clean at all times and equipped with all the necessities, such as toilet paper and others.

Churches, which have yet to provide disabled-friendly facilities from ramps to toilets, should really be ashamed of themselves for denying a basic right to a community that needs them.

Giving the lame excuse that they are no disabled people in a particular church or that there was no need to as “God would heal disabled people” is really an insult to all the disabled in society.

On the contrary, the number of disabilities is only increasing daily rather than decreasing as we all move into an aging society.

Besides persons with physical disabilities, there are other categories of disabilities, too, which churches and religious buildings should look into.

The blind require braille materials to be able to follow the printed word. Thus, hymnals, songs projected overhead and church bulletins should also be made friendly to them so that they can fully participate in church life and activities.

Deaf members need a sign language interpreter. The latter provides a professional service which should be paid by the church.

Children and adults with learning disabilities would also greatly benefit from Sunday school classes which provide a special education teacher who is trained to communicate with special children.

Not all churches provide such facilities in their services. It is really high time that they do.

Outside church

There are many things which can be done outside a church environment to bring on the Christmas spirit to the disabled and the elderly.

Youth groups from churches could pay home visits to elderly persons who are bedridden.

Many have little opportunity to go out because they don’t have strong people to help them out of their beds and into their wheelchairs.

Young people can play a positive role by taking them out to the park for a stroll and getting to know them.

The two or three hours spent with the elderly will also serve to give a much-needed break to his or her regular caregiver who is frequently someone in the family.

Inviting the disabled out to lunch or dinner or to one’s open house is also a good thing. Many disabled people are just waiting for such opportunities but are too shy to ask.

Offering to read to the blind is another splendid way to spread some yuletide cheer. Have some extra tickets to the latest Star Wars flick?

How about doing something totally different and inviting a disabled person to accompany you?

I can assure you that it won’t be the movie alone which will be enlightening. The experience of doing it together with a disabled person will most likely be an experience you will never forget.

Happy Xmas everyone! – December 21, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.