Sharing similar experiences in a group is a good way to strengthen and help people to face adverse situations in life. In Anita Garibaldi Health Education and Research Center (CEPS), in Macaíba-RN, professionals from Adult Spinal Cord Injury Clinic (CLEMEA) created the coexistence group Wheels of Life. This health education action includes biweekly meetings with people with spinal cord injuries treated by the Service to discuss topics that can contribute to a better quality of life and autonomy.
On November 10, 2017, the group held its fourth round of conversation at Paulo Freire Auditorium, at CEPS, with the theme “leisure and quality of life for wheelchair users”. At each meeting, a professional and a wheelchair user are invited to present topics and direct the conversations. In this last meeting, the physical educator specializing in inclusion, accessibility, sports and leisure for the disabled, Marilia Rodrigues da Silva, and the wheelchair patient at CLEMEA, Aletisandro Freire of Macedo, coordinated the work.
Marília began her speech by explaining that leisure has a different meaning for each person. Some people consider spending an entire Sunday at home watching television to be leisure, while others consider practicing an extreme sport to be leisure. Based on this principle, she brought several leisure options for wheelchair users in the region of Natal-RN and Macaíba-RN, informing them of their rights, benefits and contact details for groups that organize such activities. “Wheelchair users, like other people, are be political who needs to join forces with other similar individuals to seek and guarantee their rights”, says the internship supervisor and physiotherapist at CLEMEA/CEPS, Heloisa Britto.
Accessibility is a major obstacle for people with spinal cord injuries
Throughout the conversation, each participant reported their own experiences. However, a theme that ran through all the speeches was accessibility. “People with spinal cord injuries can have a good quality of life, performing various activities, but the main difficulty is full access to desired locations,” says Britto. An example of this, reported by wheelchair users, is Ponta Negra beach. Its access slopes are very steep, which represents a real challenge. In addition, complaints about parking spaces designated for people with physical disabilities which are often not respected.
The next meetings of the Rodas da Vida group will have as themes Paralympic sports, changes in the neurogenic bladder, sexuality, among others. In addition to this health education activity, the CEPS Adult Spinal Cord Injury Clinic (CLEMEA) offers Physiotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Neurology. To join the service, interested people should call phone (84) 3271-3311 and schedule a screening process. The goal of this clinic is to provide patients with functional independence, emotional stability, and autonomy.
Text and photos: Luiz Paulo Juttel / Ascom – ISD
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Social organization that maintains ties with the Ministry of Education (MEC) and whose mission is to promote education for life, forming citizens through integrated teaching, research and extension actions and to contribute to a fairer and more humane transformation of the Brazilian social reality.
