Patty Clarke, one of our Peer Program Coordinators, is an avid traveler who has been all over North America in her wheelchair.
For years, she only traveled with family and friends, but recently she started traveling with a paid attendant. We asked her why she made the switch and asked her to share her best practices when traveling with an attendant.
How did you start traveling with an attendant?
Traveling with an attendant is tricky. Before I used to just travel with family or friends, but in an environment where I wasn’t familiar, even though I was independent, there were some things I needed some help with, and sometimes that would put people in a position where they felt I was putting them out.
Now that I’m paying someone, they have to put up and deal with it!
What are your best practices when you’re preparing a trip with an attendant?
I always have a contract so I lay out to the best of my abilities what I know their duties will be, some possibilities of extra things that might be necessary, and the time we will each have on our own. I have a contract with my attendants anyways, so I modify it for the trip.
What kind of issues can come up when you’re traveling with an attendant?
You need to have an ability to communicate and an ability to be flexible. And when something comes up you have to bring it up right away and some things did come up on both trips that I took. The person I traveled with, her first area isn’t being an attendant, but I don’t need a lot of personal care support, so there wasn’t a lot of training needed.
With anything when you travel with anyone your expectations can be different but you don’t know that, so communication problems are usually what it is. It’s also the perceptions. I would ask, “How do you think things are going?” Then I would say for the most part ‘So do I, however I have a few concerns.” That usually gets the dialogue going and helps resolve the issues.
I had to be cognizant that still there’s respect for the other individual as well. I need to know too if I’m acting disrespectfully. It’s something you need to figure this out with your attendant.
It is easier to do it when you’re paying someone. It’s harder to do it if it’s with family or friends.
Why do you think traveling with friends or family can be harder?
In my case, I think its because some people don’t understand my change in function. I used to be more independent. When I travel with my manual chair then I needing to be pushed, and I need help setting up my room to make it accessible.
So what would you recommend to someone who has never traveled with an attendant?
I went away on a weekend first with the same woman I wanted to travel with as a trial. So I recommend people go away for a shorter duration, over night. Just incorporate your whole routine in that time and just see if that’s going to work. It worked out really well for us.
What would you say to someone who has never traveled with a disability at all?
I would say just pick some place initially that you can get home if you need to. Most people don’t do that they just decide they’re going on a trip and figure it out and sometimes it’s problem solving every day.
What kind of things do you have to problem-solve?
I was problem-solving stuff like bed transfers because they’re too high. So the first couple nights we had to figure out what would be easier and more comfortable. I would dread going to bed that night. So it’s about problem solving and knowing that you need to do that.
If you’re going with someone and you’re not paying them, the same communication strategies need to come into play. Lay it all out before you leave. I’ve traveled with friends twice and once it was a total disaster and the other time it went really well.
When we debriefed my friend said that it was great, that there were no issues for her, but she did appreciate having that information laid out before we went. She said that really helped.
The second time, when it was a disaster, it was more about personal conflict. It had nothing to do with disability. We just weren’t suited to be traveling together, but that can happen to anyone!
What about you? What other tips would you recommend to someone traveling with an attendant for the first time? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, or write your own blog post here!
