Disability information and support services

Fresh from our community this month

International Day of People with Disabilites

It's not over yet! Check out events near you

4 & 5 December

Join the fun!

Te Hikoi Museum

Head to Riverton for an accessible southern adventure!

Accessible places in Southland

Discover our history

Accessible formats

You can support better communications for our community

Leave no-one behind

Learn more

Shattering stigmas on Walking aids

Lesley as she speaks about the transformative power of walking with confidence, reminding us all that age is but a number.

Find more info

Video duration 2:57

About three months later, I went back to the same group meeting and she came in and she just went.(silence) I got it.

From 18 seconds
you've spent such a lot of time, you know, not being able to be with friends, to be part of of groups again.

If you have a walker and you walk with the walker with confidence because you are balanced on both sides and you're walking straighter, you're walking faster.

You can go when you want to go, you can go places that you want to go to. You actually feel better within yourself, you feel confident.
You feel the freedom of your own life and the control of your own life rather than having to worry about having to always ask. And that's hard.

And then again, you're not feeling that age feeling of having equipment that's going to make you feel because it doesn't it actually is the opposite.

You think that, but it's really the opposite.

From 1 minute 15
So the scooters and the power chairs and the walkers and the walking sticks, will just be amazing for you.

It's incredible to see somebody that has been isolated for so long to be able to all of a sudden to be back in their community.

I mean, there’s a girl at the MS group meeting She was probably 25. She had a little child as well a two year old. And her mum came with her and she just burst into tears.
She sat down.She said, I can't. I just don't want to do this.

And her mum was explaining to her about the safety side of it. We talked about it and I said, look just have a feel with it, walk up with it and just see how you feel walking.

I said, you don't have to use it all the time. It can be folded up and put in your bag. You don't need to bring it out all the time.

It doesn't need to be on you all the time, but it does need to be there to support you when you need it.

So she got out and, she walked up and down with it. She was a little bit still uneasy with it.

From 2 minutes 20
About three months later, I went back to the same group meeting and she came in and she just went. I got it.

And she said she just felt so more supportive. She'd been to so many more places. She'd been on walks with her family, she'd done the things that she'd wanted to do because she felt supported.

And she said, I don't even recognize that I've got it now. And she said nobody actually knows. It was just all me.

New to disability

Financial support

Equipment

Transport

Employment

Education

Housing

Legal and rights

Wellbeing

Accessible Places

Get support

News and articles

Events

Nau mai ki Firstport
Welcome to Firstport

Fresh from our community this month

International Day of People with Disabilites

Te Hikoi Museum

Accessible formats

New to disability

Financial support

Accessible Places

Equipment

Transport

Employment

Education

Housing

Legal and rights

Wellbeing

Get support

News and articles

Events

Shattering stigmas on Walking aids

Nau mai ki Firstport Welcome to Firstport

Fresh from our community this month

International Day of People with Disabilites

Te Hikoi Museum

Accessible formats

Shattering stigmas on Walking aids

Nau mai ki Firstport
Welcome to Firstport