Encounters of help: disabled people negotiating help and participation in public spaces

In the context of increased disability activism and changes in policy towards better accessibility for disabled people, the need for help from strangers remains misunderstood. Attitudes towards helping disabled people are shaped by the medical, charity and social models of disability that position disabled people as dependent, vulnerable, or self-sufficient resulting in difficulties managing situations when help may or may not be needed. To explore disabled people’s experiences of encounters of help in public spaces, six interviews were analysed through the lens of the bio-psycho-social model. The findings demonstrated that disabled people negotiated their needs against allowances of the physical and social environments. They navigated a complex field of interactions related to expressions of demand and offer of help resulting in consented or unconsented help, or no help at all. Recommendations for helping behaviour and policy implications are raised in terms of supporting individually relevant participation of disabled people.