How Do You Dance in a Wheelchair?

Albert Cloutier was born with spina bifida. "The doctors operated on me when I was one month old, and I pulled through," he explains. "It must have been a hard time for my mother, because she had three kids in a row – my sister in 1948, my brother in 1949, and me in 1950. I was in hospital quite a bit when I was young, but I got by pretty good. I’ll be 51 in November."

Albert has never been able to walk, and gets around with the assistance of a motorized wheelchair. But he hasn’t let his disability keep him from participating fully in life. Like anybody else, he’s had to make big life decisions like when to leave home, how to find work, and what career to choose. "I left home when I was 15 and moved to Red Deer," he says. "I didn’t know anyone when I moved there, but I did get to make friends. I didn’t stay there too long. When I was 18, I moved to Calgary. I stayed there for quite a while."

Over the years, Albert has had a variety of jobs, sometimes with support workers, sometimes without. "I worked at a chicken packaging place to start," he said. "Then I got a ‘real’ job doing telemarketing in Calgary. I got a proper wage and everything," he states proudly.

While still in Calgary, Albert decided to get some more practical job skills. So in 1987 he took a course in basic office skills at Alberta Vocational College. "That was challenging," he says, "working on a switchboard. I pushed myself to succeed. I did 150 hours of volunteer work before I graduated." Once school was finished, Albert and some friends took a vacation to Hawaii. "It was my first ‘real’ trip," he remembers. "It was good. Really good."

1n 1992, 35 years after leaving Lac la Biche, Albert decided to return home to be closer to his family. Since that time, he’s enjoyed independent living at Lac Alta Lodge. His monthly cheque from Supports for Independence (SFI) allows him to pay his rent and to have some spending money left over.

In his free time, Albert writes letters to newspaper editors and to politicians. "I write about issues dealing with people with disabilities," he says. "Years ago, if people saw a person with a disability, that person was treated differently. They were meant to be different. They were treated as someone you didn’t have anything to do with. But today, we’re more equal. There’s a better understanding, more acceptance. People realize that we aren’t different. I believe firmly in equality," he continues. "I think we should be treated just like anybody else."

These days, Albert gets out quite a bit. He’s had a support worker to help him since the end of May. "I went to see my Dad in St. Paul for Father’s Day," he says. "That was a really nice treat. I like to spend as much time as possible at family gatherings. Family is very valuable."

"A person could always be more active," he continues, "but I’m pretty happy with my situation. I did a presentation at a school once, grades 4 to 6. I talked to the kids about what it’s like living with a disability. They asked good questions. The best one was when a kid asked, ‘How do you dance in a wheelchair?’" He pauses to laugh. "I told him it was the easiest way. Then I told him about when I used to square dance in Calgary."

Given the chance, Albert would enjoy talking to more school kids about what it’s like living with a disability. But for now, he says, he’ll continue to write letters to promote greater awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities.