Jean-Luc Simon is the author of Living after the accident. Psychological consequences of a physical disability (Social Chronicle, 2010). He campaigns for “pair emulation”, that is, the accompaniment towards the autonomy of disabled people by other disabled people who are more committed to this path.
“I hope you die of your handicap!” That’s what a woman threw at me one day in a crowded bus, furious at having to leave her seat so that I could find one with my wheelchair. At that time, even if I was in the middle of Paris, in the 19e district, I felt very alone. No one flinched. I like the capital very much, I have been living there since 1993, alternating with stays in the provinces with my family and good friends, but I note that anyone who has a deficiency, therefore an apparent weakness, that they whether motor, sensory or intellectual, must be strong to keep morale up in the face of the brutality of society. In this jungle, some, less armed than others, collapse.
Me, I was “lucky”. After my road accident in 1983, which left me paraplegic at the age of 25, while I was following my rehabilitation in the hospital, I met a young man who had been in a wheelchair for two years. He passed on to me everything he himself had learned to manage on a daily basis: knowing how to cross a sidewalk on two wheels, not being intimidated by a complainer, getting back into the ring… I didn’t know that yet at the time, but it was my first lesson in “pair emulation”.
Pair emulation, a term that I subsequently filed with the National Institute of Industrial Property, refers to the transmission of know-how and skills by autonomous disabled people, for disabled people in search of more autonomy. With the aim of strengthening their awareness of their possibilities, their rights and their duties. It is an encouragement to emancipation and self-determination.
“If it happens that we are accused of communitarianism, we must understand that being a group strengthens us”
In 1993, in order to promote this approach, Henry Cassirer [qui a coordonné en France l’Année internationale des personnes handicapées, en 1981] and I created the French Group of Disabled People. We were inspired by the work of two American disabled activists, Ed Roberts and Judith Heumann, who founded, in the 1970s, in Berkeley (California), the first center for independent living, then duplicated throughout North America. .
Overcome handicap situations
In France, thanks to European funding, we launched, in 1994, a first short training course for the functions of “pair emulator”. Today, we are developing a more comprehensive program of 160 hours over six weeks, spread over five months, with the regional association for the social work training institute. The third annual edition begins on November 28, in Angers.
We form groups of 15 people, selected on the basis of their experience of overcoming handicap situations linked to motor, sensory or psychic deficiencies, addictions or precariousness. The objective is to develop transversal skills common to all peer support practices. If it happens that we are taxed with communitarianism, we must understand that forming a group strengthens us, it is the start of the construction of identity and of a self-esteem that allows us to move forward by being better equipped to stand up.
The participants in the training share their stories, analyze their experiences, identify the skills acquired to compensate for their restrictions, discover how to pass them on to their peers. They also learn to express their skills in institutions, to train educators and all those involved in personal assistance.
The training delivers a qualification, and recognition of the profession is in progress. Depending on the year, we are financed by the regional health agency, by the Loire-Atlantique department, by the Pays de la Loire region. The training costs 4,000 euros, and we do everything to ensure that this sum is covered by the multiple – and sometimes obscure – funds dedicated to training and integration.
Over the years, in France, peer support practices have multiplied. There are many names: peer helpers, peer health mediators, patient interveners, peer workers, peer advocate… These practices are now encouraged by the public authorities, who recognize their interest. »
This article was produced as part of the conference “Le Monde Cities” “City of care, city of links? organized on November 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. by The world with the support of Agefiph, Toyota and Transdev. Free access on registration from this link.