Andrea von Büren - self-advocate, social worker and coach
RESC: How do you usually introduce yourself when you meet someone new?
Andrea von Büren (AvB): I am a social worker, self-advocate, supervisor and counsellor/coach.
RESC: What is your “superpower”?
AvB: My superpower is my determination. Once I set my mind on something, I give everything to achieve it. By doing this, I’ve been able to achieve most of the goals I’ve set myself. I think I acquired this superpower through sport. I started wheelchair racing as a teenager, and I had some international success. This continued in my professional life. The first step in my education was graduating from a business secondary school with a commercial diploma. In my day-to-day job, though, I soon realised that I would rather work with people, so I obtained my vocational baccalaureate and enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree programme in social work. After my studies, I accepted a position in victim counselling, which is what I still do today. I've also pursued some goals outside work. It’s always been important to me to be out and about as a self-advocate. As an employee of the association Sensability, I raise people's awareness about interacting with people with disabilities and offer courses on the topic of inclusion. As of 2022, I also work as a freelance counsellor and supervisor.
RESC: What are people without physical limitations most amazed about when they meet you?
AvB: My openness. I don't mind talking about my disability and I'm happy to answer serious questions. It’s important to me to let society participate in my life with a disability. I think this is the only way to raise awareness. It makes me happy if I can make people think and motivate them to take a step away from exclusion and towards inclusion. Lots of people also admire my independence and are often astonished that, as a wheelchair user, I can stand up and walk a few steps. Using a wheelchair in everyday life doesn’t mean you can’t walk at all. But for many people without disabilities, it’s still very surprising.
RESC: In what situations do you feel “dis-abled”?
AvB: There aren’t many situations in which I feel “dis-abled”. When I do, it’s mostly in the context of the attitude of people without disabilities towards people with disabilities. Thanks to my residual walking ability, I can manage to overcome infrastructural barriers somehow or other, but I take offence at the discriminatory attitude that often still exists. This starts in restaurants when my husband is asked what I want to order. Or at the cash register when the change is given not to me but my companion, even though I paid; it ends with the example I once experienced in connection with a job. The employer had put a lot of effort into accessibility. The structural measures required had been discussed with invalidity insurance and the canton. But then the remodelling couldn’t be completed because the owner of the building refused to give his consent.
RESC: What is your greatest wish for the future?
AvB: My greatest wish for the future is to live in a society in which there are no longer any marginalised groups or insurmountable barriers. Where people support each other. Everyone should approach each other with an open and appreciative attitude. I wish that people did not have to orient themselves towards a norm, and that instead each person could be seen as an individual.
Bio
Andrea von Büren is married and has been living with a physical disability – spina bifida – since birth. She is a qualified businesswoman and social worker. She has also completed further training as a supervisor, mediator and counsellor/coach. In her free time, she plays wheelchair basketball and campaigns to raise awareness among people with and without disabilities on the topic of inclusion.
external pageAndrea von Bürens Website
Miriam Daepp of the Competence Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC) spoke with Andrea von Büren in June 2022.
