Twins Kelsey and Kian Speed would love nothing more than to head to a music festival with their friends.
But even a simple trip to any event can cause the siblings major embarrassment and a total “stripping of their dignity” when they cannot find appropriate toilet facilities.
Now they are backing a fundraising campaign for the first fully accessible mobile changing facility in Scotland.
Kelsey and Kian, 17, have muscular dystrophy and are both confined to wheelchairs. Neither of them is able to walk.
Mum Lois, 37, told the Tele the twins’ condition was diagnosed when they were much younger.
She said: “It was only once they went to nursery and school that their physical differences become more apparent.”
Kian has been confined to a wheelchair for around six years now while Kelsey has been in her chair for longer.
However, the twins don’t let their condition stop them doing most things they enjoy.
The pair, from Arbroath, are both active members of the Tayside Dynamos Powerchair Football Club and have ambitions to get to the 2024 Paralympics.
They love nothing better than going to their wheelchair football games and training with their friends.
However, any trip to a sports centre, outdoor event or even a hospital can cause a major headache when they need to go to the toilet.
Kian said: “Even some venues we use for the football don’t have appropriate facilities which can make it very challenging and embarrassing even doing something we enjoy so much.
“Proper toilet facilities would make a massive difference to our ability to go out and about and enjoy outdoor events without having to worry about the simple but basic need to go to the loo.
“I’d love to go to a music festival but right now that’s not something I can even consider because of the difficulties in going to spend a penny.”
Lois said it was easier when the twins were younger and she was able to carry them and help them go to the toilet.
She added: “Obviously it’s simply not possible for me to do that now — Kian is much bigger than I am, nor is it appropriate.”
Lois said a trip to the toilet can take up to 45 minutes and involve a hoist, a changing bench and two people to carry out the exercise.
She added: “It also obviously involves a huge amount of embarrassment and a total stripping of dignity for the twins.”
Kelsey and Kian, along with their mum, are backing a campaign by Dundee-based charity PAMIS to fund the first mobile Changing Places toilet in Scotland.
It aims to raise £65,000 to purchase a fully accessible mobile changing facility that can be taken to events and locations across Scotland where no changing places facilities are present.
A spokeswoman for PAMIS said the charity was working to highlight the need for more Changing Places toilets.
She added: “We are raising money for a fully accessible mobile changing facility that can be taken to locations where no Changing Places facilities are currently present.”
Jenny Miller, chief executive of PAMIS, said: “Individuals with complex health care needs are among the most excluded people in our society.
“Events such as T in the Park and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival have recognised the need for Changing Places facilities but have been unable to include them at their events due to lack of availability in Scotland.”