Showing posts with label accessible. Show all posts

Wheelchair Etiquette in 8 Easy Steps

By Anna Corbitt
As a user of a power wheelchair since I was five, I’ve become quite the expert on etiquette for interacting with someone in a wheelchair. As an extremely outspoken person, I haven’t hesitated to let people know that they should or shouldn’t do something with regard to a wheelchair. Here are some basic tips I believe everyone should take into consideration the next time they interact with a wheelchair user.
  1. Don’t lean on my chair. I’m a firm believer of personal boundaries. I barely like it when people I’m fond of get inside of my personal bubble, let alone someone I have never met. I like that my wheelchair expands my personal bubble a little further than usual. Whenever someone invades that boundary — especially when I don’t know them — it makes me irritable. People tend to lean on my armrest or the back of my seat. How would you feel if you’re at a concert and someone you’ve never met puts their elbow on your shoulder? Some people wouldn’t mind, but most people would. It’s the same thing. My chair is a part of me because I rely on it so much. I spend about 75 percent of my day in my chair. It’s my legs, so please don’t treat it like another piece of furniture. Note: I have read some articles that say wheelchair users want to be perceived as separate entities from their wheelchair. Great! We’re all different and have different opinions. To be sure, ask the person. Don’t assume.
  1. Respect my personal boundaries. Expanding off the first topic, respect my own bodily boundaries. One time I was standing next to my sister, talking to her and my dad, who was on the phone. My body language was not open and inviting. Someone still came up to me and held my arm (the one holding the phone). I stopped talking, looked at her and asked if she needed something. She just wanted to see how my arm felt. One, don’t interrupt my conversation to satisfy your own curiosity. Two, it is not OK to touch me. I barely hug my close friends. I’m not comfortable with being touched. This includes my arm, shoulder, leg (way too intimate) or head (which is patronizing).
  1. Focus on me, not the wheelchair. So often, I hear various types of phrases that place emphasis on my wheelchair and not on me as a person. Common phrases directed at my wheelchair and not at me are as follows:
  • “Scooter girl.”
  • “Slow down or I’ll give you a ticket.”
  • “Hey speed demon.” (The person who says this uses it as a name, and I don’t think he’s ever used my name.)
  • “Do you want to race?” (When this happens, I let the person run ahead of me like a fool while I just sit there and wait.)
  • “Get out of the way!” This is commonly told to people around me, as though I’m going to slaughter anyone who dares get in front of me. Most the time, I’m just taking my time. If I have somewhere to go to, I’ll politely say, “Excuse me.”
  • “Do you know what this thing needs …”A rocket?! No. First, this “thing” is my wheelchair, which is used for allowing me to independently move around without having to ask someone for help. Second, my wheelchair is perfect and it does everything it needs to do. I don’t need any recommendations.
  1. Don’t change your language use for me. Nothing makes it more obvious that you’re talking with someone “different” than when you change your usual phrases around the person. An example is, “Let’s go for a walk.” I’m not offended by someone saying “walk” instead of “roll.” Personally, I don’t like switching out words like that because it does place an emphasis on the fact that I use a wheelchair. I take my dog for a walk. If I took her for a roll, she wouldn’t be too interested...
Get the full list at Paraquad.

http://www.paraquad.org/blog/wheelchair-etiquette-8-easy-steps/
accessible

Why isn’t Boston serious about wheelchair access?

By Carol R. Steinberg
My family returned from a fabulous visit to Barcelona in mid-June. A month later, the news broke that the US Olympic Committee had pulled the plug on Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Games. This is an enormous missed opportunity  for people with disabilities who live and work in Massachusetts.
The 1992 Summer Olympics transformed Barcelona, and that transformation has endured. Whatever our feelings about losing the Olympic bid, it’s important to know that the Games would have required our city to be far more wheelchair-accessible.
Boston still has an opportunity to learn from Barcelona. There, historic preservation was not an excuse for keeping barriers in place. We rode elevators in Gaudi-designed 19th-century buildings and in the middle of Roman ruins. Flat pavement has replaced cobblestones on all the winding roads in the historic neighborhoods. Beacon Hill residents should know that this did not diminish the neighborhoods’ charm, but only made us feel welcome.
For eight years I have proudly served on the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, which was created in 1968 to ensure that buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. Improvements are required in renovated buildings unless the board grants a variance, and historical significance is only one factor in that decision.
A building should not remain unwelcoming just because it is old. Nonetheless, those renovating historic buildings with grand front staircases — town halls, libraries, churches, colleges — constantly ask for variances, fearing that a ramp will destroy the structure’s aesthetics. They want wheelchair users to enter another way. It is time for this segregation to stop. Some talented architects have designed sweeping ramps that fit historic buildings perfectly. Look at the beautiful entrances at the Museum of Fine Arts and the John Adams Courthouse. The numbers of architects who do this must grow. Historical commissions must support them.
In Barcelona, the Olympics brought improvements that meant we could easily travel on buses and subways. Here, I fear using the T because a train may be misaligned with the platform or an elevator may be broken. Instead, I drive my hand-controlled van downtown and pay $36 to park. The facts say that my fear is rational and that improvement is essential: More than 70 rapid transit and commuter rail stations still lack access.
Snow isn’t a factor for Barcelona. If it were, would the city handle it the way Boston did last winter? Often I rolled to the end of a shoveled sidewalk, only to find the curb cut blocked with snow. Kind strangers would attempt to hoist my wheelchair over the piles or stop traffic to help me cross at a driveway. We must handle the snow so that everybody can get around.

A recent experience in Cambridge was all too typical. Before leaving home, I called the restaurant and said I was coming in my electric wheelchair. Because the chair is too heavy to be lifted over steps, I wanted to confirm that the entrance was accessible. My daughter had already done so when she called to make my husband’s birthday reservation, but I knew I should be certain. With some annoyance, the employee on the phone said that I would be able to get in...
Read more at The Boston Globe.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/08/05/time-get-serious-about-wheelchair-access/noE2IdoISqWHgeRenar2vN/story.html
accessible

What It's Like to Become "Disabled"


By Erin Croyle and Stephanie Scawen

Most “able-bodied” people don’t think about disability, because they don’t have to. When they do, they rarely think it’s something that will happen to them.

That’s precisely why I wanted to reach out to an old colleague to get her perspective. Stephanie Scawen is a pistol of a woman with the mouth of a sailor and toned upper arms to rival Michelle Obama. She and I worked together at Al Jazeera English in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia a few years ago. Not only has she spent a majority of her life without a disability; she also has a unique perspective on being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis overseas and having more significant symptoms set in while living in developing countries that are not known for treating people with disabilities well.

She is a fellow journalist. So rather than having me write about her, she was wonderful enough to tell her story herself. I want to share her story now as we look back at 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act to show how far the United States has come and remind us why this law is so important.

So here is Ms. Scawen’s story, in her own words:

ON HER BEGINNING …
I was born in the UK, a scarily long time ago [she’s not quite 50] and brought up outside of London.

I studied journalism after high school. There were no real journalism degrees at the time, so I took a newspaper journalism diploma and began working at 19 on a weekly freesheet – the Hemel Hempstead Herald. Try saying my full name and the newspaper’s without getting tongue twisted!

After a few years I moved to London and began freelancing for the London tabloids (the Sun, Mirror, News of the World). There I met a guy and after a few years of dating we decided to try working overseas. Hong Kong was the first place my partner got a job, so we upped sticks and moved over in July 1996.


ON HER DIAGNOSIS …
My first MS symptoms began just as I was relocating. I didn’t know what it was then of course. But as I arrived in Honkers [Hong Kong] I had pins and needles in both my legs, and my skin was numb to the touch all the way up to my waist.

That was quite scary but the neurologist I saw then passed it off as ‘myelitis’ and said it would go away, which it did.

I wasn’t diagnosed until 2 years later when I was working temporarily in Singapore, with inflammation of the optic nerve. An MRI confirmed the diagnosis.

After I was made redundant [laid off] from my job in HK I spent about a year and a half being a dive bum [scuba diver] in French Polynesia and in the Philippines before Al Jazeera began operations in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia …. I’m now a Senior Producer/Reporter with them.

I had no disability to start with – the first 15 years or so – and carried on living my life as if I just had this annoying problem that occurred a few times a year.


ON BECOMING “DISABLED”…
The turning point was at the start of the Arab spring in 2011. I was in Doha [Qatar] helping cover the Egyptian protests that brought down Hosni Mubarak My left leg went into spasm, but I did not recognise it at the time as a MS attack, so did nothing about it. By the time my leg started to feel better I realised it was much weaker, but there was nothing I could do about it then.

A second attack at the end of that year left me with ‘drop foot’ and meant I had to start using a stick to walk securely without falling.


ON DISCRIMINATION AT WORK…
Up until this point, I had never mentioned to anyone except very close friends of my illness, mostly because I experienced discrimination from the outset. The HR manager of the company I was working for in Singapore [when first diagnosed] told the managers that ‘I would be too expensive to keep on’; so my contract was not renewed. (I only found out that later after I had returned to HK). I had by then got another much more rewarding job with Star TV.

I remember running into someone from the Singapore company some years later in HK, and I remember him seeming quite surprised that I looked completely normal …

It was very recently that I discovered true discrimination at Al Jazeera when someone complained that I was a safety hazard in the field because I needed to use a stick, which was completely ridiculous as I did not cover war zones (never wanted to) or anything which might require me to move quickly. This still rankles with me big time, as this person had never ever discussed my walking with me directly, and had just gone behind my back.

I had to tell my boss the entire picture, which I was not obligated to do legally, but I felt I was forced to. And as I have become more disabled I feel that attitudes towards my illness have hardened against me. I’m seen as ‘a problem’ not a person who has to take a bit more time doing something, or has to do things slightly differently.

People are amazingly narrow-minded. I’m not sure if this is because they can’t picture themselves in my situation, or because they think I should be tucked up in a nursing home. People don’t seem to believe that I still have a brain which works perfectly well cognitively and a mouth that is willing to explain my life to them if they bothered to ask.

Sadly people just assume...


Get the full story at Center for Family Involvement.


http://centerforfamilyinvolvementblog.org/2015/07/30/what-its-like-to-become-disabled/
accessible

Man says he couldn’t ride at Dollywood because of prosthetic leg

By WJHL Staff
JONESBOROUGH (WJHL) – A cell phone video taken by a local football coach during a family trip to Dollywood has gone viral. In it, Josh Edens, a football coach at David Crockett High School, says he wasn’t allowed to ride with his son on a ride called Rockin’ Roadway, because he has a prosthetic leg.
Edens said the park discriminated against him, requiring him to get a special pass before riding anymore rides.
“She informed me that without a blue card, I couldn’t ride any of the rides. That I had a visible disability and that I was different from the other patrons at Dollywood and because of that, I had to have a blue card,” he said.
Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens told News Channel 11 that the park has a designated Ride Accessibility Center to inform people about the requirements for each ride, and that anyone with a visible disability is required to have an Accessibility Pass...
Get the full story at Wate.com.
http://wate.com/2015/07/09/man-says-he-couldnt-ride-at-dollywood-because-of-prosthetic-leg/
accessible

This Massive, Open Source Map Makes the World More Wheelchair Friendly

By Bryan Lufkin
The world is tough place to navigate in a wheelchair. But finding ramps and elevators can be easier thanks to this handy map app that anyone can edit.
It’s called Wheelmap, and it tells you the accessibility status of public places all over the world. It’s free and grades locations in a traffic light-style, red-yellow-green scale of wheelchair accessibility. Developed by German nonprofit SOZIALHELDEN e.V., it’s now celebrating five years since launch. Since 2010, users have added nearly half a million entries across the globe.
Learn more at Gizmodo.
http://gizmodo.com/this-massive-open-source-map-makes-the-world-more-whee-1710196200
accessible

Independence Day For Americans With Disabilities

By Linton Weeks
On July 4, America will celebrate 239 years of independence.
Later in the month, our country will mark another historic moment: the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law passed on July 26, 1990, that guarantees certain rights — and increased independence — to our compatriots with physical and intellectual disabilities.
In this era of ramps and lifts and other hallmarks of accessible design, it's sometimes hard to remember that not too long ago inaccessibility was the norm. And barriers abounded.
"At the time of the late 1980s, too many people with disabilities were out of sight and out of the minds of the general public," says Katy Neas of Easter Seals, a century-old, Chicago-based nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities.
As an outspoken advocate for the ADA, Easter Seals created a series of powerful posters that illustrated the dilemmas — and desires — of disabled Americans and helped the country understand the reasons for, and responsibilities resulting from, the anti-discrimination legislation.
Via the visuals, Neas says, "Easter Seals was working to reposition what it meant to be a person with a disability — what was possible, what was necessary, what barriers existed."...
Get the full story at NPR.
http://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/06/19/415436391/independence-day-for-americans-with-disabilities
accessible

Universal design is gaining traction

By Harold Bubil

As someone who counsels business people on how to succeed, Karen Bush understands the importance of cooperation and planning.
These are concepts she applies to her personal life as the co-owner of a condominium unit in Le Chateau, the bright pink building on Sunset Point near the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
When the two women bought the unit, they decided to renovate, and they also decided to incorporate principles of universal design.She shares the unit with her friend, Louise Machinist. “She owns one end and I own the other,” said Bush. “In between is common space.”
UD, which is gaining in relevance as the population ages, is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” writes architect Ron Mace of the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University.
The concept is related to “aging-in-place,” which includes the retrofitting of homes so that older people can adapt to physical limitations and needs.
“UD contributes to convenience and function of the products by making the products safer, easier to use and often more comfortable,” the National Association of Home Builders says. “The key component is the market appeal of the home and the integration of universal features into the overall home scheme. UD becomes a virtually invisible element of a home well-done.”
“When we speak with clients, we talk in terms of UD because it is easier to market ‘safety, convenience and ease of use’ vs. accessibility, such as ‘balance bars’ in the bathroom,” said Wanda Gozdz, president of Golden Age Living and an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers.
Gozdz will be a panelist at a public forum presented by the local Universal Design Coalition from noon to 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Realtors Association of Manatee and Sarasota, 2320 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota. Admission is free.
The panel includes John King, president of Rampart Homes; Greg Hall of Hall Architects; Kathleen Houseweart, geriatrics manager for SMH Healthcare System; and Tracy Lux, president of Trace Marketing. The Herald-Tribune’s real estate editor, Harold Bubil, is the moderator.
“You need it before you need it,” said Larry Hale, chairman of the Universal Design Coalition. “We age, and our mobility changes.”
“When design is done well, it doesn’t impede anyone from being able to function,” Gozdz adds...
Access the full story at Real Estate.

http://realestate.heraldtribune.com/2015/06/12/universal-design-is-gaining-traction/
accessible

How Technology is Aiding People Who Suffer from Paralysis

By: Paisley Hansen, writer at the Mobility Resource 


Paralysis is a problem that affects such a high number of people that it's nearly impossible to estimate how widespread it is. The many different forms of paralysis that exist make an already difficult problem harder to create solutions that can adequately help individuals afflicted with this condition to maintain more normal
lives.

Through rapid development of technology and research into mechanisms that cause paralysis to be a permanent condition, doctors have worked side­ by ­side with engineers to develop new and interesting ways to help paralyzed individuals regain their mobility, and to make their lives more normal.Some promising new technologies even hope to solve the problem of paralysis and allow patients to use the use of their legs and arms again. These inventions are helping people get around more easily and be more independent like these cars.

Let's explore these technologies in depth to understand how they're helping people stricken by paralysis to stay mobile.

1. Touch­Screen Computers and Tablets
One of the most difficult challenges for those suffering from paralysis that affects the upper extremities is the inability to write, draw or do many artistic activities. This leaves it nearly impossible to perform activities that would bring enjoyment and help the patient to cope with the social effects of paralysis.Tablets and other touch screen­enabled devices are being given to patients whom suffer from paralysis but still have a
limited amount of control to their hands or their mouth. By using a pointer, this enables them to take part in activities like digital painting, sketching, games and other activities that would otherwise be impossible to participate in.

2. Mobility Assisting Technology
For patients whom have been told that they will never walk again using their own legs, technology may allow
them to walk with the aid of a mechanical exoskeleton­like device that can be worn on their legs. The Ekso from Ekso Bionics is one such device provided as a mobility resource. Complex computers with movement algorithms designed to mimic the natural way that people walk work to make this technology move the patient's legs for them in tandem with the use of crutch­like support devices.The downside is that this technology is still in developmental stages and shares many of the same pitfalls that even military­grade exoskeletons share. In other words, they're heavy and require the user to carry a heavy battery backpack.

3. Spinal Implants
While no cure for paralysis currently exists, doctors and scientists are hard at work in trying to increase
their understanding of what causes the varying degrees of paralysis in the body. Their research has come far enough to create an implant that can help stimulate signal carrying along the spinal cord.The stimulator implant was first published in Brain research journal and active trials of the technology have been performed since April, 2014.While the implant helped 4 patients regain both feeling and voluntary movement in their lower extremities, the amount of strength that the patients have been able to recover has varied greatly. Not all can walk, and the reasons behind these varying degrees of success is what researchers plan to study next.That means until the exact cause and best method of treatment can be crafted, suffers of paralysis will need to make due with mobility technology that helps them to move rather than cures their condition.

4.Eye­Tracking Systems
Eye­tracking devices have been used in patients whom have paralysis that prevents all but movement in the eyes to occur. This allows patients to communicate by the simple movement of their eyes.Eye­tracking systems allow patients whom would normally be confined to their bodies to have some degree of influence over their surroundings.The drawback of this technology is that it tends to be more costly, which means that
it's only implemented in situations where other solutions won't work for the paralyzed individual.

5. Sip and Puff Switches
While nowhere near as astounding as the other technologies listed here, the sip and puff switch allows for paralyzed individuals to use their breath to control devices. These directions can be interpreted in ways that allow everything from the navigation of a computer to the movement of a motorized wheelchair.

Follow Paisley on twitter @PaisleyHansen

Read more at Sporkability.org 
accessible

WearAbility for Inclusive Design 24


MAY 14, 2014 BY TED DRAKE
They say 2014 is the year of wearable computers and devices. While marketed mostly towards the busy professionals and health conscious athletes, there’s far more to these devices.
This presentation looks at the intersection of wearable computers and accessibility. How can these sensor filled devices provide alternative displays and gestures? How can they help a blind person see the world, a person with a mobility issue explore, track health and detect traumatic events before they happen?
This presentation was created for the Inclusive Design 24 series of webinars that celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2014

Wearable Computers

History of wearable assistive technology

Facial prostheses, 1919 Anna Coleman Ladd fashioned much-admired face masks for WWI soldiers in the European theater. Facial prosthetics and reconstructive surgery advanced significantly because of the war.

Obstacle Detection

The obstacle detection device from WLVAfrom 2004 consists of three major components:
  • head mounted display (HMD)
  • backpack mounted equipment
  • software.
The HMD incorporates the scanning fiber display and optics mounted in a tube on one side of a spectacle frame, and a video camera with IR light emitting diodes mounted on the other side. The backpack-mounted equipment consists of a laptop computer, an embedded processor, and hardware to drive the scanning fiber display.
Iglasses have obstacle detection and vibrate when the user gets close to a low hanging branch or other object.

Acceptance and Ubiquity

student_ipad_school - 038Which of these kids is using an assistive technology device? Tablets, phones, and assorted mobile devices are so common that stigma associated with earlier devices has diminished.

Complexity in the right place

“What made the Rio and other devices so brain dead was that they were complicated. They had to do things like make playlists, because they weren’t integrated with the jukebox software on your computer. So by owning the iTunes software and the iPod device, that allowed us to make the computer and the device work together, and it allowed us to put the complexity in the right place.” -Steve Jobs

Internet of Things

IPV6 allows every object to have its own ip address. Wearable devices can surround and work within your body and be uniquely defined. Lamprey inspired nano-robots are being developed that can migrate through your body for healthcare. photo: pacific lamprey by USFWS Pacific...
Read the full article at Wearability
http://wearability.org/wearability-inclusive-design.html
SPORK! Similar Picks:
accessible

ADA STANDARDS FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN AND LODGING FACILITIES

summer-wheelchair-travelMay 16, 2014 by Hank Falstad
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), of course, applies to lodging facilities such as hotels, motels and inns. Such places of public accommodation constructed after January 26, 1993 must be compliant with the ADA and also fall in line with the regulations relevant to compliance set forth by the Justice Department and the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. In other words, hotels, motels, inns and other such lodging facilities must be accessible to people with disabilities.
Parking
If there are up to 25 spaces in the parking lot, there must be at least 1 van accessible space. For each additional 25 spaces, there must be 1 standard accessible space (at least 8 feet wide and 5 feet of aisle space). For up to 400 spaces, there only needs to be 1 van accessible space. If there are more than 400 spaces, there needs to be 7 standard accessible spaces and 2 van accessible spaces. If there are more than 500 spaces, there needs to be 2% accessible spaces of the total. If there are more than 1000 spaces there should be 1 accessible space for every 100 spaces over the 1000.One in every 8 accessible spaces must be van accessible spaces.
There must be appropriate signage for spaces; there also must be curb ramps, a level access aisle and an accessible route to the entrance of the lodgings.
Exterior Routes
There must be at least one accessible route for approaching and entering each facility of the hotel, motel or inn. This route cannot have steep slopes or abrupt level changes or steps and must not have objects protruding that could get in the way. Entrance into the building must be level so that people using wheelchairs can have easier access. The entrance must have at least a 32 inch width of passage clearance. The door handles must be operable by someone with a disabiity that might have limited dexterity.
Interior of Facility
All halls inside the facility should not have abrupt level changes or steps.
Registration and service counters must be no more than 36 inches high.
For locks on guest room doors in which you must use key cards, they must not be positioned any higher than 48 inches from the ground if there is a front approach and 54 inches from the ground if a parallel approach is provided.
Food counters must be 36 inches high and long, so that people using wheelchairs may use self-serve items. Five percent of fixed tables and counters in the food service area must be accessible; they must have 27 inches high of knee space underneath and 19 inches depth to allow for someone to position a wheelchair at the table. Tops of counters and tables should be 28-34 inches above the floor. Routes to accessible tables must have 36 inches of clear width and no abrupt level changes.Counters and bars must be at least 60 inches long and have a portion that has knee space so that someone in a wheelchair can use them.
Public restrooms must be accessible with at least 1 large accessible stall and an accessible sink and urinal. There must be room for someone using a wheelchair to approach the door and space to pull it open with a handle usable by someone with a disability. Inside the bathroom, there must be space to turn around in a wheelchair.
Signs should be on walls and 60 inches above the floor with braille and raised lettering.
Full size passenger elevators must be available if there are 2 or more stories to the building...
Read the full article at Access Advocates 
http://www.accessadvocates.com/2010-ada-standards-accessible-design-lodging-facilities/
SPORK! Similar Picks:
accessible

From the Heart: Embracing the Ability to Enable Others

Thanks to the inspiration of three local men collaborating with the creativity of area educators, 48,000 students in 53 schools are enjoying a fresh approach to Ability Awareness this academic year.  Founders of Del Corazon (From-the-Heart), Don Routh, Josh Routh, and Bill Wheeler, support the curriculum with informative videos, personal presentations, and the loan for a week to each participating school of 10 wheelchairs.  Children learn to appreciate their own abilities and embrace the challenge of enabling others to realize their full potential.  Also known as the Wheelchair Foundation Schools Project, the initiative fosters respect for the strengths of peers coping with intellectual, developmental, and physical challenges, while raising funds to send wheelchair to hundreds of individuals who would otherwise remain immobile.
The Wheelchair Foundation, established by Ken Behring in 2000, provides wheelchairs to people around the world who need but cannot afford a wheelchair.  In many countries, a wheelchair costs a worker’s entire annual income.  Todate, 955,000 wheelchairs have been delivered, bringing mobility, dignity, and hope to individuals aged two to over 102.
Elizabeth Campos at Montair Elementary found teaching from a wheelchair a daunting experience. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth CamposSince Bill Wheeler, founder of Blacktie Transportation, first invited Don and Josh to join him on a Wheelchair Foundation distribution trip, “the Three Amigos” have made 23 distribution trips to 14 Latin American countries, delivering 72,000 wheelchairs.  Asked to identify his favorite trip, Josh insists: “All of them!” His father, Don, concurs.  Each trip is different, every journey life changing.
Josh demonstrates to wheelchair recipients that their personal goals are achievable.  Doctors predicted Josh, born with Cerebral Palsy, would be a quadriplegic incapable of speech. At 31, he spoke his first word: “Soup!” His indefatigable spirit continues to feed his father’s dedication.  A graduate of San Ramon Valley High School, Josh relies on a wheelchair for mobility.  Now 35, he lives independently, drives his own car to work, and has multiple sports accomplishments to his credit.
In Paraguay, From-the-Heart delivered a wheelchair to another Josh.  Seeing his own son in the four-year old also coping with Cerebral Palsy, Don translated his parental experience into a message of hope for the mother.  Recalling how grateful he would have been for the advice of a mentor, Don happily shares his experience, encouraging care givers to believe in the possibility that their charges will be, likeJosh, successful adults.
In spring 2012, Don Routh presented the concept of a schools program to Pleasanton Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi.  Ahmadi immediately recognized the value.  “The potential of this endeavor as a true service learning project was incredible, and it was obvious that the impact to all involved would be profound,” she comments.  “The project allows our students to learn and apply their knowledge while serving others globally.  “Six PUSD elementary schools participated the following academic year.  Six teachers joined a wheelchair distribution tour that summer and all came back as zealous advocates of the program...
Read the full article at the Wheelchair Foundation 
(http://wheelchairfoundation.org/blog/from-the-heart-embracing-the-ability-to-enable-others/)
SPORK! Similar Picks:

> Is it OK to offer help to someone with a disability?
accessible

How amusement parks are becoming handicap accessible

By: Paisley Hansen

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides broad protections for people with disabilities to prevent discrimination. The Act maintains that places of public accommodation must be accessible to those with disabilities. Amusement parks have a duty to ensure that they comply with the ADA.

Those who have disabilities often cannot endure waiting in long lines in hot weather. Amusement parks provide individuals with “fast passes” that allow them to cut lines if they have a disability. Amusement parks are increasingly trying to take the needs of individuals with disabilities into consideration.

The Impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in Amusement Parks

The United States Access Board currently advances regulations in regards to treatment of people with disabilities by businesses throughout the U.S. The Board also maintains accessibility guidelines that businesses may use in determining how to proceed with treatment of individuals with disabilities. Recreation facilities, such as amusement parks, can consult the numerous articles available at  www.access-board.gov.

Today, the ADA covers a broad spectrum of facilities within amusement parks. The ADA provides guidelines for the creation of amusement rides, miniature golf courses, fishing piers, water rides, boating facilities, swimming pools, bowling lanes, exercise equipment and shooting facilities.

Accessibility Guidelines for Individuals with Disabilities at Amusement Parks

The ADA guidelines maintain that each newly constructed amusement ride must contain at least one space that is designated for a wheelc. The Act also encourages operators to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible seats beyond the requirement to ensure that additional family members can ride with loved ones.

Rides must also feature an accessible route for people with disabilities. The accessible route must feature a load and unload area. Rides that are only controlled by the rider, such as bumper cars, do not need to comply with the guidelines under the ADA. Also, carnival rides and state festival rides do not need to comply with the ADA.

Rides that provide wheelchair spaces should be designed to meet minimum space requirements and clearances. A wheelchair lift like this can be used for the loading and unloading process. The lift should be completely secure so that there is no room for a wheelchair to fall.

Amusement Parks Catering to the Needs of People with Disabilities

Numerous amusement parks make a concentrated effort to provide accessibility for people with disabilities. Morgan’s Wonderland is one of the leading theme parks for individuals with disabilities. It is located in San Antonio, TX. The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation created the theme park. The founder’s daughter, who is sixteen and has autism, inspired the inclusion objective of the theme park. The theme park promotes full inclusion of people with disabilities, and admission is free for guests with special needs. The admission rates are also very affordable, and children only need to pay $10 for admission. The theme park contains rides that can be fully operated by people in a wheelchair, such as small go-carts on a track. The theme park also provides quiet retreat spaces for visitors who may become overwhelmed by the experience, such as a “magical garden.”

Holiday World is another amusement park that is committed to the inclusion of people with disabilities. People with disabilities can pay a reduced admission fee once a year. A special boarding pass is also available for those with disabilities. Individuals may pre-schedule a boarding time for a ride and avoid long lines. Legoland also gives ride access passes to those who have disabilities. The pass allows a guest and three companions to bypass lines for up to 10 rides in a day.

Special needs individuals who are interested in going to a theme park should contact the customer service departments of the theme park. Many theme parks do not publicly post their “free pass” or “fast pass” policies available for those who have disabilities to prevent people without disabilities from taking advantage of the policies. Instead, individuals should speak with a customer service representative to learn more about the facilities and fast pass options that may be available to them.

 Read more at www.sporkability.org 
accessible
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)