ADA Accessibility Adventure

During my experience of being in a wheel chair, I learned a lot. Though it was for merely 15 minutes, the impact it had on me will definitely change the way I feel about my environment. It will also change the way I design and the way I sympathize to those with disabilities. As I wheeled myself to the coffee stand in Carpenter hall, I could feel the overwhelming sense of height from the counters at the stand. It was almost scary. It was nice to see a lowered section of the counter with a part to roll under where you received your coffee. Another problem I saw was holding my coffee. My chair didn’t have a cup holder so I had to hold it between my legs so I could use both hands to move myself and open doors. Most exterior doors had automatic doors to open, but most interior doors did not. When I observed my friend Susie in the wheelchair, she had a lot of difficulty opening doors such as the ones to the bathroom and library. It was very difficult to open the handle and then push open. In the case of the library, there was such difficulty opening the door that a young man in the library saw her trying to open the door, so he came out and held it open. That was very nice to see. I wonder if wheelchair users get a lot of help from strangers. After seeing how difficult it was for myself, I sure hope so. When I entered a bathroom in Daggy with a supposedly accessible stall, this was my hardest struggle. First of all, the bathroom was narrow and I could barely fit. Secondly, there was a trashcan right in the middle of the bathroom. Thirdly, the supposedly accessible stall was not accessible. It was sightly larger then the others, but I just could not fit. I got stuck for about ten minutes and ended up having to back out of the entire bathroom. It was not an enjoyable experience and I can imagine how horrible that would really be. Overall, I think our public environments should be accessible for everyone. Regardless of the cost, it is not fair to make people struggle to perform daily needs. There needs to be more space in bathrooms and libraries. There also needs to be more automatic door operators. I think that everyone who builds and designs buildings should experience what it’s like to maneuver and use their space in a wheelchair. Then they would understand.