This is my work building one week after a moderate snow storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because a building is \u201cAPA compliant\u201d doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s actually accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are just a few examples of legally accessible spaces not actually being accessible. I know those of us in the disabled community can list off many more examples. And this doesn\u2019t even include spaces where there is no attempt at accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me the hardest part about being disabled is living in a world not made for me. And all the places that used to be readily available to me. Beaches, restaurants, stores, pathways, hiking trails, historical sites, theaters, school events, fieldtrips, etc., etc. are all either much more difficult or entirely impossible to navigate with my rollator or wheelchair. I spend many hours before every outing researching the accessibility of each location. Even protests for social justice movements are often not inclusive of or accessible to disabled people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Society sees disability as the problem, but I blame society. Disabled people like me are normal people. Not only are we not a burden; we are a blessing. And many of us have important jobs, children, partners, spouses, and full lives. We are everywhere. Accessibility should be the norm. Not seen as an obstacle or annoyance. Businesses should joyfully make their spaces available to all their potential consumers. I happily support any business that makes their space readily accessible to me. That treat me as a normal person. Not as an extra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even typically accessible places are often made temporarily inaccessible. By able bodied people parked illegally in handicapped spaces; cars parked on the yellow accessible curbs; elevators not readily repaired or replaced; snow left on handicapped parking spaces and in front of accessible curbs; able bodied people using the only handicapped stall in a bathroom when other stalls are empty. All of these examples happen to me on a regular basis. They are all typical obstacles for me on my way into work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of this inaccessibility needs to change. It is already hard for disabled people to navigate a world made for abled bodies. Let\u2019s all work together to not make it even harder. Don\u2019t use handicapped bathroom stalls unless you need them. Never park illegally in a handicapped parking spot for any reason or for any length of time. Never block accessible areas on curbs for any reason. You never know when a disabled person will need to use those spaces. And whenever possible report able bodied people for using services meant for disabled persons. I have the Westminster City Police (the station just down the street from my therapy office) phone number saved as a favorite in my phone for this reason. Not to be cruel or mean or vindictive. But to help create a world that\u2019s more aware of and accessible to the needs of disabled people. Advocate for inclusiveness in your community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am so very thankful for organizations and companies who create products that make difficult places more accessible. Access Trax is a great example. http:\/\/accesstraxsd.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Disabled Hikers rates hiking trails for their accessibility and how many \u201cspoons\u201d it might take for a disabled person to navigate. http:\/\/disabledhikers.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n And for those not familiar with The Spoon Theory, check it out here: https:\/\/butyoudontlooksick.com\/articles\/written-by-christine\/the-spoon-theory\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m sure there are many other organizations advocating for accessibility. Let me and my readers know about them in a comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, even with a great company like Access Trax, disabled individuals and\/or their families need to have the funds available to purchase their own equipment, making it still inaccessible to many. The next step would be communities readily providing these products as free services for disabled community members or visitors. Or utilizing other methods to make places accessible \u2013 ramps, boardwalks, flat trails, etc., etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s work together to make a more inclusive accessible world. Disability is not the main problem. Accessibility matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is my work building one week after a moderate snow storm. Just because a building is \u201cAPA compliant\u201d doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s actually accessible. Leaving disability friendly pathways and ramps uncleared. Plowing snow in a parking lot and dumping big piles of it in the handicapped spaces Overgrown landscaping Uneven sidewalks Broken elevators Not giving … Continue reading “Accessibility Matters”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18,11,20,19],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-accessibility","tag-disability","tag-inaccessibility","tag-inclusion"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/8FA6A7F3-DB17-4878-999C-96E96BD33905_1_102_o.jpeg?fit=1536%2C2048&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions\/156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chronicallyfabuloustherapist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}