Wheelchair Accommodation - Do I Have to Think For Them Too?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
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Another wild story about disability accommodation, or the lack thereof. This time, it might lead to a happy ending.
A few weeks ago I went to an event in Dunning Hall at Queen's University after checking out the accessibility of the building on their web site.
The web site said it was accessible, so off I went. I asked the Access Bus to drop me off at the front door. There was even a power door opener installed there. The one thing I discovered, though is the map web site for Queen's, should probably take down the note that says the front door is wheelchair accessible. There is a stair lift there, but as I soon discovered no one knows where to find the keys, or how to run it.
I phoned someone at the CFRC radio station, because I was going to this event as a volunteer to record the event, and asked them if they had a key. They didn't, so they suggested I call security and gave me the number. I called them and they sent over 2 custodians. Neither one of them knew how to run the lift so they just shrugged their shoulders and said sorry.
Fortunately I thought to ask them how a building could be described as accessible if no one knew how to let me in, and then asked if there was another door. Their eyes lit up and they said yes, but you'd have to go outside to wheel to the ramp at the back door, and we didn't think you'd want to do that! Urgh. I hate it when people assume they know what I would want to do. How can they not stop and think that, if I can't get into the building, I would have to wait inside the front door for 2 hours fuming and twiddling my thumbs while I waited for the Access Bus to come back to get me.
I somehow managed to contain my anger and said, please show me the way. They let out a big sigh, and then off they went with me following them.
About a week after this incident occurred, I spoke to someone from the Queen's Accessibility Committee because I had some concerns about a barrier into the CFRC Radio Station as well. I am a volunteer and I used to be able to go in, but when the station manager approached the powers-that-be to ask for funding to make the station accessible, that was the end of it. There wasn't enough funds to make the building accessible right away and, when they heard I was being carried in there, they cited liability concerns and immediately put a stop to it. What a shock.
Anyway, after thinking about it I am convinced that part of the problem is that they don't know what is entailed to take me in, or what safety precautions I insist must be taken each and every time. I'm not a fan of pain, so believe me, I'm going to make sure that proper body mechanics are used so no one gets hurt and drops me.
What I do is, make sure 3 men or women are involved, and then I have them pop me into a wheelie and do a controlled roll down the stairs. I don't want them lifting me because I'm heavy, and it would place all of us at a greater risk of being hurt.
When I saw the accessibility coordinator I asked a lot of questions.
I asked if she knew I could no longer go into the station. She said no. I then asked if she thought that fear of the unknown might be what's causing them to err to far on the side of caution and ban me. She said yes, this is likely the case. I then asked if she could arrange to hold a meeting so I could do a show-and-tell with the powers-that-be to mitigate their fears. She liked the idea.
Better yet, when I moved onto the next topic to ask if she could help to create some awareness about how to use the lift in Dunning Hall, she said it rarely, if ever, has been used. It was bought for a professor and he/she was too afraid to use it. That's why they built the second entrance.
After collecting myself from the shock of hearing about such excessive waste, I asked, is there any reason why the lift can't be moved to Carruthers Hall where the CFRC Radio Station is? I certainly would use it. In fact, I told her I would dance and do cartwheels, if it meant I could once again be included in something, instead of being banned because of an unfounded fear of a potential liability.
She said she likes the way I think and she is definitely going to look into it.
A few days later I was talking to the manager of the radio station and she was so excited. The accessibility committee representative had apparently gone over to the station, immediately after talking to me, to see what plans she could put in place to accommodate me again.
I'm thrilled.
All I can say is, what are they thinking? The students at Queen's are supposed to be our upcoming leaders and educators. How come they never realized that:
Besides, we are people too. We love to take part in life and we want to be a contributing member of society.
Thank you for reading.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
A few weeks ago I went to an event in Dunning Hall at Queen's University after checking out the accessibility of the building on their web site.
The web site said it was accessible, so off I went. I asked the Access Bus to drop me off at the front door. There was even a power door opener installed there. The one thing I discovered, though is the map web site for Queen's, should probably take down the note that says the front door is wheelchair accessible. There is a stair lift there, but as I soon discovered no one knows where to find the keys, or how to run it.
I phoned someone at the CFRC radio station, because I was going to this event as a volunteer to record the event, and asked them if they had a key. They didn't, so they suggested I call security and gave me the number. I called them and they sent over 2 custodians. Neither one of them knew how to run the lift so they just shrugged their shoulders and said sorry.
Fortunately I thought to ask them how a building could be described as accessible if no one knew how to let me in, and then asked if there was another door. Their eyes lit up and they said yes, but you'd have to go outside to wheel to the ramp at the back door, and we didn't think you'd want to do that! Urgh. I hate it when people assume they know what I would want to do. How can they not stop and think that, if I can't get into the building, I would have to wait inside the front door for 2 hours fuming and twiddling my thumbs while I waited for the Access Bus to come back to get me.
I somehow managed to contain my anger and said, please show me the way. They let out a big sigh, and then off they went with me following them.
About a week after this incident occurred, I spoke to someone from the Queen's Accessibility Committee because I had some concerns about a barrier into the CFRC Radio Station as well. I am a volunteer and I used to be able to go in, but when the station manager approached the powers-that-be to ask for funding to make the station accessible, that was the end of it. There wasn't enough funds to make the building accessible right away and, when they heard I was being carried in there, they cited liability concerns and immediately put a stop to it. What a shock.
Anyway, after thinking about it I am convinced that part of the problem is that they don't know what is entailed to take me in, or what safety precautions I insist must be taken each and every time. I'm not a fan of pain, so believe me, I'm going to make sure that proper body mechanics are used so no one gets hurt and drops me.
What I do is, make sure 3 men or women are involved, and then I have them pop me into a wheelie and do a controlled roll down the stairs. I don't want them lifting me because I'm heavy, and it would place all of us at a greater risk of being hurt.
When I saw the accessibility coordinator I asked a lot of questions.
I asked if she knew I could no longer go into the station. She said no. I then asked if she thought that fear of the unknown might be what's causing them to err to far on the side of caution and ban me. She said yes, this is likely the case. I then asked if she could arrange to hold a meeting so I could do a show-and-tell with the powers-that-be to mitigate their fears. She liked the idea.
Better yet, when I moved onto the next topic to ask if she could help to create some awareness about how to use the lift in Dunning Hall, she said it rarely, if ever, has been used. It was bought for a professor and he/she was too afraid to use it. That's why they built the second entrance.
After collecting myself from the shock of hearing about such excessive waste, I asked, is there any reason why the lift can't be moved to Carruthers Hall where the CFRC Radio Station is? I certainly would use it. In fact, I told her I would dance and do cartwheels, if it meant I could once again be included in something, instead of being banned because of an unfounded fear of a potential liability.
She said she likes the way I think and she is definitely going to look into it.
A few days later I was talking to the manager of the radio station and she was so excited. The accessibility committee representative had apparently gone over to the station, immediately after talking to me, to see what plans she could put in place to accommodate me again.
I'm thrilled.
All I can say is, what are they thinking? The students at Queen's are supposed to be our upcoming leaders and educators. How come they never realized that:
- You don't buy a lift to accommodate someone, like the professor, without consulting with them first to make sure you will be adequately meeting their needs?
- That a person who has arrived at a building and self-identifies as not being a Queen's Student (who knows their way around) would be content wasting 2 hours at the top of some stairs because no one knew how to use the lift?
- That it is appropriate to assume they know what I need, and that's why they assumed I would not want to wheel to the ramp at the back of the building?
- That citing liability concerns without just cause, is not a violation of basic Human Rights?
Besides, we are people too. We love to take part in life and we want to be a contributing member of society.
Thank you for reading.
Please read my other Blogs:
Transit: http://wheelchairdemon-transit.blogspot.com
Health: http://wheelchairdemon-health.blogspot.com
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