tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post8534140076233381708..comments2023-03-24T23:49:46.504+10:00Comments on Memo To Self: Accessibility FailSelenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-83104324536752788492011-10-25T20:40:32.484+10:002011-10-25T20:40:32.484+10:00Thanks for the comment, Rachel! I totally agree r...Thanks for the comment, Rachel! I totally agree re the door opening thing, it's just a logic fail sometimes, isn't it! And the amount of crap put right in the middle of footpaths is just amazing. I like the idea of filing complaints, will look into it, thanks.Selenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-38441421866797050202011-10-21T08:58:35.242+10:002011-10-21T08:58:35.242+10:00If I were in charge, all homes would be built whee...If I were in charge, all homes would be built wheelchair accessible and all bathroom stalls would be disabled-friendly.<br /><br />Years ago I broke my leg badly enough that I couldn't bear any weight on it for 11 months. I used a walker instead of crutches and had endless difficulty with doors and doorways. I often found doorways in homes to be so narrow that I had to turn my walker sideways to pass through. I was very lucky that I was quite fit and agile so that completing that manuver was possible for me.<br /><br />I had to change where I shopped because there were doors that I could not hold open and walk through at some of my usual stores (and all that exercize I was getting with my arms meant I was able to bench press 350 pounds!) When I went to the mall I couldn't use the bathrooms at all because the stall doors opened inward and while my walker and I (just barely) fit within, once there, I couldn't close the door.<br /><br />There were sidewalks I sometimes had to traverse that were so treacherous that I had to go sideways or go in the street to get by. Forget about the fire hydrants and bus shelters built so that I couldn't pass.<br /><br />I've become slightly rabid about filing complaints against the city for their ADA compliance failures. In my neighborhood, if you are in a wheelchair, you cannot use the sidewalks at all, the broken pavement and fixtures make them impassable.Rachelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-27736530666680196762011-05-05T00:33:29.846+10:002011-05-05T00:33:29.846+10:00What a great post! Thank you for sharing this, an...What a great post! Thank you for sharing this, and for pointing out things that I tend to take for granted. It's a good reminder to observe our surroundings from someone else's perspective. By the way, your kids are so cute - oh, the fabulous curls!!Christihttp://www.mytemperedtantrum.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-30645342388498858172011-05-03T16:11:11.196+10:002011-05-03T16:11:11.196+10:00@ Sponge, people NOT moving out of my way is an ab...@ Sponge, people NOT moving out of my way is an absolute rage inducer for me, I've had that only too often, I think on my last BADD post I mentioned a time I just said loudly at one man "If you're not moving for the woman pushing a disabled child in a wheelchair with her other child in a sling on her back, who the fuck are you moving for?" Lolz indeed.<br /><br />@starrlife, thanks!!!Selenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-12225767400259225512011-05-03T16:08:52.433+10:002011-05-03T16:08:52.433+10:00I totally agree, Lauredhel and Wheelchair Dancer, ...I totally agree, Lauredhel and Wheelchair Dancer, which is why I think point 4 is actually the most important one, an temporarily ablebodied person just sitting in a chair or scooter, using a cane, and so on in all the infinite variations is NEVER enough, and does only the smallest amount of creating awareness of experience. I think asking is the best and only sensible policy. <br /><br />Like pushing a child in a chair is a different set of challenges and experience than being in a chair yourself, which is different from using a powerchair, or a scooter, and so on in our infinite variability. <br /><br />The trying it out yourself is just one small way to get a glimpse. A collaborative list would be a cool thing.Selenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-2923751849217090622011-05-03T14:28:54.328+10:002011-05-03T14:28:54.328+10:00Extending WCD's point, just one of many things...Extending WCD's point, just one of many things that being abled in a wheelchair doesn't tell you - pain. An abled person might be able to go over bumps, rough ground, up or down small kerbs, and even maybe have fun doing it. For some of us, those bumps are incredibly painful, and add up to a lot more exhaustion and difficulty.<br /><br />I would also like people to pay attention, even while just looking at wheeled devices (and accessibility is SO much more), to scooter accessibility as well as wheelchair accessibility, because they're not at all the same thing.lauredhelhttp://www.lauredhel.dreamwidth.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-82361623059357953942011-05-03T03:05:33.913+10:002011-05-03T03:05:33.913+10:00hey!!! also here from BADD
I think it is really ...hey!!! also here from BADD<br /><br />I think it is really important for people to see what happens when you take a wheelchair somewhere. But I also think there's a difference between being able bodied in a wheelchair and watching a disabled person who uses a wheelchair point stuff out. For me, it's partly a principle thing, but it's also an important reality as you point out: sometimes, the theory -- more room and a rail doesn't really constitute accessibility. <br /><br />I love the idea of "accessibility fail" being a vast network of blogs, writers, pictures and contributors that stretches across the world.Wheelchair Dancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11981313345401954118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-11486762060847385542011-05-02T21:34:12.568+10:002011-05-02T21:34:12.568+10:00All great ideas! I love your spirit and way with w...All great ideas! I love your spirit and way with words! Cheers to BADD!<br />Thanks for coming by my way!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-27596299559516582162011-05-02T21:23:52.108+10:002011-05-02T21:23:52.108+10:00A great post. I tended to find similar problems w...A great post. I tended to find similar problems when I went out with my (late) grandma for trips. I wanted her to enjoy all the things I could, and all the things she always had, before she needed the wheelchair to get around in.<br /><br />Things like theatre trips in London. (Does anyone know how steep they make the slopes in the stalls? I thought the stalls were pretty much flat....boy was I wrong about that...and the whole place had cleared out so no-one could help (and also no-one saw me struggle, lol!)). <br /><br />The worst thing I always tended to find though, was people NOT moving out of your way....in fact people walking right towards you as thought you ought to get out of their way. Gosh, what an incovenience we were (yeah right!). This was also true in supermarkets, down the street, wherever.<br /><br />The saddest time was when I took my nan to a little cafe she and my mum had gone to all through the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and now here I was taking my nan to the same place for a treat. The only problem was the only toilets in the place were up a very steep flight of stairs (which we hadnt remembered). I think it took about 3 or 4 strong men to help her up. It makes me so sad to think of it as she was a very proud lady, but then again she did like a few handsome men making a fuss of her!<br /><br />I wont even get started on the time I tried to look in to booking a trip down memory lane to the Austrian Alps.....needless to say it never happened....but begs the question - how do disabled or elderly people there cope? And are there some places that disabled and elderly people just shouldnt be? Grrrrrr, course not!<br /><br />Space is for everyone to enjoy and use.Spongehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058293884786588134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-44378919318531033782011-05-02T11:58:37.479+10:002011-05-02T11:58:37.479+10:00Oh, yeah, the non-auto doors! Because in a narrow...Oh, yeah, the non-auto doors! Because in a narrow/normal doorway it's a breeze to reach around a rigid wheelchair, open the door (either way, in or out, it all sucks), keep the friggin thing open somehow while wheeling through it, while corralling a 3 year old. Oh yeah.<br /><br />And what IS it with "disabled" toilets!!??Selenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-10723364517930557832011-05-02T11:36:31.993+10:002011-05-02T11:36:31.993+10:00A-BLEEPIN'-MEN!
I used to work for a fairly g...A-BLEEPIN'-MEN!<br /><br />I used to work for a fairly good sized University that long has had accessibility problems. She had a run in with the campus ADA person (someone I did, ages later, whom I... had issues with), who insisted that the campus was "fully accessible" and he should "know" because he was in a mobility scooter. <br /><br />So they went for a walk around campus. And guess what? Turned out the ADA Person had never really explored a lot of campus, and her job involved going into buildings all over campus.<br /><br />Fast forward 10 yrs later (2005ish?). They build a BRAND! NEW! high technology building for use by the University and corporate partners. When the building opened<br /> - the automatic door openers were not hooked up [ie. the buttons were there for show]<br /> - the 'accessible' bathrooms were tiny with a thin rail, and had wall-mounted toilets [which can only hold up to 250 lbs, which a 150 lb person in a wheelchair can *easily* exceed swinging themselves onto the seat].<br /> - many corners were "artful" so that they looked pretty, but were too narrow for mobility devices<br /><br />etc.<br /><br />Gotta love it.Moosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10397412122635951126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-77821025899114322682011-05-02T01:14:43.775+10:002011-05-02T01:14:43.775+10:00I just wrote a paper about this. The water fountai...I just wrote a paper about this. The water fountain in a restaurant is low enough for wheelchair users but isn't made so a person can easily get to it; the restaurant has no automatic door opening button. There is an accessible bathroom, but there is no sink or trashcan inside.Marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06507671847375305013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-3228411528526359192011-05-01T23:01:49.467+10:002011-05-01T23:01:49.467+10:00So much fail! I'm surprised by how many peopl...So much fail! I'm surprised by how many people don't even notice it.Ruth Madisonhttp://www.ruthmadison.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-30178841744791403272011-05-01T22:03:04.239+10:002011-05-01T22:03:04.239+10:00I love your suggestions so many times when I try ...I love your suggestions so many times when I try to use facilities I think if only someone had actually brought a wheelchair in here when making it accessible. Great post!Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00170658770134559035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-28879618089728650692011-05-01T18:43:54.113+10:002011-05-01T18:43:54.113+10:00Great post! Time and time again I get pissed off a...Great post! Time and time again I get pissed off at the lack of accessibility! And so many times people have stood and watched me as I struggle! I am going to keep an eye out now and take photos and join you!!Annahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18190504250173924330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-69620853568813573242011-05-01T17:47:33.602+10:002011-05-01T17:47:33.602+10:00Sounds great, I'd love that, codeman38! I'...Sounds great, I'd love that, codeman38! I'm not on dreamwidth *off to investigate*<br /><br />@Elizabeth, love your post, I want one of those posters...lolSelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906565055142387639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-80861756380049382292011-05-01T16:55:20.574+10:002011-05-01T16:55:20.574+10:00Are you on Dreamwidth, by any chance? There's ...Are you on Dreamwidth, by any chance? There's a whole group blog called <a href="http://accessibility-fail.dreamwidth.org/" rel="nofollow">Accessibility Fail</a> there, and it's exactly what it sounds like<br /><br />I'd be glad to send an invite along so you could post there.codeman38https://www.blogger.com/profile/09005307767833296869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6177817705754553801.post-68541232900664638512011-05-01T12:59:13.882+10:002011-05-01T12:59:13.882+10:00Great post -- ironically, I've got my own beef...Great post -- ironically, I've got my own beef on the disabled over on my blog.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03313726816776097840noreply@blogger.com