Listen To The Real Experts

Catherine's cousin said, "People who are the experts on disability are not the doctors. It's the people with disabilities." Well said, Catherine... My state legislators need to view this video...

Hailing a Cab (maybe)

Although we've never made the trip, my family would love to visit New York City. We've never been in a city that large or in my opinion, that exciting, and a visit one day is very appealing to us. But I may now have to rethink that...

You see, New York City's Mayor Bloomberg, thinks accessible taxis are a waste of time and money. And of course, one cannot visit NYC without at some point having to take a cab. Here are a few of Mayor Bloomberg's comments about accessible cabs:

"Their suspension is much worse, so the average person riding in them finds them really uncomfortable,"

"If you're in a wheelchair, it's really hard to go out in the street and hail down a cab and get the cab to pull over and get into [it],"

Mayor Bloomberg also said that accessible cabs would inconvenience able-bodied passengers, and noted that hacks don't like them because they are so spacious that the drivers can't establish rapport with riders - and get smaller tips as a result.

The sad fact is that only 231 of the city's 13,000 taxis are accessible to people with wheelchairs. And since my family has two wheelchair users, I'm guessing a trip to NYC is not in our future...

According to the New York Daily News:

Champions of the handicapped immediately ripped Bloomberg's "insulting" riff.

"The mayor's completely out of touch," said Assemblyman Micah Kellner, a Manhattan Democrat who was born with cerebral palsy. "When was the last time Mayor Bloomberg used a New York City taxi or a wheelchair?"

Added Edith Prentiss of the Taxis For All Campaign: "It's a sad day for New York City when a mayor works so hard to deny people like me the right to take a taxi. It's wrong, it's indefensible,and it won't stand."

So where do you stand on this issue? Do you think New York City needs more accessible cabs, or do you think the Mayor is correct - it's not a realistic solution? Keep in mind as you answer that question that the decisions made in New York City have the potential to drive decisons for smaller cities - maybe even yours.

(image courtesy of David Handschuh, New York Daily News)

What Do You Think?

Ronnie has a wheelchair basketball tournament coming up in a few weeks. It will be held at one of our local universities, and is sponsored by Sportable, an organization in our area that is committed to providing adaptive sports opportunities for people from age five to age 90.



Ronnie is the only Deaf player on the team. We've spent the last week or so trying to figure out how he will know if the referee blows his whistle, and how the coach can convey play strategy to Ronnie.

I think we have figured out the whistle thing with the help of the women's basketball coach from Gallaudet University. When Ronnie's teammates hear the whistle, they will put their arms in the air thus alerting Ronnie.

But the coaching instructions are a bit more difficult. We have experimented with the coach having a blue tooth headset and communicating via an IPhone dictation app to Ronnie. But, doing it that way is a little cumbersome. The ideal solution would be to have an interpreter.

But interpreters are really expensive.

In the past, we had a volunteer and that worked really well. Unfortunately our volunteer moved away, and I haven't had much luck finding another volunteer. So one of the options we had been exploring was to ask the university where the tournament is being held to provide interpreters for the day.

They declined, saying they felt it was Sportable's responsiblity to provide the interpreters.

Two conflicting opinions have been voiced. One, the interpreting company feels that the university is just as responsible for interpreters as they are for accessible bathrooms, wheelchair ramps, and such. In a very impassioned email on the subject, the head of the interpreting company wrote:

Does this mean that if your child was in a wheelchair they’d put a lock on the handicap-accessible bathroom door? Put gates in front of ramps? Would you have to find a volunteer to carry your child (and wheelchair) into the building? Put a diaper on him (since he wouldn’t be able to get into the bathroom)?

The other opinion says it is indeed Sportable's responsiblity to provide interpreters since they are the ones running the tournament. Unfortunately, Sportable, being a non-profit that has a shoestring budget, cannot afford to do that.

So I am just wondering - whose opinion do you think is correct?

A More Accessible America

My boys and I like to go to baseball games. We've been to Baltimore for the last two years for an Orioles game, and we have season tickets to the Richmond Squirrels baseball team. But, finding accessible seating seems to always be an issue. I wrote a blog last year about the Richmond ball park.

But all that should now change with the revised and expanded Americans With Disabilities Act. The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than 7 million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places, and emergency preparedness shelters.

The 2010 standards also include, for the first time, standards on making swimming pools, parks, golf courses, boating facilities, exercise clubs, and other recreation facilities accessible for individuals with disabilities. Entities covered by the ADA have until March 15, 2012 to comply with the revised standards.

I suggest you visit the Department of Justice's ADA website for more details.

(Although this is a move in the right direction, I am really worried about where things are going with the Federal budget. I fear the next areas to receive cries for cuts will be the entitlement programs like Medicaid. Having accessible seating at the baseball park means little if my children can't receive the medical care they desperately need.)

Noticed!

I'm very excited! My other blog, www.ustooplease.com, has been noticed by one of my town's local TV news station, and I have been asked to be a regular contributor to their community news section!

Of course, there is no compensation involved other than seeing my name as a byline, but still it's very exciting.

Here's my first article (which was also posted on www.ustooplease.com):

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts - Accessibility Review

Lawsuits Abound

Denise Payne, a Florida resident who has cerebral palsy, and her business partner, Robert Forlano, formed a 5013C charitable organization called the National Alliance for Accessibility. As in Virginia, all charitable organizations are required to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Ms. Payne’s organization, however, is not registered as required by law.

Ms. Payne and her organization filed six lawsuits in the Roanoke, Virginia federal court alleging many area establishments are not accessible. Included in the list of establishments are several shopping malls, two hotels and Radford University. The six cases target Virginia, but Ms. Payne has recently filed over 200 similar cases, all alleging a lack of accessibility.

While I am in full support of pursuing issues through legal means IF ALL OTHER ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE ISSUES FAIL, I do not support this shotgun approach to demand change. I have to wonder what the real motivation is in all these cases.

As you know, I recently started a new website titled www.ustooplease.com. I purposely added the word ‘please’ to that web address. And as I mention on that website, I truly want to raise awareness about accessibility and inclusion. I share all my observations on that website with the businesses I review. I offer a list of resources to help those businesses become more accessible and inclusive.

I believe communities will begin to welcome everyone when everyone works together to realize true inclusion.

Like a dog that is beaten every time it urinates in its owner’s house, it will eventually become housebroken. But the dog will never truly be a part of that owner’s family – it will remain an animal that is continually beaten to achieve the owner’s goals.

I don’t want businesses to make changes for accessibility and inclusion because they are beaten into doing so. I want their decisions to be based on the realization that an inclusive community is a true community.

My website is www.ustooplease.com. Ms. Payne’s should be www.ustoooriwillsueyou.com.

(I searched and searched for Ms. Payne's and her organization's website but could find nothing. Nor could I find a telephone number after almost an hour of searching the web.)

It's a Launch!

Many years ago, I would go shopping or out to a restaurant without a thought about accessibility. I would walk up curbs without thinking about people in wheelchairs. I would get annoyed with store aisles that were so packed with merchandise that I couldn’t find what I wanted. But, it would never occur to me that some people wouldn’t even be able to move around that same store. And like a lot of other people, I would stare at a blind person using a cane, but I wouldn’t ask if I could assist or direct them to the checkout register.

All that changed when I adopted four children, two of whom are in wheelchairs, one who is blind, and one who doesn’t handle too much sensory input very well. Although those adoptions began 14 years ago, I’ve not seen much progress related to accessibility in my community or other communities my family visits.

So I decided to create a website as a way to raise awareness about accessibility and inclusion. My new site is called US TOO PLEASE.



As my children and I travel through our community, I will review the places we visit. I will write about how physically accessible they are – how welcoming they are to people with disabilities – how inclusive a product or service they offer – and whether or not they make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.

I do not mean US TOO PLEASE to be an exercise in bashing. I will share the good as well as the not so good, but I will always let each establishment know the results of my review. I will offer to publish any comments they may have, and I will inform them of resources that are available for improving their accessibility and inclusive practices.

My sincere hope is that this endeavor will help to improve my community, as well as all communities, for people with disabilities. I want to leave a legacy of inclusion for my children. I want to make a positive difference in the lives of all people, especially those with disabilities.

Please visit my new site and let me know what you think! And if you have any specific places you would like me to review, just send me an email.

p.s. Having a new website does NOT mean I will devote any less time to this blog - my baby that has allowed me to find my voice, to make special friendships, and to keep me sane! I will still be writing here every Monday through Friday as always!

A Subjective Comparison

We have an older gas barbecue grill that has served us well over the years. But for the Fourth of July this year, I wanted food cooked on a charcoal grill. I know it is more work to light the charcoal, wait for it to get ready and then cook as compared to the gas grill which would light with the push of a button. But the taste is very different. So off we went, all the kids and I, in search of a Weber barbecue grill.

In my town, there are two large hardware stores - Lowes and Home Depot. There are also some smaller stores, but usually their prices are higher. We decided to try Lowes first since it was closer to home.



We arrived in our tank of a van, unloaded wheelchairs and headed to the entrance where grills were on display. Apparently most people want gas because I saw no charcoal grills. We went into the store, and there stood a gentleman who appeared to be directing people to where they needed to go.

I asked where the Weber grills were, and he pointed me to an indoor display of gas grills. I politely said "No, I want a charcoal grill." He said, "I don't think we have any of those", and then he moved on to the next group entering the store.

As you might be able to imagine, as a group my family is hard to ignore. It is also pretty difficult for us to maneuver through a store with 2 wheelchairs and several people in tow. But because the gentleman told us there were no charcoal grills inside, we went back outside to check. Lo and behold, there was a Weber grill, just like we wanted.

We went back in the store, approached the gentleman again, and said, "We saw a Weber grill outside, and the tag said it was in location C29." He said, "Over there" and pointed to his left. We found the grill, in its box, stacked high above our heads. When we asked for help, he said it would be a while.

We left the store and decided to head to Home Depot.



The experience at Home Depot was completely different. This wasn't the first time I had noticed this, but everytime a Home Depot associate walks past you, they say hello and ask if you need help.

We found the exact grill we wanted - same price as Lowe's - got it loaded into a cart and headed to check out. The checkout person was very helpful, and said he could get the bar code without lifting the box. While paying, the associate spoke to Ashley and once we finished and were heading out, he said, "Thanks for shopping with Home Depot, and have a great holiday."

I realize that this was only one outing, and making a comparison between the two stores based on that is probably not fair. It's very subjective, but based on this one visit, you can probably guess where I will shop in the future.

Snow Bound

I tried really hard not to complain this holiday season. I didn't say anything about the stores and all their aisle-way displays making it impossible for a wheelchair user to shop. I haven't written any blog posts about all the people who seem bothered when I ask them to move just a bit so I can get Ashley's wheelchair around them, or the people in their cars who seem impatient as I load her wheelchair into the car.

But now I have to say something. Yesterday, after being stuck in the house because of an historic East Coast snow storm, we finally dug out and decided to go to the mall. As you probably know, the malls always have their parking lots clear before any other business, and that was especially true this last weekend before Christmas.

So, our road had been scraped, my boys had cleared the driveway, and we headed out. This is what we found when we arrived at the shopping mall:



Apparently people with disabilities should stay home when it snows. And for the record, I saw NO regular parking spots that had been blocked by snow. 4000 clear parking spots, and 4 clear handicapped parking spots. It's really too bad because I had quite a lot of shopping to do....and quite a lot of money to spend.

Today I am thankful for those people who believe in community and inclusion.

Dear Doctor

After four trips to three different doctor’s offices this past week, I have decided that most doctors’ offices are seriously in need of a redesign. And, they need to consult with us parents of children with special needs when doing the redesign.

For example, just separating one large room into two by using a row of chairs does not a sick and not-sick waiting area make. If you truly want to separate the children who are sick from the non-sick, two separate rooms, each with their own door, are needed.

If you wish to supply toys for the children while they wait, you need to follow daycare toy rules – wash them every evening in a bleach water solution – don’t include any soft toys like stuffed animals – and definitely consider that there may be children with vision and hearing impairments, autism, and other sensory issues. Also keep in mind that there may be children from infants to teens. My teen daughter really has no interest in your shape sorter toy.

It’s very nice if the office has automatic entry door (although most don’t), but what about all the other doors? Those of us with children in wheelchairs or walkers still have to perform acrobatics to get your exam room doors open or your bathroom doors open. And yes, most of you now have accessible bathrooms, but please consider that some childhood wheelchairs are huge, and that sometimes two adults are required to accompany a child to the restroom. Please make sure there is enough room for all the people and all the equipment.

If you supply books and magazine, please understand that many of our children with special needs love to tear paper. If you have a particular book or magazine that you cherish, don’t put it in the waiting room or the exam room. And about those exam rooms – I have yet to find one big enough to accommodate my child, her chair, her equipment, me, and another adult. As soon as I walk into the exam room, I turn into a furniture mover.

Also, I understand that many of the exams doctors perform require that a child lie on an exam table. But I can no longer lift my 14 year old daughter onto the table. If you really need her up there, we’ve got to come up with another idea, or at least 4 strong people.

I love my daughter’s doctors. They are some of the nicest, most caring people I have ever met, and I know they have my daughter’s best interest and optimum health at heart. But let’s not forget the practical side to caring for children with special needs…

Smart Canes

Almost every day I run across a news story about technological advances to aid people who are blind, deaf or deafblind. It's very exciting time right now as it seems there is more and more focus on finding assistive technology to make all of life more accessible for people with disabilities.

I've mentioned in previous posts about how my son, Chip, worked in the biomedical engineering lab at our local university this summer to assist in the development of a haptic device used to teach geometry to students who are blind. And then there was the story about Virginia Tech and their car for blind drivers. Now, I've found a story about a 'smart cane', a white cane with technology inbedded to make travel safer for people who are blind. What makes this all the more exciting is knowing how much more Ashley will be able to accomplish and experience as a result of all these developments!

According to the Associated Press, A cane equipped with the technology that retailers use to tag merchandise could help blind people avoid obstacles.

An engineering professor and five students at Central Michigan University have created a "Smart Cane" to read electronic navigational tags installed between buildings to aid the blind in reaching their destinations more easily.

"This project started as a way for me to teach students to see and understand the ways that engineering can be used for the greater good," said Kumar Yelamarthi, the professor and project leader. "We wanted to do something that would help people and make our campus more accessible."

During the spring term, Yelamarthi and five senior engineering students tested the cane, which is equipped with Radio Frequency Identification technology, similar to what retailers put on products to keep them from being stolen.

The Smart Cane contains an ultrasonic sensor that is paired with a miniature navigational system inside a messenger-style bag worn across the shoulder.

For the test, the students installed identification tags between two buildings on the campus in Mount Pleasant, Mich.. A speaker located on the bag strap gave audio alerts when the system detected an obstacle and told the user which direction to move.

Students wearing glasses that simulate visual impairment tested the cane.

The students also created a vibrating glove to assist those who are both visually and hearing-impaired.

Yelamarthi said it's one of the first outdoor applications of RFID and said he plans for students in upcoming classes to further refine the system while he seeks grants to speed the research.

The next step probably involves using the system in a wider area. Down the line, Yelamarthi wants to work toward integrating the Smart Cane's data with GPS.

Next Time, Ask

Last Saturday I attended something billed as a ‘Summer Institute’ for families of children who are deaf or hearing impaired. This ‘institute’ was held from 9am to 4pm at one of our local parks and was touted to have consultants from our state Department of Education, our state’s deafblind project, the Department of Rehabilitative Services, Resources for Independent Living, and other similar groups.

The day was arranged and sponsored by a local group called the Parent-Child-Advocate Program. It’s a group headed by a psychologist who is not deaf but who claims to offer assistance to ‘diverse’ populations. I attended a sign language class recently with this doctor’s intern and I must admit, she was quite taken with her signing ability. Unfortunately, the teacher and the rest of the class were not.

So, this whole thing baffled me a bit. I didn’t understand its structure or intent. And what I found at the ‘Summer Institute’ did nothing to clear up my confusion.

The meeting was held in an old carriage house. The facility was barely accessible and every noise echoed horribly. After just a few minutes in the room, Ashley couldn’t take it any longer. I also noticed that only one of the presenting groups had a representative present. The other groups had set up tables and left printed material but no person was present.

I felt uncomfortable, and Ashley was even more uncomfortable than I. The only bathroom facilities weren’t even close to wheelchair accessible, and I don’t believe the organizers (the doctor’s staff) took into account that not all deaf children are mobile.

Hopefully, this was just another of those organizations that has a good idea but doesn’t know how to implement the idea. I do have a suggestion for them – next time, ask the people you are targeting as attendees. Ask parents what works and what doesn’t work for their children. Ask both the children and the adults who are deaf what they have found will work for them. And then implement those ideas.

Please do not assume you know what will work. You are not deaf – you are not hearing impaired. None of you as far as I could tell had mobility issues or were vision impaired. If you really want to provide something of value, you must know your target audience.

And if the goal was to drum up business for the good doctor (his website lists him as a ‘life coach’), be upfront about it.

If you wondered why Ashley and I left after just 45 minutes, now you know. I hope you care.

Things That Caught My Eye This Week

I’m a Facebook user and have often wondered how accessible it was to someone who is blind. I have JAWS, the screen reader software, at work, but am not supposed to go on Facebook at work. So, I was pleased to find the following news story about Facebook’s commitment to making its site more accessible. Improvements will include:

• Audio CAPTCHA.


• Full HTML version of the site to make it easier for screen readers to decipher.


• Facebook Chat accessible by screen readers.


• Addition of a "no javascript" version of Facebook Gift Shop.


• Shortcut keys to major areas of the site.

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This week was the season opening for baseball. My sons have spent most of their Spring Break from school watching game after game on some TV subscription service they saved their money to buy. Yesterday, Mark Wetzel’s story appeared on the Sports Illustrated website. Mark is legally blind and is one of the most successful baseball hitting coaches in the world. After reading the article at Sports Illustrated, check out his personal website, The Blind Guy.

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Now from the land of ‘what the hell’, check out this story about Eddy Morten. Eddy Morten has Usher’s Syndrome, a condition causes him to be deaf and blind. Air Canada refused to let Mr. Morten travel on their plane alone. Mr. Morten is the father of two and is a Paralympic bronze medalist in Jude, and he can’t fly on a plane alone???? What is up with that?

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Hope Everyone has a safe and happy Easter, and finds lots of hidden eggs!!

Amazon Protest

Last February, Amazon unveiled its latest version of Kindle, an e-book reader. The new Kindle boasts some amazing features, even the ability to read the book aloud.

Unfortunately, authors of many of the e-books will not allow their books to be read aloud, and today, the Reading Rights Coalition is holding a protest in New York City outside the headquarters of The Authors Guild.

The protest will focus on the Guild's forcing of Amazon to place restrictions on the text-to-speech functions of its Kindle 2 device. The group claimed that Amazon's distribution rights did extend to the feature, and the company responded by allowing publishers to disable the text to speech feature on their books.

From the website of the Reading Rights Coalition, “We represent 15 million Americans who cannot read print because of blindness, dyslexia, spinal cord injury, and other print disabilities. We include school children, the elderly, professionals, college students, returning veterans, and your neighbors, family members and friends. We want to buy books. We have fought very hard for many years to have equal access to technology and information. For the first time, now that the Amazon Kindle 2 offers text-to-speech, which will read a book aloud, we can purchase and enjoy books like everybody else. Sadly, the Authors Guild does not support equal access for us.”

"This is blatant discrimination and we will not tolerate it." said Dr Marc Maurer, president of coalition member The National Organization for the Blind.

"Authors and publishers who elect to disable text-to-speech for their e-books on the Kindle 2 prevent people who are blind or have other print disabilities from reading these e-books."

Please take a moment to consider signing the petition in support of the protest.

Monday Musings

My children and I met our friends Lynnette and Brooke at the Norfolk, Virginia zoo this past Saturday. I have pictures, rescued from my parent's estate, which show my brother and me as 3 year olds feeding the ducks at that zoo. So, I was interested to see how different it would be now so many years later. And not surprisingly, it looked completely different.

The remodeling included many accessibility features which pleased me, and anyone in a wheelchair plus one companion could enter at no charge. That's an interesting feature that I have never seen at any other public institution.

The walkways were paved for the most part, and the bathrooms had some of the best accessibility features I have ever seen. But, the planners fell short on one very important thing. All the exhibits have fences around them, and the top rail of the fence falls at perfect eye level for someone in a wheelchair.

Neither Brooke nor Ashley could see past the fence. I wonder, when facilities are incorporating accommodations for people with disabilities, do they ever ask a disabled person their opinion?
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My son, Corey, who has been with our family for only four years, is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I know what some of the features of that particular diagnosis are, but is an extreme lack of attention to detail one of them? I can't find anything about that specifically, and wondered if other parents had experienced the same thing.
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Ashley is being evaluated by a group of communication specialists from our local university. The evaluation was initiated about many, many requests to her IEP team. In preparation for the evaluation, I was asked to videotape Ashley communicating in the home and community environments. The school staff would be videotaping at school.

Last week I requested copies of the school's videotapes, or at least the opportunity to come to the school to view the tapes. The school's response was "We'll have to discuss that among ourselves and get back to you."

Now I know they know I have a right to view those tapes. What is up with their response?

Thankful Thursday on Wednesday

Today I am thankful for the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities and their new campaign...

Today, in my state (Virginia), people are making a difference for Virginians with disabilities. Today, is the official launch of the ABLE TO CHOOSE public awareness campaign.

“The ABLE TO CHOOSE campaign invites Virginians to join in making all aspects of community life inclusive and welcoming to people with disabilities,” said Heidi Lawyer, Executive Director of the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities (VBPD).

“The Commonwealth has a promising opportunity to reform its historical focus on large state institutions and fully transition to a true community-based system of support for its citizens with disabilities, said 83% of Virginians in a recent poll funded in part by VBPD as part of the planning for ABLE TO CHOOSE.”

The campaign’s launch will take place at the Virginia General Assembly. Lawmakers, in town for 2 months, were offered coffee at 8am this morning, but they had only one choice – black coffee, no cream, no sugar, and no lattes. This lack of choice was intended as a friendly reminder that everyday options for person with disabilities in Virginia are still limited. The campaign asks legislators and the general public to imagine how they’s feel if they visited a coffee shop or restaurant and were offered few choices. This unimaginable situation, involving something as simple as coffee, represents the reality for many people with disabilities who have limited choiced in more important matters such as where they live and the services that they receive.

Lunch will also be offered to legislators, consisting of a menu with only one choice – item #46 – to represent Virginia’s standing as 46th among all states for community-based services for people with disabilities.

Over the next year, this outreach effort will continue, with Virginians taking part in community events, press coverage, public service announcements, online activity, educational material distribution, and other activities to motivate the community to become more involved in guaranteeing civil rights and equal opportunity.

I’m very excited about this campaign and will share more information about it as the year progresses. In the meantime, please take a moment to view this video:

"I never want to not be disabled"

My kids and I love the snow, but unfortunately we don't see very much of it around my part of Virginia. Then again, maybe that's why we love it - because we don't have to deal with piles and piles of dirty snow for 6 months out of every year. We get the pretty, magical snow that comes and goes in a few days, hopefully long enough to get a day or so out of school or work.

But parts of my state do get lots of snow, and one of our favorites is Wintergreen Ski Resort. If ever we are needing a dose of snow, Wintergreen is only an hour away.

One of the things I like most about Wintergreen is the owner's committment to providing a ski experience for everyone - even, dare I say it, people with disabilities. In addition to sponsoring the Virginia Winter Special Olympics each year, Wintergreen also has an adaptive sports program. Here is a great article that recently appeared in a Winston Salem, NC newspaper about the program, and one of its participants. I *love* her final comments in the article!

Adaptive Sports at Wintergreen

"Don't Come To Washington, D.C.", They Said

Are you a person with a disability or the parent/spouse/friend/caregiver of a person with a disability? Were you planning on attending the inauguration today in Washington, D.C. ? If so, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the event is far from accessible.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, in fact, has issued warnings that some people with disabilities interpret as a message that says, "If you have a disability, please do not attempt to attend the inauguration."

On its Web site, the committee warns that handicapped parking will be limited and not close to the Capitol, and that there will be fewer drop-off points for people using wheelchairs. Accessible seating is limited for those with tickets to the swearing-in ceremony. And, "persons in wheelchairs or utilizing walkers should be aware that they will need to move across bumpy surfaces, grassy areas and possible icy areas (depending on the weather)."

"This is like a big, bold sign that says if you're a person with a disability, this is not your event," Richard Simms, executive director of the D.C. Center for Independent Living said.

The inaugural committee can't work crowd-control miracles, but as Andrew Imparto, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities has said, "We'd hope the congressional committee could figure out a way to accommodate everybody. Our experience is that when accessibility is taken seriously, it makes for a smoother event all around."

I know soon-to-be-President Obama is very, very busy with the life-changing events that have been put in motion, but I would like him to remember the story he told of his father-in-law in this video he made during his campaign. More than anyone, Barack and Michelle Obama should be sensitive to this issue…

How Do You Zoo?

Dear Washington National Zoo;



My children and I were so excited about our visit yesterday. I had checked out your website to make sure the park was accessible, and you said that it was. You specifically mentioned that ALL exhibits were wheelchair accessible, and that all the bathrooms were handicapped accessible. Imagine my surprise when we arrived and I discovered that you had lied.

Three of your parking lots had handicapped parking, so you said. It’s true that you had three parking spaces in each of those lots that had the big blue wheelchair guy painted on the ground. But, there were no lanes next to the parking spaces. Fortunately, I didn’t have a van equipped with a wheelchair lift, because if I had, I would not have been able to get my daughter out of our van. Needless to say, I wasn’t real happy to pay the $20 parking fee.

You did warn on your website that the grounds of the zoo were in hilly Rock Creek Park. You weren’t kidding. Fortunately, I had two strong teenaged sons to push Ashley’s wheelchair. I’m not sure I could have done it myself.

One of the first things I noticed was that most of the exhibits were not quite as accessible as you indicated. I understand that we couldn’t get very close to the wild animals, but none of your informational signs had either Braille or raised lettering. Nor was there any sort of audio system available for a person who might be blind or visually impaired, as my daughter is.

Most of the doors leading to the indoor exhibits were not equipped with an automatic opener. Again, I had my sons to help with the doors, but if I was alone and in a wheelchair, I could not have gotten into most of the indoor exhibits.

And let’s talk about the so-called handicapped accessible bathrooms. I visited the two main bathrooms on Olmstead Walk. Both facilities had lots of stalls – probably close to 30 or 40 – but only one of them was marked as handicapped accessible. I guess you didn’t anticipate that more than one person in a wheelchair would need to use the bathroom at any given time. But even worse, the one stall marked as handicapped accessible in both bathrooms was unusable. Both toilets were stopped up, and the floors of both were covered in filthy water. We were in the park for over three hours, and the two handicapped accessible stalls stayed that way the entire time. I can’t begin to find the words to describe how difficult it was for my daughter to use the restroom.

Things were no better in the one indoor restaurant you provided. It was hard to swallow that it cost $45 for 4 hotdogs, 4 orders of fries, and 4 drinks, but even harder to swallow was the fact that I couldn’t get my daughter’s wheelchair down the aisles to a table. There was no room.

Washington National Zoo, I am so very disappointed in you. And I’m angry – angry that you use my tax dollars yet my daughter can’t use your facilities. I read your ten year strategic plan that is posted on your website, and there is no mention whatsoever in that plan of accessibility. How, as a government entity, do you get away with that?

We won’t be back...

Christmas With The Sesame Street Gang

One of Ashley's Christmas presents this year was going to the Sesame Street Live show at our Coliseum. She went two years ago and really, really enjoyed it, so today's trip was much anticipated by Ashley and I and Amy, Ashley's aide. But, our excitement was slightly dampened when we arrived at the Coliseum.

Although there was plenty of handicapped parking in the parking deck across the street from the Coliseum, there was no ramp or safe access from the parking deck to the facility. Amy and I had to push Ashley in her wheelchair up the entrance ramp to the deck. And then we had to travel a bit in the street just to reach the curb cut.

When we entered the Coliseum, a helpful worker directed us to the elevator which would take us to the floor level seats. I wanted Ashley to be as close to the stage as possible given her significant vision impairment, but when I ordered the tickets through TicketMaster, there was no way for me to request accessibility. I just hoped for the best.

Unfortunately, when we arrived on the floor level, the barrier around the seats had several openings to walk through, but a wheelchair couldn't be pushed through because there was a curb height barrier. The Coliseum workers tried to be helpful and said they would lift Ashley's chair over the barrier. But, as I mentioned before, Ashley doesn't like strangers touching her chair. So, Amy and I got Ashley to stand and step over the barrier, and then we lifted her chair over. Needless to say, I wasn't real pleased about this.

Then we found our seats. There were several rows back from the stage, and in the middle of the long row. I mentioned to another worker that we would need one of the chairs moved so Ashley could sit in her wheelchair. The worker said she couldn't do that. At that point, I was getting real annoyed, and Amy was even more annoyed. But, to the credit of the worker and the facility, they moved quickly to make things right.

After some back and forth conversations on walkie talkies, three manager-types showed up, told us they had another set of three seats for us, and that Ashley's chair would fit nicely on the end of the row. The seats were actually better than our original ones. The manager-types also told the worker to let them know when the show was almost over and they would set up a ramp to get Ashley's wheelchair over the barrier at the entrance. And finally, the worker stopped back by and said, "I think the characters will be stopping by to see Ashley!"

So, Ashley thoroughly enjoyed her Christmas gift as evidenced by the photos below!