Reflection Assignment #3

I chose to access The Little Gym, in Gilbert, Arizona located on Gilbert and Warner Road, based on The Americans With Disabilities Act Checklist For Readily Available Barrier Removal. I chose this location because I was there with the 18 month old girl I nanny for and I recognized a few things that could pose problems for people with disabilities to participate in their services. The Little Gym is a gymnastics and karate center that offers courses for parents and their children ranging from 4 months to 12 years old. The little Gym was established in 1976 and there are currently over 300 gyms in 21 countries.
My concern in accessing this facility was the access to goods and services. While all doors were at least 36-inches, the actual gym room was cluttered with equipment that would make it impossible for a person using a wheel chair to reach the ‘circle mat’ where all of the group activities take place, without having an employee move the equipment each time. While I was visiting this facility, there was a two year old boy who had broken his leg. He was using a wheel chair and in order to get through the main gym his mother had to pick him up and carry him, because she was unable to push his wheel chair through the room to the ‘circle mat’. While the staff was more than willing to move the equipment for him, it was unfortunate that he and has mother were forced to rely on “special” treatment as opposed to the facility having a more accessible floor plan. When I spoke with the manager about why the equipment was blocking the accessible path she explained that if the equipment were to be moved to clear the accessible path, it would be placed too close to the wall and could danger the participants. Secondly, there is a viewing window so that parents may watch their children as they are in classes without parent’s involvement. However, these windows are blocked by chairs so that parents may sit and watch their children causing a barrier for persons using a wheel chair or persons using crutches.
I was able to convince them to relocate a few of the chairs so that a person with a physical disability may have full access to view their children in the gym or karate room. My suggestions for creating a more accessible floor plan for the gym room would be to move the ‘main floor mat’ to the center of the room. This would allow you to clear the door ways by placing the other equipment on all sides of the mat. There would still be plenty of space between the mat and the equipment. As well as leaving plenty of space between the mat and the wall, as to avoid a safety concern for the participants. The only down side to moving the mat, is that the equipment for circle activities would be located farther away, requiring the staff members to carry the equipment to the ‘circle mat’.
The parking lot of the facility contained two accessible parking spaces, relevant to the 46 total parking spaces in the parking lot. However, the space closest to the entrance did not allow for 16-foot wide spaces with 98 inches of vertical clearance, so the accessible parking spaces were located across from the main entrance, requiring those using the spaces to cross the parking lot traffic. This seems like a hazard to me, seeing as though many persons using a wheel chair may not be entirely visible to cars while crossing the road. If the median in front of the entrance were to be removed there would be a sufficient amount of space for both of the accessible spaces.
However, The Little Gym did offer a number of “accessible-friendly” at their facility. The rest rooms met all accessible requirements both those persons with physical disabilities and persons who are seeing impaired based on the ADA checklist. All alarms had both flashing lights and audible signals. Additionally, the front doors allowed 18-inches of clear wall space and passed the “fist” test. Lastly, the main lobby contained a 5-foot circle so that a person using a wheel chair may reverse direction.

Reflection Assignment # 4

The thing that resonated with me most from this semester was the visit from the board of the Arizona Bridge to Independent living. This group of individuals was able to answer a number of questions I have never felt comfortable asking. One of my favorite comments from the lecture when George mentioned that the thing he dislikes hearing the most is, “Don’t stare.” I would never have questioned using that comment. As a person who has worked with children for most of her life, I know I have told one or two kids that very thing. George, and the rest of the panel, agreed that it is much more respectful for them to be asked about their disabilities rather than simply have them ignored.
I have recently noticed I treat people who have a disability, while in passing, differently than I do temporarily abled people. When I pass a person with a disability I will always smile at them. Although this may not seem like a bad thing to do, I recognize that I do not do the same to other people in passing. If a person that I smile do were to recognize that I am only smiling at them, they may feel as though I am “feeling bad for them” or “pitying” them. The reason I do this is because as a person who is temporarily abled, I am fascinated by people who live their lives differently than I do. Even as an adult I staring, rather than asking them about their lives. We need to work to create a more inclusive community by educating people at a young age about all disabilities. I have taken a number or diversity course and have met many different people, but it is still in my nature to stare at individuals. Had I been taught at a young age about more disabilities and how persons can live independently with all different times of abilities, I would be able to better understand the difference between a quadriplegic person and a paraplegic person.
Non-profits, Parks and Recreation, and Tourism organizations can assist our community in becoming more inclusive by creating facilities and events that are more inviting to persons of all abilities. For example, a person who is hearing impaired may not be able to go to the movies with friends or family. Perhaps nonprofit organizations could work with local movie theatres to host events where subtitles will be included. This would allow persons who are hearing impaired to not only get to see new movies in theatres but to also have the social experience from which they often are excluded. Another thing that could be done by these organizations would be to include people first language in all of their business and training materials. The more that people are exposed to people first language the more likely they are to work it into their everyday conversation. Similarly, schools should work to eliminate the use of the “R” word within their classrooms. I have been in many situations where teachers simply ignored when a student would use the “R” word out loud, or worse, the teacher would use the word in front of the class. These are things that could be easily avoided or implemented.
Currently there are a number organizations working to create a more inclusive community including, Best Buddies. This is an organization that has start www.r-word.org. “Best Buddies is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” (Bestbuddies.com) Also, Arizona Bridge to Independent Living is another organization whose efforts towards a more inclusive community have excelled rapidly in the past few years. There are now hundreds of people with disabilities living independently or “interdependently” in Arizona alone. These are organizations that have dedicated all of their efforts towards persons with disabilities, however, all organizations can work towards bettering the lives of all individuals with simple alterations to their current practices.