It is a well-known fact that students with a physical disability that confines them to a wheelchair have a more difficult time navigating the campus and halls of their chosen school. The ADA requires all public buildings constructed after 1992 or that are planned to undergo a major renovation, to comply with accessibility laws. This law in itself creates an issue as many schools were constructed before 1992 and are not currently being renovated. However, when studied deeper you see the issues are not solved at simply following the ADA guidelines, but are deeply routed in how schools approach accessibility in general.
The first and most obvious challenge many students in a wheelchair face are gaining access to buildings for classes. There are many campuses across the country that do not have ramps into any entrance into the building because of the age of the buildings. Students often times do not find this out until the first day of class. In the case of one student attending a math class at Yale, she informed the director of Yale’s Resource Office on disabilities that she could not access the building because it did not have ramps. The class was eventually moved to accommodate her, but not for over a week.
Many buildings maybe be renovated or retrofitted to accommodate a student with a wheelchair. Often times automatic doors are added to make the ease of entry better for the student, often times they are not. The ADA does not require automatic doors on the interior or exterior of buildings. This makes traveling in a wheelchair difficult if the pitch in front of the door is not appropriate. This is often found to be the case when buildings are retrofitted due to a specific student request, not due to an actual renovation. Although the school on the surface appears to be making the building more accessible for wheelchairs, it is in fact not.
In the case of one student, the pitch was so steep she had no choice but to lock her brakes on the wheel chair to avoid rolling back when attempting to open the door. The problem was due to the clearance needed to open the door outwards she had to position her wheelchair far enough back to allow the door to swing open. When she did this should could now not reach the door handle, essentially making the building not accessible to her. She had to rely solely on others holding the door for her, which often made her late for classes and activities.
Other accommodations designed for wheelchair accessibility can actually create problems as well. One such example is the use of elevators in buildings. Although they are needed for students in wheelchairs to travel from floor to floor, they are often out of service and take days to repair once reported. Sometimes, a single old service elevator is the only means of transportation between floors other than stairs. In other cases, the elevators are shut off for to her reasons such as maintenance, repair or renovation and no notice is given to students who rely on them to get to class. This lack of communication prevents students from being able to properly prepare for the issue.
Routine happenings on campus such as construction or students events can create major barriers for students in wheelchairs. These situations occur often on campuses and cause specific routes to be closed to all students. Generally, there are other routes available that may be longer for everyone to get around, but they pose an issue to students in wheelchairs. Many times the detour routes are not wheel chair accessible due to a staircase or other obstacle along the path. Such considerations are often not taken into consideration when beginning construction projects or temporarily closing areas of the campus.
Natural occurrences can also create barriers for students in wheelchairs that are often not considered by others. During the winter improper snow and ice removal can lead to paths being closed or difficult to maneuver a wheelchair through. Other students may be able to navigate the path but it is impassible in a wheelchair. Heavy rainstorms can cause a similar effect. Improper drainage coupled with excess soil runoff and foliage debris on paths makes it extremity difficult to maneuver a wheelchair down paths for students.
There are steps colleges and universities can take to rectify the issues:
· First and foremost, decide as an entity to do more than just the minimum to accommodate people with physical disabilities to promote a truly inclusive campus. Although there are sometimes significant costs involved, many are one time and permanently fix the barriers.
· As some schools do now, have an office or specific person responsible for handling concerns brought forward relating to students with disabilities. To take it a step further, ensure a formal response to the issue is given within 24 hours. If there is any barrier preventing a student from attending classes, it must be fixed immediately or the class be temporality moved.
· Develop a portal on the school’s official website to alert students with disabilities of any coming action that may impact their mobility. Notices would include construction, events and other closures on campus that may impact routes of students.
· When determining classroom locations take into consideration students who identify themselves as having a physical disability. Whenever the location would not interfere with the curriculum of the class it should placed in the most accessible area of the campus.
· Develop a schedule of routine, preventive maintenance on necessary items for mobility such as automatic doors and elevators. This routine inspection and maintenance would help prevent breakdowns of the equipment.
· Properly care for the school grounds during any natural weather occurrence that may cause mobility issues for students in wheelchairs.
· When developing new campuses or planning renovations, seek consultation from a group or individuals who are experts in the field. Seek input from clubs or individual students who are currently using the campus who have physical disabilities such as a wheelchair.
Students who use a wheelchair on campus face many challenges. In addition to issues regarding to fair treatment and the perception of peers and professors that are hard to quantify, students with wheelchairs on campus have to face physical barriers everyday as well. With proper planning, better communication and a little consideration students for in wheelchairs on campus a truly inclusive experience for all students can be developed.
References:
Wang, V. (2015, February 24). Students in wheelchairs find campus inaccessible. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
Haller, Beth. "Promoting Disability-Friendly Campuses to Prospective Students: An Analysis of University Recruitment Materials | Haller | Disability Studies Quarterly." Promoting Disability-Friendly Campuses to Prospective Students: An Analysis of University Recruitment Materials | Haller | Disability Studies Quarterly. 2006. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.
Johnson, AdriAnne. "Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education: Barriers to Success and Implications for Professionals." Counseling.org. 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.
The first and most obvious challenge many students in a wheelchair face are gaining access to buildings for classes. There are many campuses across the country that do not have ramps into any entrance into the building because of the age of the buildings. Students often times do not find this out until the first day of class. In the case of one student attending a math class at Yale, she informed the director of Yale’s Resource Office on disabilities that she could not access the building because it did not have ramps. The class was eventually moved to accommodate her, but not for over a week.
Many buildings maybe be renovated or retrofitted to accommodate a student with a wheelchair. Often times automatic doors are added to make the ease of entry better for the student, often times they are not. The ADA does not require automatic doors on the interior or exterior of buildings. This makes traveling in a wheelchair difficult if the pitch in front of the door is not appropriate. This is often found to be the case when buildings are retrofitted due to a specific student request, not due to an actual renovation. Although the school on the surface appears to be making the building more accessible for wheelchairs, it is in fact not.
In the case of one student, the pitch was so steep she had no choice but to lock her brakes on the wheel chair to avoid rolling back when attempting to open the door. The problem was due to the clearance needed to open the door outwards she had to position her wheelchair far enough back to allow the door to swing open. When she did this should could now not reach the door handle, essentially making the building not accessible to her. She had to rely solely on others holding the door for her, which often made her late for classes and activities.
Other accommodations designed for wheelchair accessibility can actually create problems as well. One such example is the use of elevators in buildings. Although they are needed for students in wheelchairs to travel from floor to floor, they are often out of service and take days to repair once reported. Sometimes, a single old service elevator is the only means of transportation between floors other than stairs. In other cases, the elevators are shut off for to her reasons such as maintenance, repair or renovation and no notice is given to students who rely on them to get to class. This lack of communication prevents students from being able to properly prepare for the issue.
Routine happenings on campus such as construction or students events can create major barriers for students in wheelchairs. These situations occur often on campuses and cause specific routes to be closed to all students. Generally, there are other routes available that may be longer for everyone to get around, but they pose an issue to students in wheelchairs. Many times the detour routes are not wheel chair accessible due to a staircase or other obstacle along the path. Such considerations are often not taken into consideration when beginning construction projects or temporarily closing areas of the campus.
Natural occurrences can also create barriers for students in wheelchairs that are often not considered by others. During the winter improper snow and ice removal can lead to paths being closed or difficult to maneuver a wheelchair through. Other students may be able to navigate the path but it is impassible in a wheelchair. Heavy rainstorms can cause a similar effect. Improper drainage coupled with excess soil runoff and foliage debris on paths makes it extremity difficult to maneuver a wheelchair down paths for students.
There are steps colleges and universities can take to rectify the issues:
· First and foremost, decide as an entity to do more than just the minimum to accommodate people with physical disabilities to promote a truly inclusive campus. Although there are sometimes significant costs involved, many are one time and permanently fix the barriers.
· As some schools do now, have an office or specific person responsible for handling concerns brought forward relating to students with disabilities. To take it a step further, ensure a formal response to the issue is given within 24 hours. If there is any barrier preventing a student from attending classes, it must be fixed immediately or the class be temporality moved.
· Develop a portal on the school’s official website to alert students with disabilities of any coming action that may impact their mobility. Notices would include construction, events and other closures on campus that may impact routes of students.
· When determining classroom locations take into consideration students who identify themselves as having a physical disability. Whenever the location would not interfere with the curriculum of the class it should placed in the most accessible area of the campus.
· Develop a schedule of routine, preventive maintenance on necessary items for mobility such as automatic doors and elevators. This routine inspection and maintenance would help prevent breakdowns of the equipment.
· Properly care for the school grounds during any natural weather occurrence that may cause mobility issues for students in wheelchairs.
· When developing new campuses or planning renovations, seek consultation from a group or individuals who are experts in the field. Seek input from clubs or individual students who are currently using the campus who have physical disabilities such as a wheelchair.
Students who use a wheelchair on campus face many challenges. In addition to issues regarding to fair treatment and the perception of peers and professors that are hard to quantify, students with wheelchairs on campus have to face physical barriers everyday as well. With proper planning, better communication and a little consideration students for in wheelchairs on campus a truly inclusive experience for all students can be developed.
References:
Wang, V. (2015, February 24). Students in wheelchairs find campus inaccessible. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
Haller, Beth. "Promoting Disability-Friendly Campuses to Prospective Students: An Analysis of University Recruitment Materials | Haller | Disability Studies Quarterly." Promoting Disability-Friendly Campuses to Prospective Students: An Analysis of University Recruitment Materials | Haller | Disability Studies Quarterly. 2006. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.
Johnson, AdriAnne. "Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education: Barriers to Success and Implications for Professionals." Counseling.org. 12 Aug. 2006. Web. 11 Sept. 2015.