OTA 1130 OT Modalities Lab

The Great Wheelchair Adventure ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of my favorite assignments was the Great Wheelchair Adventure, where we learned how to take apart, assess, fit, and navigate in a wheelchair and then toured the campus in different wheelchairs. Then we checked out one of them to take home for 24 hours to experience what a day is like as a wheelchair user.

I learned two important lessons: 1, that wheelchairs are not entirely intuitive for all users, and 2, that there is an emotional tax to being a wheelchair user in a largely inaccessible environment. Additionally, I experienced first-hand the physical barriers affecting accessibility at home, in the community, and at school.

My first lesson was that using a wheelchair efficiently and properly is not entirely intuitive. Two examples from my experience perfectly illustrate this. First, I forgot several times to lock the wheels before transferring in and out of the wheelchair, meaning it would sometimes roll unexpectedly. This poses an obvious safety hazard, even with two perfectly functioning legs. Second, I got annoyed several times while propelling myself because my arms would rasp against the bumpy surface of the armrests. It was uncomfortable, and I was concerned that it would cause skin irritation. Eventually I remembered I could retract the armrests, and self-propulsion became a little easier. I was taught both of these things, but I still had to remind myself multiple times to lock the wheels and to move the armrests. I realized that efficient wheelchair use really needs to be taught and practiced. I feel this is an important lesson to learn as a future OTA; not only do I understand what a new user may need to learn, I also gained empathy for how difficult it is to learn.

Another lesson illustrated the emotional tax of being a wheelchair user. I was struck by how scared and trapped I felt. Everything took so much planning, even if a new location was technically accessible. My husband works during the day, and I don’t have friends close to me to help all day. The thought of using public transportation in a wheelchair was panic-inducing because it was entirely unfamiliar, and I didn’t feel safe going anywhere alone. Because of this, I waited until my husband was off work to go shopping. Walmart presented some challenges I hadn’t considered before. How can I push a cart while also propelling myself? How do I carry anything without a cart? If I do find a motorized chair that is charged and functional, where do I leave my wheelchair? All of these probably could have been answered by calling ahead or Googling, and Salt Lake Transit Authority does have vans for community access—again, just a simple shopping required so much planning and education about the community.

Structural challenges presented themselves at every turn. A wheelchair is basically unusable at my apartment. The walkway is made of uneven bricks placed over mud, which led to stairs in front of the front door. Additionally, most of the doorways are too narrow for a wheelchair.  I couldn’t even enter my bathroom! To make it more wheelchair-friendly, one would need to pave the walkway and rearrange the furniture to make space around corners for the wheelchair. Once inside the bathroom, I did have room to transfer on and off the toilet, but the shower and sink were very difficult. The bathroom could be improved by adding grab bars around the toilet and shower, a shower chair and an adjustable snake shower head, and removing the cabinet around the sink to allow for the wheelchair.

At the school, I was shocked at the number of issues I discovered. Everything was seemed to be built or installed with the wheelchair, not the user, in mind. All of the buildings had ramps and ADA doors, but they weren’t always functional. Many ramps were too steep and very difficult to roll up. Some of the ADA door openers malfunctioned. Plenty of sidewalks zig-zag across campus, but the uneven brick path between the HTC and the center of campus presented an extremely frustrating challenge. The bathrooms were surprisingly roomy, and the sinks are actually great for a wheelchair. However, entering the ADA stall sometimes required the help of another person to hold the door open, and there was little maneuverability once inside. In the rest of the building, doorways are just wide enough for a wheelchair, but the user encounters a very real risk of scraped knuckles from the doorjambs. The most easily remedied issue on campus is the malfunctioning door openers. It would also be wonderful to see more ADA doors on campus for multiple entrances. A “slow” warning in front of the east entrance to the JHS building would also be helpful; the loading dock ramp is a nasty surprise that makes exiting and entering that door scary because the accessibility ramp doesn’t slope straight down.

We have come a long way for disability rights in Utah, but this assignment demonstrated that we still have a long way to go. I learned many lessons and experienced a lot of emotions during this activity. I saw my environment through an entirely new set of eyes. I also feel that much more prepared to teach others how to use a wheelchair and to advocate for their needs. I look forward to using this knowledge to effect more changes at SLCC and to help to increase accessibility in the community.