Disabilities

Disabilities

            Over the past few days I have been noticing how some of the places I go are handicap accessible and how others are not.  To start off, the gym I workout at has front parking and a handicap ramp onto the sidewalk.  Besides that there is not much to accommodate for handicap.  The doors into the building and then into the gym are not automatic and are a pain to open without anything.  The gym has some machines someone might be able to use with help.  So for the most part it does fairly well with accommodating.

            My old high school where I am observing does a good job.  The new high school is not but a couple years old so it is up to date with a lot.  Now the old high school is a different story.  At the high school now there are automatic doors with the handicap push to open buttons.  There is an elevator to allow someone to get to the second floor without having an issue.  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network have requirements for parking lot requirements on how many handicap spaces are needed.  For example, “A parking lot with 400 total spaces needs eight accessible spaces, and two of those eight spaces must be van-accessible” ("Accessible parking," 2012). 

            Along with the parking lot spaces there is a certain requirements for the doors.  “At least one primary entrance to each building shall be accessible to and usable by individuals in wheelchairs or with other handicaps. Doorways shall be a minimum of 32 inches (clear opening). The floor in the inside and outside of each doorway shall be level for a distance of five feet from the door in the direction the door swings. There shall be no sharp inclines or abrupt changes in level (more than 1⁄2 inches) at the sill” ("Handicapped accessibility specifications," 1991).  Since 1990 the ADA has been around and over the years been developing guidelines.  It was not until “March 15, 2011, the Department of Justice adopted the ADA 2010 Standards for Accessible Design” ("The ada and," 2011).

            I think since the ADA has come up with these that it is making handicap people feel more comfortable about going places.  I know for some, if there were not handicap accessibility then they probably would not come around.  I still think there is a lot to improve on when it comes to disabilities, but for the most part people are trying to be better with it.