Going throughout my daily routine I
attempted to imagine what it would be like to have a physical disability. I
noticed that my routine was very was very much hindered due to the lack of
accessibility found in my surroundings. Instead of taking the stairs I tried to
take ramps or attempted to find alternate routes. Little things I never noticed
became more evident. Like one of the wheel chair ramps at Hoag is blocked by a
dumpster, there is no elevator to get to the classes in memorial or the
difficulty for a visionally impaired person to get around. I found that there
was number that allows you to report physical barriers that prohibit normal
progress on campus. The number took some investigating and was not well
publicized.
On Monday and Tuesday afternoons my
roommate and I play basketball at the rec center. This made me wonder about the
handicap activities offered and if they are easily obtainable. The rec employees I talked to had no general
idea on how to accommodate but said for basketball there would not be much
compromising. The closet rec wheelchair basketball facility was located in
Henry County. Going through the Henry county parks and rec website I found they
offered a variety of wheelchair sports such as handball, football and tennis
for adults and children.
In an article titled Barriers in
Higher Education for Persons with Handicaps: A Continued Challenge the author
surveyed 57 colleges in Kentucky about their handicapped student population.
Out of the 57 schools 45 replied to the questionnaire that focused on admission
policies, social barriers, architectural barriers, social barriers and
orientation procedures. . The survey was meant to show how different schools
handle disabilities. One statistic I found interesting was the amount of human
service programs for students with handicaps. This includes designated
counselors that are specialized in different areas. It put in perspective on
how some schools attempt to personally accommodate certain handicaps.
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