Reflection of Handicap Access Experience

The access experience was physically exhausting, yet enlightening, while being extremely frustrating all at the same time. It was physically exhausting due to the lack of upper body strength that I had, enlightening because the majority of people offered to help me get where I needed to be, and frustrating because of the amount of ice on the ramps, as well as how many doorways were barely wide enough for the wheelchair. Along with the physical and emotional aspects of this project, I encountered numerous barriers, making the experience that much more challenging.

I was aware of my lack of upper body strength before, but this experience highlighted my weakness.The wheelchair should not fool anyone, to successfully maneuver oneself, it requires some serious upper body strength, especially with all of the ice. Within the first few hours my thumbs, arms, and armpits were starting to ache. With the pain I was feeling it was tempting to ask my peers for help, but I know that individuals who use wheelchairs do not always have someone to help them, so I decided to toughen it out. It may have taken me longer to proceed up the ramps or move along the various sidewalks,but at least I was getting the full experience.

Emotionally the experience was enlightening and frustrating. I came across several people who were willing to drop what they were doing in order to help me get to where I needed to be. More than half of the people who offered to help me were complete strangers, which was truly refreshing to see. Wherever I was whether it was the dining hall, sidewalks, the dorm, or class someone always offered their assistants. It was tempting at times to accept their help even if I did not need it, however I decided it was best to go throug...

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...he toilet and the shower had a seat that could easily be folded down. Every bathroom in Scott Hall has a lever handle, metal bars, the door swings in and a seat that can fold out, but the doorways weren’t as wide as the one I used. At first I thought it was a handicap bathroom, however when looking for the logo I could not see one. Whether it was supposed to have the handicap logo or not this bathroom was one of the few things I found to be greatly accessible.

Though the access experience challenged me both, physically and mentally I am happy that I had the opportunity to experience it. The experience taught me that UMF is not as accessible as it could be, but the majority of the students and faculty here are more than willing help their peers out. Although that may not make up for the inaccessibility of the campus, it does make the experience less stressful.