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Chicago’s Focus on Accessibility Could Be Key in Bid for 2016 Summer
Olympics
By Tom Scott
Linda Mastandrea, Paralympian and
Chicago 2016 VP of Sport & Accessibility
While the Windy City is famous for a lot of things, one of the least mentioned is its good accessibility. But Chicago is making great strides at offering an even more welcoming atmosphere to its disabled visitors and citizens. With the support of the Open Doors Organization, a disability-based nonprofit, Chicago recently released a 54-page comprehensive accessibility guide for travelers with disabilities titled Easy Access Chicago. A full PDF of the guide can [...]
By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
After a spinal cord injury, where we go and who we visit become more limited. Since my injury in June 1998, I can no longer go to any of my neighbor’s homes and ring their doorbells. Even the two brand new homes a few doors down from me were built with concrete porches and steps that are barriers to me. I would have liked to have welcomed their owners to our neighborhood, but concrete barriers are hard to pass through when you are seated in a wheelchair.
Part of an international effort to make all new homes visitable, [...]
By Linda Stango, AIA
The kitchen is one of the most interactive rooms in the house and is often the gathering place for family and friends. Planning is essential since this room cannot be “rearranged” as other spaces can. If you are considering remodeling or building new kitchen; a good place to start is by assessing the needs of the users, from their physical requirements to the types of food that will be prepared. What are the ultimate goals of the redesign: new cabinets, updated finishes, more room to maneuver or additional natural light? Space and budget constraints are the most [...]
By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
In July 1998, when I first came home from the hospital after my spinal cord injury, I realized that my wheelchair would never fi t into our bathroom’s 3′ x 5′ toiletting area; with the door attached, the door clearance was only 26 inches. I looked at the glass-enclosed shower and whirlpool bathtub and wondered how I would ever gain access. Life after my spinal cord injury was not going to be easy.
My husband Mark and I built our home three years before my injury. We did not want to do any remodeling until we were sure [...]
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and time to remember that even women with spinal cord injuries are at risk.
By EM Treston
I try to follow guidelines set up by the medical community so when I turned 40, it was time for a mammogram. The only time I saw a mammogram machine was on television during “October is Breast Awareness Month”-a barrage of commercials and news flashes from the health expert during the six o’clock news. The only problem with the examination I saw was that every woman was standing. Now the ability to stand has not been in my repertoire [...]
By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
I remember coming into my kitchen in my wheelchair for the first time after my spinal cord injury nine years ago. I was wearing a neck collar and body brace to stabilize my spine after surgery. I went to the kitchen sink to get a glass of water. The glasses were stored in the bottom shelf of the wall cabinet and were totally out of my reach. My husband Mark handed me a glass and I proceeded to go to the sink. I couldn’t reach the faucet to turn on the water. Mark came to my rescue again. [...]
Compiled by Peggy Hathaway
Keeping the Promise to End Unfair Employment Discrimination
Four Congressional leaders have introduced a bill to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to its original intent.
The ADA Restoration Act was introduced in the House and the Senate on July 26, which was the seventeenth anniversary of the ADA with sponsors from both parties in both chambers. Paul J. Tobin, president and CEO of United Spinal Association, said “We are proud that United Spinal Association played a role in obtaining 143 original co-sponsors in the House, and we’re working on persuading even more Representatives to sign on [...]
September is National Preparedness Month. Are you ready in the event of an emergency?
By Kelly Rouba
The devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the late summer of 2005 is something many of us will never forget. Yet as time passes, the public’s interest in seeing that effective emergency preparedness plans have been implemented in their own towns, and even their own homes, seems to be lessening.
As a reminder to those who have gone on with their busy lives, officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and [...]
Tripping the light fantastic can be good for your health and for your social life.
By Kelly Rouba
Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels modern dance company. People of all abilities can use any or all parts of their bodies to move to the music. (Photo by Dale Dong, courtesy of Dancing Wheels)
As a young man living in New York City, George Gallego often enjoyed going out for a night on the town and hitting the dance floors of some of the hottest clubs around. But, after a tragic accident at work left him paralyzed from the waste down, Gallego quickly decided his clubbing [...]
By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
Coming home from the hospital after a spinal cord injury is a traumatic experience. Chances are that the home you left prior to your injury won’t work for you in the short- or long-term because of your need for wheelchair access. Modifications and remodeling may be needed.
My homecoming in July 1998 posed plenty of problems since I live and work out of my two story home that has a full basement and no elevator. My husband, Mark, and I knew that quick fixes would be needed in order for me to get into my home.
Mark and I asked Jason, [...]
Vincent Laffaille
Vincent “Vixente” Laffaille, 29, of Agos-Vidalos in southwestern France, is president of his local Wheelchair Rugby Club. Action recently asked him about his life as a person with spinal cord injury in France. Here is his story:
I am paraplegic at T-7-8 from an accident. I did my rehab at the rehab center of Bagnères de Bigorre in France.
I first became interested in quad rugby in 2001. It wasn’t actually quad rugby but wheelchair rugby, which is similar to the rugby that is played in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Since my accident, which happened in 1998 when I [...]
When it comes to the fight for mass transit for people with disabilities, United Spinal has always been a leading participant.
By James J. Weisman
In a ceremony at Grand Central Terminal, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo signs a settlement agreement outlining specific steps to make New York City’s transportation system more accessible to people with disabilities. To Cuomo’s left is James J. Peters, executive director of Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, which is now United Spinal.
After successfully pushing to make all New York City buses wheelchair accessible, United Spinal has hosted frequent transit trainings to familiarize bus operators and passengers who [...]
For those who can’t use accessible mass transportation systems, the ADA requires localities to make available paratransit services. How have they been performing since the ADA became law?
By Terry Moakley
Charles Roman (in chair) is mostly satisfied with the paratransit service he has received. Is he typical or unusual?
In June of 2005, in his letter of transmittal to President Bush of his agency’s comprehensive report-The Current State of Transportation for People with Disabilities in the United States- then-National Council on Disability (NCD) chairperson Lex Frieden wrote, “There have been many advances in America’s transportation systems and services [...]
By Bob Nunn
Dealers mingled at the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) show in Tampa, Florida where new products making personal transportation more accessible to drivers with disabilities were exhibited.
When Carol Hawkins needed a rear-entry wheelchair van to transport her 37-year-old daughter, Joella, from Rhode Island to Florida, Hawkins turned to eBay. Joella, who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, uses a wheelchair too big to fit in a side-entry vehicle.
Late last year, Hawkins paid $13,500 for a used van from someone in Kentucky and immediately noticed problems with the vehicle upon delivery. A discrepancy with the odometer [...]
How does someone with limited resources find an affordable adapted vehicle? Here’s one person’s story…
By Tiffiny Carlson
Note: Some of the terms used in the following article are specific to the state of Minnesota.
Four wheels. We can get them for free from the government if they’re on durable medical equipment, but when it comes to gas-powered four-wheeled vehicles that take us 65 mph on the Interstate (i.e., an adapted vehicle), the government isn’t as interested in giving those away for free.
Most states simply don’t like to fund adapted vehicles for citizens with disabilities. With new vans costing upwards [...]
Hybrid Taxis at the Expense of Accessibility
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s announcement that the city’s yellow taxi fleet will become completely hybrid within five years (news article, May 23) callously ignores the immediate transportation needs of people with severe physical disabilities who cannot enter or exit currently approved hybrid taxi vehicles, as well as New York City’s growing aging population, who are much more likely to acquire a physical impairment.
Despite the availability today of half a dozen minivans that can be modified for easy access for all people, and the continuing development of a factory-built wheelchair accessible sedan that can carry four additional [...]
Staff and members participated in PepsiCo’s first annual Multicultural Inclusion Summit.
By Marlene Harmon-Perkins and Kleo King
On March 27 to 29 more than 500 of PepsiCo’s senior management staff and personnel from around the world came together for the first time to discuss the company’s plans, goals, and commitment to cultural diversity.
In the past, the various groups representing different cultural entities, met individually to formulate policy, ideas, and programs that would enhance the company’s outlook regarding diversity. For the first time, however, under the leadership of PepsiCo’s new Chairman Elect and CEO Indra Nooyi and the direction of Ron Parker, [...]
Women liberated by their wheelchairs are celebrated at the annual Rolling with Style Gala during Fashion Week in New York.
By Kelly Rouba
Wendy Crawford, chairwoman and founding member of Discovery through Design, rolls on the red carpet in a chair and outfit designed by Thom Browne.
Last month, seven women made history by becoming fashion “roll models” when they rolled down the runway in their wheelchairs during the peak of Fashion Week in New York City.
“You are truly part of a historic event,” said Marilyn Hamilton, creator of Quickie wheelchairs, as she addressed nearly 600 attendees following the fashion [...]
By Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D.
When you are a wheelchair-user, you really notice when a bathroom is designed properly and meets your every need. Too often we are confronted with public restrooms, as well as hotel bathrooms, with designs that inhibit our independence and make life more difficult.
When given the chance to remodel our existing bathrooms or build a new house with custom bathrooms, we need to pay attention to all the details. Size does matter. An improperly sized bathroom can force us into a world of frustration and a lack of privacy. I know from experience.
It has been eight years since my [...]
The Murderball star becomes the spokesperson for anyone who’s ever had to wait for an accessible parking spot.
By Jennifer Rodriguez-Khadir
Mark Zupan scowls at a crucial moment of a new public
service announcement for United Spinal Association.
With his short red hair and long red goatee, US Paralympic quad rugby player Mark Zupan has become an icon since his starring role in the 2005 documentary Murderball, followed by indestructible appearances on MTV’s Jackass and the film Jackass Two. Late last year, Zupan, who has been a C-6-7 quad since an accident in college, published a memoir provocatively titled [...]
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