One of the hardest parts of being disabled is not being able to get where you want to go at the drop of a hat. As someone who is disabled, I can tell you how a simple trip across town can turn into an accessibility nightmare.

With the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, there have been vast improvements towards making public buildings accessible. However, try going between a big city and a small town. You will see a difference.

I grew up in a small town outside of Toledo, Ohio. While many of the newest buildings in this town were accessible, not all of them had been modified. For example, I was mainstreamed into the local school district. Our district had three elementary schools that merged into one in the fifth grade.

I had to be shipped from the closest elementary school in my town to another elementary school in the district (for kindergarten through fourth grade) because my elementary school had steps. In Junior High, I faced the same problem. I ended up having all my classes in the accessible High School (which was next door to the Junior High) instead.

 Disability Issues we Face Every Day

Depending on the disability, accessibility issues may be different for everyone.

While steps are almost always a problem for a person with a physical disability (though it is true some have adapted to climbing with assistive devices) the size of the doorway in buildings and homes is going to matter more to a person in a wheelchair then to a person who can walk with braces and crutches.

In an ideal world, every building and residential property would have:

• No steps
• Wider Doorways
• Automatic Door Openers
• Lower Counter tops
• Lower Shelves
• Elevators where necessary
• Ramps with less than 15-degree angles
• Easy to reach appliances
• Hoyer lifts where necessary
• Large Bathrooms with Roll-in Showers
• Grab Bars

Unfortunately, this dream is not yet a reality.

Able-Bodied World View

The world has an able-bodied view. It is made for able-bodied individuals so finding an accessible home is a task for the disabled. Going shopping is a task. Getting in public buildings, though they are supposed to be accessible, can be a task.

When I went to Bowling Green State University, I complained to the city of Bowling Green about their lack of sidewalks. I got the media involved in my ongoing dispute with the BGSU accessibility office. I had issues with the university spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to put an elevator into Falcon Stadium for alumni when their campus needed a serious accessibility makeover.