eInsights - January 2010

Eliminating Barriers to Accessibility Is a Team Effort

When Kim Patton, an adult with Spina Bifida, returned to her Pennsylvania home after SBA’s 2009 National Conference, she did a lot of thinking about the various sessions she had attended – especially the plenary session and its strong messages about self-advocacy. The idea that in order for the accessibility needs of our community to be taken seriously we had to take matters into our own hands and speak out on our own behalf really resonated with Kim. She began to question why it seems so often we wait for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to create change for us rather than taking the lead on driving that change. Since that realization, the thirty-year-old mover and shaker has become a staunch advocate for increasing the accessibility of venues and businesses for individuals with mobility limitations and disabilities.

Through her Facebook page and postings on the SBA Youth and Adult Alliance ListServ. Kim has successfully mobilized more than 500 people to join her efforts.

How is it done?
Armed with talking points, Kim encourages individuals with disabilities to start their self-advocacy efforts by visiting local restaurants, offices, stores, and other types of businesses to determine their accessibility. If they find the venue has limitations to accessibility, Kim advises them to talk to someone in charge and educate them on changes they could make - ranging from adding accommodations to resurfacing entranceways – so they can better meet the needs of their customers with disabilities. Kim encourages these advocates to then follow up in a few months to see if any of the recommended changes have been put into effect and reminds them to offer positive feedback if they have. If they haven’t, she encourages them to continue the education process by reminding the businesses of the purchasing power of the vast disability community.

From her own experiences, Kim is pleased to report that she has received nothing but positive feedback. Reflecting on her self-advocacy with her local businesses, she remarks, “Most venues and businesses comply once they have been made aware of our needs. In many cases, they were not aware of the fact that they are limiting our ability to fully function in their stores.”

Kim’s positive experiences have been shared by many of her fellow self-advocates. One young woman, empowered by Kim’s talking points, went to her boss to request a handicapped bathroom and handicapped parking spot be installed. Realizing the constraints of having neither, her company worked quickly to remedy the situation. Within weeks, both were installed. In another success story, an adult with Spina Bifida lobbied their company to install an automatic door to ease entering and exiting the building.

Kim feels the efforts of the businesses can also have a synergetic effect on the entire local business community. “I believe that seeing the positive benefits from the changes one store has made can encourage others to examine what they can do to improve their accessibility,” says Kim. She is especially heartened by the efforts of her local Target store which, without any direct education from her, restructured the outside of the store to include a flat surface. She also noted the store has made efforts to rearrange the shelf space to make it more accessible for individuals in wheelchairs. “Having to reach up on a shelf is difficult and cumbersome, and someone is not always around to help,” she explains.

“One of the main reasons that I came up with this idea is that for so long, no one thought that people with Spina Bifida would live into adulthood and experience these sorts of challenges. As a result, in 2010 the world is not as equipped for us as it should be – which means it is time for us to start educating the public and speaking up about our needs,” she says.

Where does the project go from here?
Since Kim feels the power is in the masses, she would love to get more individuals involved in these efforts - not only in the US but also abroad. She has begun to expand her efforts overseas by enlisting the help of some of her Facebook friends from Ireland.

Kim is still looking for a name for this project and is open to ideas. If you would like to work with Kim and other individuals on this project contact her on her Facebook page.

About Kim Patton
Kim has been an assistant supervisor in an after school program for nine years, working with first through fifth grade children of all abilities. She is currently in night school working on her Child Development Associates (CDA) license in education- a program that when completed shows that the individual has a basic understanding of child development.

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