Making College Campus Wheelchair Accessible: Students Perspective

Abstract Making College Campus Wheelchair Accessible: Students Perspective Lindsay Stover, Andrew Swartout, Teresa Collovecchio, Molu Olumolade Abstract: According to the International Disability Center (Joniandfriends.org), 1.6 million people in the United States use wheelchairs. People use wheelchairs for a number of reasons, including but not limited to muscle weakness, spinal cord or brain injuries interrupting muscular control and command, joint pain and the absence of one or both legs. Whether the use of the wheelchair is temporary or permanent, it is important for the user to have the ability to access any and all things desired. Center for disease control (CDC), asserts that one in four adults in the United States is living with a disability. This means that a large portion of the workforce may need some sort of accommodations to allow for gainful employment. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects these individuals by requiring public and employers to make "reasonable accommodations" to allow them to perform jobs that they are qualified to do and to be able to move around comfortably. According to the ADA, architects and construction workers typically only follow the local building codes and regulations, which usually do not account for considerations needed to make buildings handicap accessible. In both new and old buildings, people in wheelchairs often encounter problems in the parking lot, getting into buildings, navigating through them, and utilizing the features of the buildings such as high service counters and inaccessible restrooms. Because of the difficulties, many individuals in wheelchair cannot visit these buildings on their own without help, they must seek assistance from others, and will be limited in participating in desired activities (American Disabilities Association, 2009). With this information in mind, developing a college campus that is 100% wheelchair accessible is an important aspect of the design process. The purpose of this paper is to educate and inform others about the difficulties encountered regarding wheel chair accessibility on college campuses. This activity is to point out areas requiring improvement for campuses to become more accessible to wheelchairs users. Safe and relevant redesign recommendations to accommodate the needs of wheelchair accessibility are provided with the intention of improving wheelchair accessibility.