Blind Date

     I chose to dine at Taco Mac in Roswell on Crabapple. My sister works here as a bartender. I didn't tell my sister that I was doing this, and she wasn't working there that night. I came alone. In order to make this as authentic as possible, I wore sunglasses to hide that I could actually see, and I borrowed a walking stick from a friend of mine who is blind. As soon as I left my car, I acted out the part by walking slowly and using the walking stick to feel around. For the most part, I kept my eyes closed in order to become one with my character, but occasionally, I opened them in order to observe the reactions of those around me to my disability. After walking through the first set of doors, the host saw me and opened the second set. Once he greeted me, I told him that I would like to sit at the bar. I did this in order to have more interaction with those around me. Privacy would just have excluded me from interacting socially, which is something that I thought was very important for this experiment. He offered me his arm in order to walk me over to the bar. I accepted his offer. At this point, I had my eyes closed.
     It was Friday night. There were a lot of people there. I could tell by the loud crowd noise. I could also tell that it was pretty crowded, because as we made our way to the bar, I kept bumping shoulders with people. The crowding really made me feel small. I felt very vulnerable walking with my eyes closed and not knowing what was ahead of me. Relying on my host to get me to my destination was a little nerve wrecking. I kept feeling like I was about to walk off the edge of a cliff, or just trip and fall. I definitely didn't feel any comfort during this experience. Although, it did get a little bit easier as the date progressed. What they say is true. When you lose one sense, all your other senses are heightened. Also, you realize that fear is a sense. Well, at the very least it becomes a bigger part in deciding your every move. Overall, I undeniably experienced sensory stimulation.
     We finally reached the bar. After feeling for the chair in front of me, I hoisted myself up onto it. At that point, I opened my eyes a little bit in order to see my surroundings and who was present. As soon as I saw that I had a couple sitting to my left and an empty chair to my right, I closed my eyes again but not before seeing the woman's reaction after processing the fact that I was indeed blind. As soon as she made the connection, she averted her eyes and turned to her date. I don't know why she did this, since I technically cannot see her. The only thing that I could come up with is that she felt guilty for staring in the first place. At this point, the waiter told me that the bartender would be with me in a moment and would take my order. I didn't wait long before I heard the bartender asking me what I would like to drink. I told him what he had in terms of beer. He listed some names before I picked one. Then, I asked him what kind of meals they had and what he might suggest for me, someone who likes chicken but doesn't want wings. I said this in order to not be difficult and have him read the whole menu to me. I chose a meal and let him go.
     During my time there, I had asked to be led to the bathroom. The bartender had called a waitress to help me. Even though I chose to sit at the bar, I realized that the degree of sociality was very low. Other than the host, bartender and waitress, no one conversed with me. I appreciated that these three people were able to show adaptability to my situation in their establishment. They were very nice and willing to help me. This whole experience showed me that I had very little control of my surroundings. Overall, the accessibility was okay. I didn't run into major problems. Yes, there weren't many things available to me, such as a menu with braille, but I had at least the minimum possible accessibility to everything that others did, as well, especially with the help of the staff at Taco Mac. I enjoyed this experience very much.

Andrea and Lily's Accessible "Date"

Andrea and Lily’s Accessible “Date”
For this project, I decided to write about the afternoon I spent with my little friend Lily. Lily is an 8 year-old little girl who has autism and requires a wheelchair to be mobile. Deciding what activities to plan presented a challenge because I had to consider her disability, her age and the accessibility of the environment.
We started our outing at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant. The Chick-fil-A we decided to visit was wheelchair friendly throughout with convenient ramps available to access the building. There were also gluten-free and casein free options on the menu catering to Lily’s special dietary needs. The counter height where we ordered our food was a little high for Lily to see over but that is a typical kid-sized problem in most environments. There was no issue of crowding in the dining room where we sat at a table with individual chairs. The tables with booths were not as adaptable to wheelchairs. The bathroom was a little cramped to fit a wheelchair and an additional assisting person. However, the adult sized stalls had ample room for an independent person in a wheelchair.

*A snapshot of Chick-fil-A’s gluten free menu.
Next on our adventure I planned for us to see a movie but we had some time before the next showing so we decided to browse for books at Barnes and Nobles. There were ramps outside the store making it easy to enter the building. The outside doors were very heavy and it was difficult for me to hold the door open and simultaneously assist Lily inside. The aisles had ample room for wheelchair access but it took some looking to find an elevator to the second floor where the children’s books were located. The children’s section was accommodating because all the books were housed at lower levels so Lily could see all the available books. I noticed the rest of the store had mostly wheelchair accessible shelving except for the back walls which had higher shelves. The children’s section offered an opportunity for Lily to socialize (term: sociality) with children her own age. She sat one of the little tables and looked through her book selections while engaging with the other children.

After choosing a few books to purchase, we headed over to the movie theater. I read there were “sensory friendly” theaters in Atlanta that might be more comfortable for Lily’s sound sensitivities. I did some research on the Autism Society webpage and found that the movie The Lorax was playing at several sensory friendly AMC theaters nearby. Here is the description of sensory friendly films I found on the AMC website: “The lights are turned up, the sound is turned down and audience members are invited to get up and dance, walk, shout or sing!” This movie environment offered sensory stimulation without the usual dark, loud setting found at your average movie showing.

The AMC location I chose was inside of Phipps Plaza mall and was quite a distance from the busy parking lot. Fortunately, the mall was easy to navigate and there was elevator access located close to the theater which was on the 2nd floor. The theater was spacious inside and the wheelchair seating in the middle of the theater was very convenient. There were traditional chairs located next to the designated wheelchair spots for accompanying guests to sit in. The movie turned out to be the perfect choice for Lily’s entertainment and sensory needs. It was light enough for her to not be frightened and it was not loud so her sensitive hearing was not over-stimulated.

*Map of Phipps Plaza AMC Theater.
After the movie, we both were in need of a private place to take a well earned afternoon nap. It wasn’t time for Lily to be home yet so I decided to take her to my apartment for some rest. My apartment is located on the second floor which is something I did not consider prior to choosing my home as a destination. It was difficult to carry Lily up the steep stairs but we both made it without incident. I never considered how challenging it would be for someone in a wheelchair to visit a home requiring stairs but no had no elevators.

The inside of my home was spacious enough for the both of us. We both took a long nap before descending back down the stairs when it was time for Lily to go home. We had a great time together and most of the environments I chose were accessible to our needs.