How Disabled are the Abled?

Accessible Date Assignment- Chaz Chapman

This past Wednesday afternoon, I took the time to venture out with my Grandfather on an outing. My Grandfather suffers from minor dementia, which causes him complications in conversation and it is accompanied with mild (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being totally deaf, he’d have a 7) difficulty of hearing. On this particular outing, we went out to eat to his favorite restaurant, Bankhead Fish Market, went to the park and watched an old country western movie (one of our mutual favorite past times). During our mini adventure, I utilized eight of the Key Concepts for Understanding Physical Environment-Behavior Relationships on page 214 of our Hutchinson textbook.

Although my Grandfather is slightly disadvantaged, the most difficult part was actually coming from me. Because he is accustomed to being hard of hearing, he expects others to naturally speak up or enunciate as they speak. When we had conversations, I had to speak louder than normal and when someone asked him what he wanted to eat, they had to repeat it. Ultimately, I learned that sometimes a disability is only that when the individual feels hopeless. I appreciated that even though to me my Grandfather was hard of hearing, in his mind, I just needed to speak up more!

Accessibility

            Accessibility played a major role when we were getting ready to eat. One thing about the restaurant is that it lacks much space to move around and utilize the environment. For someone like my Grandfather to be there alone, it would have been drastically uncomfortable because parking is absolutely horrible. There was one handicap parking spot, however, the parking lot itself is on the corner of two major streets. At the time we were going, it was kind of hectic and honestly, I was more worried about other people not knowing how to drive and damaging my car. It wasn’t an impossible feat to enter the restaurant, but to someone who is a bit more handicapped, it would pose a major challenge.

Activity

            As mentioned before, we went during a busy time and there were a lot of people there. Because the restaurant does not provide accommodations to dine-in, the chaos was at the door entering in and the cash register. There was one register with the cashier taking orders and another individual bringing the order out.

            Following that, my Grandfather and I went to visit a nearby park (Adamsville Park and Recreation) and it was actually pretty deserted. I think he enjoyed it because in his old age, he does not care for socializing with any one other than family. Here we were able to relax, enjoy our food and the weather.

Comfort

            I will admit, both my Grandfather and myself were completely uncomfortable in the restaurant. People weren’t extremely rude, but the cramped space of the restaurant didn’t help.

            When we stopped by the park, we were extremely comfortable because we were the only ones there. For me, the lack of people there kind of readied me to leave earlier.

Crowding

            It was extremely crowded at the restaurant and in the parking lot, which affected some of the other key concepts. The crowded environment definitely deprived us of comfort and increased the activity, which also decreased comfort. I was more uncomfortable because of the crowding in the parking lot. I seriously felt that someone was going to hit my car or scratch it carelessly while my Grandfather’s uneasiness came from being around so many people. Mind you, some of the individuals were young and rude with their casual language while some were just as ready to leave as we were.

Legibility

            I would say that out of our prior visit to the restaurant, we knew what to expect and how the line would form. My Grandfather was just simply excited to go to his favorite restaurant. Although it wasn’t professionally assembled, the line was formed as people followed suit from a little cardboard sign that said, “Line Starts Here”. The first time I went with him as the driver, I remember him just telling me, “Turn into the entrance that red car is going and find parking”.

Meaning

            From my understanding, my Grandfather used to visit this restaurant on his lunch breaks when he worked down the street from there. On top of that, it’s extremely expensive and “reminds him of Momma N’ems” fish fries.

            Another thing that I learned about the restaurant is that it has been around when many other surrounding businesses failed. It was found by a homey Black man that my Great Grandparents knew and he passed the tradition down through his family. My Grandfather loves supporting Black owned businesses.

            As for the old country western film that we were watching, my Grandfather grew up watching the cowboy and Indian films. He will literally sit and watch these movies from sunrise to sun set.

Sensory Stimulation

            The restaurant was actually really bland. Not much consideration was put into the aesthetics of which I was a bit disappointed in but then again, my Grandfather introduced their amazing food to me.  It was noisy, but because of my Grandfather’s hardness in hearing, it actually didn’t bother him.

            What was interesting was when we made it back to his house to watch the movie and his TV was extremely loud, or at least louder than my comfort level. To him, it was the norm. So in some instances, he was able to control the stimulation, which is very fortunate.

Sociality

            All of our environments allowed us to socialize amongst each other or with other people. I learned that my Grandfather does like to flirt with women he thinks are his age. When we were in line, an elderly lady walked in and he wanted to use me as bait. Interesting enough, I couldn’t help but laugh.

            Indeed, because of his hearing disability, it was harder to have a conversation without hearing, “Huh”, “What”, “Who” or him thinking that I said something totally irrelevant to the conversation

Swings, Strings, and Strides by Christina Banbury

I am currently a senior graduating as a Psychology major next summer 2013. Most majors are unable to get jobs in their field before they graduate with a degree. Fortunately, I was not part of this statistic. This past summer I was able to land my first psychology job at a residential household working for two autistic teenagers. This job is employed through a government program for people with disabilities. I came to find out that the children I would be working for are adopted from Paraguay; the exact same country I am adopted from! This job has changed my life. With permission from the children’s parents I am allowed to share their identities and other information about their lives. Nathan, is 18 and diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), social anxiety, mild mental retardation, and autism. His emotional and mental development is on the level of a nine year old. Jessica, is also 18, and has been diagnosed with severe autism and severe mental retardation; the manifestations/symptoms of her autism include sensory integration disorder, sleep difficulties, severe social skill deficits, and severe language deficits.  Her emotional and mental development is on the level of a two year old. Jessica is very low-functioning, meaning she needs constant supervision and assistance in performing tasks such as taking a bath, getting dressed, and preparing meals, etc.
Due to the fact Nathan has social anxiety he is very restricted to when he leaves the house. Therefore, I chose Jessica to go on an accessible date because she enjoys being around people. On the days I work with Jessica we focus on structuring our session with what we call “floor-time” sensory. Floor-time sensory activities incorporate sensory integration approaches, such activities are used to stimulate the senses of an individual that has autism. Activities focus on oral sensory, proprioception, audiovisual, and sensorimotor.
On Sunday September 30, the day of our date, I went to Jessica’s house, got her cleaned and dressed, and then I loaded the car with her wheel chair. Although Jessica can walk, we normally take her wheel chair with us when we go out because she refuses to walk sometimes, she has no perception of personal space or boundaries, and she sometimes knocks or pulls items off of shelves in stores. Our first stop was Applebee’s where we picked up a rack of ribs, with broccoli, Yukon mashed potatoes, and a basket of fries. I had raspberry sweet tea and Jessica had her choice of drink, Coca Cola.

We got the food to-go and then we went to Laurel Park in Marietta.

When we arrived at the park I attempted to get Jessica out of the car and into her wheel chair. On this day, Jessica was not too sure if she wanted to listen to directions so she didn’t get out of the car right away. Here I am with Jessica trying to coerce her to come out of the car and the first looks began by nosy passer-byers. I call them nosy because it seems to be that people love to stare. This part of the date lacked privacy because it felt like I had no control over people staring at what was going on when I was trying to get Jessica to come out of the car. Eventually, Jessica came out of the car and our first stop was to the bathroom. I pushed Jessica in her wheel chair to the bathroom where I struggled to get her chair into the bathroom because there was not a ramp for accessibility. It was amazing to discover that a public park did not did not meet the demands of handicapped individuals. After we left the bathroom we ventured on down to the stone pathway that led to some picnic tables to have our lunch.

 Other activities that were going on around us included people of all ages and ethnicities walking, running, screaming, and playing either basketball or soccer. At the picnic tables I got out our lunches out and we began to eat.
As people passed by they continued to stare at Jessica and I. I do not know if it was because Jessica was drinking out of a sippy cup or because she was sitting in a wheel chair. Sometimes when people stare for a long time I will wave at them to let them know I see them! That day I just ignored them. After we finished eating, I wheeled Jessica back to the car and then we left the park and went to Marietta Square. On that Sunday, the Marietta Square had a farmer's market event going on.

The Square was blocked off with signs and in the middle there were many booths and tents set up with people's artwork and food for sale. There were also kid's activities that were in a selected corner of the square. There were many people in our close proximity as I pushed Jessica around so I felt very crowded. The Square seemed to be more accessible than the park because there were sidewalks with ramps for wheel chairs. While I was pushing Jessica, she was playing with her straw, which she uses as a form of sensory.

There was also a live band playing and many sounds of people chatting in the background which provided a lot of sensory stimulation for Jessica, in which I discussed earlier that it is very necessary for her to have in her environment.

While I was pushing Jessica around in the Square I felt very comfortable because I have been to Square many times because I am from Marietta. The Square is very easy to walk around and find your way even for people who are first time visitors. There are traffic lights at each corner of the square along with buttons to press to know when you are able to cross the street. On the outside of the Square there are many eateries, dessert shops, and mom and pop stores to shop at. Each business presents itself with a sign that tells about what it is. On this day I felt like I had a lot of control over my surroundings because I know my way around the Square and if Jessica was to start getting overstimulated I would be able to find my way out quick. Fortunately, Jessica seemed very calm while at the farmers market so I did not have to worry about making an escape. I pushed Jessica through the event to look at different booths and I also pushed her towards the middle of the Square to listen to music. When it was time to go I wheeled Jessica back to the car and we headed back to her house. Overall, our date went well. Most of the events that happened today normally happen on days when I take her on outings. Amazingly, the way people react towards Jessica never get old. I know for sure that it is nice every once in a while to have a friendly person try to interact with her. The main reactions we normally see are people staring like they've never seen a developmentally disabled person before. I hope that people can learn more from this blog that it is important to not forget the people in our society that are not like they rest of us. They do not deserve to be stared at or even overlooked at for that matter. Jessica has truly impacted my life by helping me to learn true patience, love, and learning to in what I stand for. I have more of sure purpose of why I am a psychology major and why I love to help people.

  

 Sarah and April's Excellent Adventure!

For this date I chose to take a friend of mine on a challenge trip! My friend, Sarah, has a non-visible disability that is on the spectrum of autism. I have been out with Sarah many times, but on this date I was sure to observe and take mental note of her interactions and how she adapted to the environment. 

 Our first stop was Jersey Mike's to pick up subs for our picnic. Sarah is very personable and her disability doesn't really show until she interacts with people. She had never been to Jersey Mike's before and didn't really know which sandwich to order. She asked the lady making the sandwiches which one she liked between two and the lady said "I'll make you a sandwich I love, which is a combination of the two." Sarah was thrilled because this lady was making her a special sandwich. (adaptability) 

 Our next destination, Stone Mountain! Sarah had never climbed Stone Mountain before, so I knew this would be a challenge for her, but she was up for it. (comfort) Sarah was sure to follow the "yellow line" as stated on the warning signs that were posted. She was also very attentive to where I stepped and tried to follow my path. That was really the first time that I noticed her disability rear its head. (comfort) She had a hard time navigating her way up the mountain and figuring out ease of movement and which way to go. But again, she persevered.  After reaching the halfway point the slope was challenging for both of us, but we made it to the top. 
It was a gorgeous sunny day so there were several climbers, but we always had plenty of space. (crowding) Sarah is very loud in her speaking because she has minor ear problems, so most of the families and walkers nearby heard most of our conversations. (sociality, privacy) 
Going down the mountain proved to be very challenging for Sarah. She was slower and had a more difficult time navigating. While we were walking I could see many people look at Sarah and I and notice that she was special, just from the way she was communicating. She was friendly to many passersby, and at one point a little boy about ten years old offered to help her down a very steep part. 

Sarah told a few people that we passed that they needed to be careful because it was a difficult climb. 

 
On the way down the mountain, I challenged Sarah to lead me in our downhill descent. She was very slow in her decision making process of which route was best for us. (control)
Once we reached the bottom, Sarah was thrilled that she had conquered Stone Mountain! It was such a joy to see her do something that was such a challenge.

After our journey, we decided to take our picnic lunch and sit on the main lawn for some privacy. We were shocked to see that we were the only people there enjoying a picnic on such a gorgeous day!


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The World Through His Eyes by Samantha Rowell

For my accessible date project I decided to take my good friend's son out for an afternoon of fun! Alex (my date) is 9 years old and has pretty severe Asperger's syndrome - which is an autism disorder.

For our date, I decided to take Alex bowling which is one of his favorite things to do! We went to Brunswick Zone lanes in Austell, GA. When we arrived we saw that it was not very busy - except for about 10 lanes at the far side which looked to be used for a bowling league.

SENSORY STIMULATION - One thing I noticed right away was how distracting the neon lights and flashing TV screens, flashing lights, and loud music were. I could see that Alex was becoming a little anxious with the amount of sensory stimulation that the lights and sound were providing.

CROWDING - I was pretty disappointed when we were assigned a lane because we were given a lane that was right smack in the middle of the bowling league lanes. There was an entire half of the alley that was not being used. We really no personal space as we had children from other lanes coming over and moving our bowling balls and trying to sit at our table. This made the bowling experience more difficult for Alex as he had a hard time understanding that he needed to wait his turn to bowl as well as stay out of the way of the league bowlers.

COMFORT - Because of the crowding we experienced, our experience was not very comfortable. I was very on edge making sure that Alex did not interfere with the intense bowlers in the league as well as making sure that he did not go over the line onto the slick part of the alley or throw his ball into another lane. 

ACTIVITY - Although only half of the bowling alley was full, Alex and I both felt that it was a very busy environment because of our location. There were kids running around while their parent's bowled as well as coaches running around trying to be involved in every game being played.

ADAPTABILITY - I was happy with the adaptability at this bowling alley in the sense that all of their bowling balls were on shelves according to their weight. This made it easy for Alex to find a ball that was a good size and weight for him to use.

Also, one of the employee's put the bumpers up on our lane so that Alex could bowl without the worry of getting a "gutter ball" every time. This made him very happy as he was able to play the way he had imagined in his head.

LEGIBILITY - The bowling alley was pretty easy to maneuver, the lanes were numbered in large print, the tables for each lane were easy to differentiate.

After working up an appetite (losing to Alex) bowling, we decided to go to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.

ACCESSIBILITY - This Chick-fil-a was hard for us to enter. It was lunch time on a Saturday and the drive-thru line was very busy. As you can see in the photo, we had to walk across the drive-thru lane to enter the restaurant. When we were leaving, a woman who was not paying attention almost hit Alex and I as we were crossing. Alex could not have walked to the entrance himself.

ADAPTABILITY - Chick-fil-a had upsides for this and downsides. The upsides were that this particular CFA had a "kid zone" play area outside, as well as lower door handles to the play area and back in. One thing I noticed was there were no family bathrooms, or bathrooms that I could enter to help Alex. As he cannot do some of these normal tasks alone, I was torn on how to help him use the restroom. I ended up having to take a 9-year-old boy into the women's bathroom (which severely embarrassed him) so that I could help him. 

SOCIALITY - There were two tables outside in the play area to choose from to eat our food. Alex and I were able to sit across from each other and have a conversation without much trouble.

PRIVACY - There was a full enclosed fence around the outside play area that made me feel much safer for the kids playing on the playground.

CROWDING - Alex and I were the only people who chose to eat outside, so we really did not feel crowded at all which was a nice break from the intense crowding we experienced at the bowling alley.

ACTIVITY - Although we were the only ones seated outside, many children had been allowed to go out to the play area on their own (unattended) to play. These kids were screaming and fighting and were so loud that at one point Alex had to put his fingers in his ears because the noises were very distracting to him. Alex wanted to go down to slide a few times in a slow, relaxed manner, but the other children would go down the slide right behind him and end up on top of him.

Lastly, we decided to go back to his home for some private time of eating ice cream and playing hide-and-go seek. As we had limited time, we were unable to have private time in an environment other than his environment that he is accustomed too.

MEANING - Alex felt very comfortable in his own home, he is an only child and was thankful to be back in the quite. We played with his toys in his room as well as hide-n-go seek in a familiar environment. I asked him to show me some of his favorite things and he showed me a trophy that he had earned and a track that he had made for his matchbox cars.

Overall, it was a great date and I was very intrigued to try and experience the date from his perspective and to see the world through his eyes.

Laura and Kim's Date

Laura Neal
Peters

For my date, I chose my mother, who has been deaf since she was born, out for her birthday. This was actually the first time we did activities outside the house without anyone else joining in. 

My mother and I got up early for day and went to Stars and Strikes bowling alley in Dallas, Georgia.

 We do this because we want to avoid as many people as possible and Saturdays are generally which many people show up. To our surprise, it was not crowded when we went in there at 9 in the morning. Therefore, the crowding concept did not apply for our date during the time frame we were there. By the time we left around 10:30, it was still almost empty.

 The legibility of the bowling alley though was not as clear as it could have been. If we had not gone bowling there prior, I would have probably been confused and wondered where the cashier registers were to pay for shoes and games in order to bowl. Also, we were put in one lane but then had to switch to another. If there were numbers, we could not determine which number the lane was at. We were fortunately lucky enough to realize, since we were the only ones there, that the screen that had a bowling score sheet on it instead of a screensaver was the indicator that it was our lane. 

For sensory stimulation, I recognized that the games in the front were flashy and bright which grabbed our interests right when we walked in but were too intense to stare at for a lengthy amount of time. Also, the bowling lanes had screens which provided random animations throughout our game of bowling. It was something my mom could enjoy since she was unable to hear the music the bowling alley was playing which I could only enjoy. 

 

Around 11, we decided to go out to eat at Applebees for lunch. The amount of activity going on when we went in was very low compared to most times we gone to it. Therefore, I was not stressed out about taking our time ordering the food because I occasionally get frustrated when I cannot figure out what my mother wants from the menu. Yet, the sociality aspect of our environment allowed us to talk freely because we had a large booth and enough room to chat in sign language. The only downside was that it was very awkward talking to my mother by myself because I normally never have a continuous conversation with her and almost have nothing to chat about. 

When we went bowling and out to eat, the workers usually go up to my mother and ask or say something to her assuming she was deaf and I would have to speak up. Fortunately, they were able to adapt and switch to conferring with me to translate for her. 

Afterward paying for the food and leaving, we finally decided to go back home for some privacy. We ended up deciding to play a game of Skip-Bo. It almost inhibited our ability to converse during the card game but we still had a good time. Skip-Bo gives meaning to my mother because it we play this game a lot and it gives her a challenge. She is actually quite good at and I lost to her more than once.

Overall, we both enjoyed ourselves and it was a great time to bond with my mother.

"We Owned the Night" by Megan Sheasby

            For my accessible date I took my friend Frank, who is blind, out for an enjoyable picnic and concert.  First, we went to one of the open fields at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield for our picnic of sandwiches, fruit, and cookies.  I parked the car in one of the parking lots, and then went around to the passenger side to lead Frank out to the field.  The walk was relatively easy, even though Frank was unable to see, since it was pretty much just a straight walk out into the open field.  We laid out a blanket on the ground and enjoyed complete comfort as we lounged and breathed in the fresh, fall air.  We also were able to have some privacy for our conversation, since there were few people around, and they were a great distance from us.

            Once we finished our picnic, I led Frank back to the car, loaded everything in, and drove us to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park to see Lady Antebellum in concert.  Our picnic may have been low in activity, but we got our fair share of activity in walking the long walk from where we had to park, to get into the amphitheatre.  Once inside, we experienced extreme crowding, as we tried to make our way through the masses of adults and already drunk teenagers, with little accessibility.  This was quite difficult, and I had to keep a tight grip on Frank’s arm, for fear of us getting separated.

            Once we made it to our seats in the orchestra section, we were able to have some sociality with the people in the seats around us, before the concert actually started.  We all talked excitedly about how much we love Lady Antebellum, and how this concert held a great deal of meaning for us because of the impact their music has had in our lives.  It was especially meaningful for Frank because, though he is not able to see the beauty in the world with his eyes, he is able to hear Lady Antebellum’s music, and it made him feel alive inside. 

                                    

            Finally, they made their way on stage, and the sensory stimulation went into overdrive, but in a good way!  We could hear the wonderful sound of the beautiful music blaring through the speakers, and the adoring fans screaming out the lyrics along with the band.  We could feel the thump of the bass in our chest, and though Frank was not able to see them on stage, I was able to watch as they put on a fantastic show with their music.  We loved every minute, and sang every word of their song, “We Owned the Night,” until our throats felt hoarse.

            After a few hours of complete bliss, it was time to head back home.  That sounds like it should be simple, but it definitely is not.  Once we moved out of our seats we entered back into extreme crowding and limited accessibility, as everyone tried to leave at once.  I held onto Frank and did my best to guide him, but people kept bumping into him, not realizing, or maybe not even caring that he was blind.  Finally, we made it out of the amphitheatre and then made the trek back to my car.  Despite all of this, nothing could take away the joy we had on our fun picnic and concert date!