HEllo Ardith,

On Wed 2011-Oct-26 23:56, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:

AH>           Good for them!  Over the years I have noticed that some
AH> denominations seem more receptive to folks with disabilities than
AH> others.  When I was growing up, there were two families with
AH> offspring in wheelchairs who attended the same church my family did.
AH> For as long as I remember there has been a ramp into the church...
AH> and when renovations were made to the church hall & office area,
AH> i.e. some time before Nora was born, an elevator was added.  At the
AH> other end of the continuum, there was a woman in this echo years ago
AH> who said the members of her church had shunned her family because
AH> one of the kids had a learning disability & they interpreted it to
AH> mean the family weren't good Christians... (sigh). 

Have noted that too over the years.  The church where I grew up was late
getting with the program, but they finally
installed a ramp and an elevator to get one into the
addition which lead to the fellowship hall and the
auditorium.  IT meant that people who were wheelchair bound
and wished to attend services entered the sanctuary from the front, but they
could get in.  Also one of those
improvements was a small elevator.

LIke you I patronize places that are wheelchair friendly,
especially for Kathy.  Just having a ramp isn't enough imho. THe question is
whether the ramp and other facilities are
easy to use for her.  Example, a Chinese restaurant we
really liked when we first got up here from NEw ORleans was
a real pain, the ramp was steep, adn the parking lot on a
pretty good slope, and the door narrow, which meant I had to pull her up the
ramp and back her over the threshold as her
small front wheels wouldn't clear it.  THen when leaving you had to really
hold onto her or she'd take quite a thrill
ride.

When they built a newer larger facility I still found that
though access to the building was easier for Kathy in a
chair the carpeting they use inside is very deep pile, hard
to push her, and the way they've done the buffet line is
difficult to maneuver Kathy in the chair.  We still like the place, but I'll
only conscent to patronizing the place when
Kathy feels strong enough to navigate the buffet line with
her walker.  I'll take my palte to the table, come back and
get hers, but she still must navigate the line with a walker or it's too big a
pain and I'll vote to spend more money
elsewhere.



RW>  Even if you can't do things in the "normal" way the
RW>  important thing is that you get them done, and can
RW>  live a full life.

AH>           Absolutely... you do what works!  In our bathroom we have
AH> a key chain with a stuffed animal suspended from a toggle switch. 
AH> Before that... when Nora was too short to reach the light switch...
AH> we attached a bit of dowelling to it as a less expensive alternative
AH> to the commercial product we'd seen in the home of a friend whose
AH> husband was quadriplegic.  Although Nora's needs have changed we're
AH> still using the basic concept of modifying the switch so she can
AH> turn the light on & off by herself.  If other people think we're
AH> weird, chances are they already realized that before visiting our
AH> home or before we invited them.  :-)) 

IF they have a problem with that then they don't need to
visit you anyway .


RW>  Even if that's as simple as using our dry measuring
RW>  cups to measure liquids

AH>           I hadn't thought of using dry measuring cups that way, but
AH> I think it might work well for Nora too.  She often finds it
AH> difficult to read the numbers on the graduated cups associated with
AH> liquids.  Thanks for the suggestion.  :-) 

Glad I could be of help, I'd never thought about that.
Another thing that might help you or her is to get a set of
metal measuring spoons, then you can bend the handles to act more like
ladles.  The metal ones are hard to find these
days though.

Regards,
           Richard
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 * Origin:  (1:116/901)