Wheelchair Experience

Out of all the different assignments that we've had in this class (shadowing, practices, etc.), this one was definitely the best experience because it was so "hands on."

The morning of my wheelchair experience started like any other morning except for the fact that I was transferring into a wheelchair before I went to class. The transfer from the bed to the chair was difficult seeing as I couldn't walk over and sit down. I eventually got in the chair and started to roll myself out the door. This is where I encountered the first problem. The door frame was only barely big enough to allow me to get through in the chair. I would notice that this would be the case for the rest of the experience.

I eventually rolled out the door and onto the sidewalk in preparation for going to my first class. One of the things I noticed is how uneven the sidewalks are and how many cracks and divots there seem to be. I was never attentive to this fact while walking because it didn't make much difference in my stride. However, the wheelchair forced me to notice this as I tried to propel myself up and over cracks in the ground. I was able to get through the "sidewalk of death" and into Jepson where my first class was.

Safe to say my teacher that day had no idea what was going on; me entering class in a wheelchair and all. Yet, he didn't mention anything to me or ask me about my situation, which was just fine with me. I stared off into space for about 50 minutes until class was over and then mosied along out of class and off towards lunch. I decided to eat at Pandini's seeing as it was the closest thing on campus to a restaurant. The only problem with Pandini's is the close proximity of the tables to one another. Navigating through the small spaces proved difficult by not unmanageable.

After lunch, it was decided that I roll through the grass to check that off my list. This was much easier said than done. First of all, the grass was damp which increased my likelihood to fall forward on my face. Second, it hadn't been cut in a while which made the trip through it take forever. Suffice to say my forearms were crying by the time I got out of the grass and back onto the pavement.

That was pretty much the overview of my wheelchair experience. I, as well as my forearms, definitely have a new respect for the difficulty of piloting a wheelchair, and I only was in it for about 3 hours. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in a chair for a much longer period of time (i.e. life).

Chapter 9 - No Less a Worthy Life

This chapter was relatively straight forward. However, I don't really like the parallels the book tries to draw in order to make a bigger impact. For example, I dislike how this chapter compared euthanasia with abortion.

Euthanasia is an option that is sometimes chosen by a patient. This patient has at the very least a basic understanding of their current condition and their probability of getting better. The patient also has an understanding that they are choosing to end their lives by refusing any further treatment. Abortion, on the other hand, is a decision made by a parent (only the mother in most cases) to end someone else's life. Abortion is not a form of suicide, it is a form of murder. It is a decision made to end another human's life. The only connection between euthanasia and abortion is the end outcome of death.

I think this book tries too hard in making these connections to try and instill a sense of astonishment in the reader. I don't agree with this type of tactic because it is, in most cases, a shameless way of attracting people to a certain point of view. Other than that, I enjoyed the rest of the chapter and the talk of how people were able to change the world view of the young man and help him choose life over death. References to the ACLU (Anti-Christian Lawyers Union) made me not want to read on, but I got through it with only a few problems.

Shadowing Experience #3 (St. Luke's)

*Completed on November 30, 2006*

This was a fun experience as well. I followed around Barbi on the second floor and went on her final go around that night. I met with an older woman that fractured her spine when she fell. I watched Barbi work with her on practicing getting dressed by using a mechanical gripper and making sure that she did not try and flex her spine to do the activity. I then met with a guy that was paralyzed after a car accident. He had been driving to a party when he fell asleep and hit a tree with his car. Barbi had to administer a test to him on a book he was reading about life after that type of injury. Then he showed me how he transfered from his bed to his chair and back.

The last 30 minutes or so of my experience was with Barbi back in her office. There she showed me the type of paperwork and computer work that she has to do at the end of everyday. She entered everything that she did with her patients, along with recommendations of what to do next. This is saved in the computer system, which is networked with the entire hospital (along with the other hospitals in the greater Spokane area). That was basically the extent of my time with Barbi at St. Luke's.

Chapter 8 - Up from the Nursing Home

I didn't really know what to think after reading this chapter. It followed the same format of the previous seven chapters, but I don't think I can say anything in this chapter was new news to me. I think everyone has heard at least a little about how bad it is in many of the nursing homes and institutions across the country. This is visualized in certain movies and televisions shows that millions of Americans can see. However, I don't think that most people believe these harsh conditions to be true. It's a little similar to back in the 1930's and 40's when the Hollocaust was going on. The things that people were hearing about were so horrible that no one would believe that they could actually be taking place until America won the war in the European theater, and the massacre was broadcast on the news channels.

I agree that something should be done about the current system. The problem is that there may be no feasible way of accomplishing this without taking aid away from other areas or raising state taxes to a ridiculous level. In order for this "revolution" in nursing homes to take place, there needs to be a good plan on where to get the money from. The problem is that most state beaurocracies will prevent this no matter the political affiliation of the state.

One thing I didn't agree with in this chapter is the classification of what the attendant services should and can be. The way that the attendants are just supposed to be a "neutral vessel" for the patient to use to accomplish tasks that he/she couldn't normally accomplish is ludicrous. I understand that the patients are supposed to use the attendants to get what they need, but there has to be a point where the attendant has to be able to say no to a patient. Plus I think that statement demeans the role of attendant to the point of what robots will probably be doing in the not so distant future.

Shadowing Experience #2 (Pediatric Therapy Specialists)

*Completed on November 13, 2006*

This was definitely an interesting experience to say the least. Steve and I went down there for a few hours to watch both an OT and PT in action as they went through therapies with kids ranging from 6 years old up to around 10-11 years old.

The best part of the trip, in my mind, was being able to see the different therapies in action. We were able to visualize certain tools and games that were used to keep the kids attention, but at the same time help develop muscular strength and motor control. This has to be a very difficult thing to do because the kids, for the most part, were relatively unattentive and would rather have bounced off the walls than go through their therapy session without causing a commotion. I have a great deal of respect for the OT's, PT's and ST's that work in an environment with children because it takes a great deal of patience and time to try and get the child focused on the activity. It's a job that one could get easily frustrated but wouldn't be able to show much of it for fear of alienating the kid.

In the last hour, one of the PT's kids rescheduled so we were able to sit around and get specific questions answered about PT and schooling. This was beneficial because it was more of a one on one session and specific to the therapies we were visualizing during our time there. It helped to put into a picture a "typical" day of pediatric therapy and show us what that would entail if we were to pursue that option.

Chapter 7 - The Screaming Neon Wheelchair

I enjoyed this chapter because it talked about different technologies and adaptations to existing technologies that are used to help disabled people lead a regular life. The first story about the girl who became injured while hang-gliding but then helped to develop the new wheelchairs reinforced the idea that even out of tragedy something good can happen. I couldn't believe the weight of the wheelchairs before the new lightweight ones were created. Fifty pounds seems like an awful lot for a chair with wheels. Let alone a chair with wheels that had to be pushed around from place to place (I can only imagine how difficult climbing up an incline would be with a fifty pound chair).

It was interesting to hear about the technology that has come out that allows "the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the paralyzed to move." I enjoy technology, especially the kind that is meant to make life easier. I think this is best seen in the invention of the television remote control. Why get up to change the channel when you can change it in an instant without leaving the comfort of the couch?

I had no idea that the initial intention of the Jacuzzi was to help with the pain from rheumatoid arthritis. If I had to guess before reading this chapter, I would have said that it was invented as a leisure way of swimming when its snowing outside. If not that, I would have assumed it was a way of allowing people to share a conversation and some drinks while sitting in a hot tub of water. It makes sense though. The purpose of most technology is to make life easier and take away from the everyday stresses of life. It follows that this same technology should be used to make disabled life easier and give the ability to operate in the world in a fashion similar to everyone else.

Chapter 6 - People First

I think I liked this chapter because it was relatively short (26 pages compared to almost 50 for the last two) and to the point.

Self-advocacy is a very important part of American life. One could argue that it is at the heart of what it means to be an American and live in the United States. If we cannot guarantee self-advocacy for all American citizens, then we are no better than any Communist state in the world that thrives on controlling all the actions of its people. One of the best lines of the book is in the very beginning when it talks about what to call people with mental retardation. "Call me a person with mental retardation, but see me as a person first." I think that one quote hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Normal and not normal, we are all people, we are all Americans, and we should all be treated as such.

All it takes is a little help and a little instruction to get people where they need to be in order to take care of themselves and live productive lives on their own without constant supervision. It also takes faith in their ability to take a "laizzez-faire" type attitude and allow those persons with mental disabilities to accomplish tasks on their own. I think its fair to assume that all people want to be independent have the ability to rely only on themselves from time to time. With a little help this would be an attainable reality.

Chapter 5 - Integration: Out of Shadowland

After reading the first paragraph, I couldn't help but laugh. The comment made by the postmaster was just too funny because of the total ignorance of it. His argument that he didn't need a wheelchair ramp because he had never seen a single person in a wheelchair in the post office was ridiculous. I am amazed at how some people decide to say things without thinking about them first.

Anyway, this was an interesting chapter because it discussed a part of the disabled population that doesn't get much attention (well, compared to the rest of the disabled population). It was interesting to read about Skinner and behavioral conditioning because I have studied him in both a philosophy class and a couple psychology classes. But to hear the conditions of the mental health homes was apalling. To use descriptive terms linking the conditions to that of the Jews during the Nazi regime in Germany really an impression on how bad it really was. Also, the fact that the conditioning they were using seemed to be relatively ineffective, and yet was still the option of choice was sad to hear.

On the upside, it was interesting to read about the integration strategies being used to incorporate those children with autism and other mental disabilities into the "normal" setting and away from the special classes. Coming from a behavioralist perspective, I think this is the most beneficial conditioning there is because it is coming from the child's peers. It is one thing to be told something by an adult and required to follow it. It is quite another to be told something by a friend or peer and just be expected to follow along. This would be a situation where peer pressure could be used as a tool for conditioning the children away from activities that may cause harm to themselves or those around them.

Chapter 4 - A Hidden Army for Civil Rights

This was probably my favorite chapter in the book so far. I liked this chapter because of how it was set up and because of what took place. This book is really starting to change my train of thought with disabled people. At first, I didn't like how they were comparing their own movement and their own struggle to those of the civil rights activists. However, this chapter put that statement into a better perspective for me and I think I'm starting to understand what they meant.

The big thing for me about this book is that I have never heard anything about the struggle for disabled rights, the legislation that took place, or the people that put the legislation into motion. One reason could be that I was 6 or 7 when this all started to take place in the Bush administration, and I had more important things on my mind like learning to write in cursive and wondering what I would get for Christmas. But even after that in my history classes in high school, we never talked about this history. We covered women's rights and civil rights but never anything about disabled rights. I think this is the case because people take for granted what it used to be like compared to where it is now.

One thing that I really liked about this chapter was what was said to Vice President Bush in the meetings to prevent the upheaval of Section 504. They wanted to be self-reliant. I think that is such a huge step forward for anyone because I'm in full support of getting people to a state of self-reliance and a removal from a dependence on the government for everything. I believe the government is best used to turn people in that direction, not to be relied on forever. Another good quote was "I want to be a taxpayer, not a tax user." If more Americans would think like that it would remove a great deal of government waste and spending and return America to its greatest years of 1981-1988.

Shadowing Experience #1 (EWU Speech Therapy)

*Completed on November 1, 2006*

This was a pretty neat experience because of the way the shadowing was set up. When we arrived at EWU at the ungodly hour of 8AM, they took us to the back hallway and showed us the rooms where we could go in and watch the therapy take place. These rooms were set up adjacent to the therapy rooms but had one-way glass so we could watch but not be seen.

The first patient we watched could have easily been the guy from the video we saw in class time. He had a stroke and was going through therapy to help with his formation of words and memory of everyday items. The first part of the therapy involved looking at picture cards and identifying what was in the picture. Then the patient had to try and spell the item from a set of letters that the therapist gave him. Then he was supposed to write the word down a few times on a sheet of paper. This was quite tough for him, especially the longer words, but he got through that portion of the therapy.

The next part of the therapy involved a computer and some sort of item naming/picture naming program. We couldn't see what was going on with the computer because the screen was turned away from us. However, we could hear the patient hearing the computer say a word and then repeating it. My best guess was that it was a bunch of pictures and the computer spat out the word associated with the picture.

Thus ended our speech therapy shadowing. All in all, it was a good experience but I cannot see myself in that type of therapy setting. The speech therapist needs a great deal of patience to get through the session and it seems like it would be quite frustrating most times.

Chapter 3 - The Deaf Celebration of Separate Culture

This is a very good chapter because it discusses a type of disability that is not outwardly shown. It would be almost impossible to pick a deaf person out of a crowd until you interacted with them or noticed them signing. However, I imagine it is one of the tougher disabilities to live with in our culture because how much emphasis is put on being able to hear. Phones, television, music, movies, etc... are mostly made for the hearing. Granted most, if not all, have subtitles or some type of device that allows for the Deaf to use, but this is not the mainstream.

I read a book a while ago about a group of guys that takes this bus of students hostage. The students all happen to be from a school for the deaf, so the novel talked about the different "culture" that exists with those that are deaf. In a true sense, it really is its own culture. It has its own language, its own music and dance, and its own way of doing things.

The one major idea that I took away from this chapter was the question of whether those who are deaf should be sent to their own schools, or they should be integrated into the regular public/private school systems. I'm not sure what the best answer is because both arguments raise good points. I think it would be more beneficial for those who are deaf to go to special schools because they are designated to cater to the disability. However, this may be seen as a type of segregation from the undeaf. The problem with the regular school system is that many, if not most, do not have the necessary means to cater to the deaf students. I suppose this is a question that still plagues many to this day.

Chapter 2 - From Charity to Independent Living

This chapter was just stacked full of information. It was a little tough to get through the chapter because of all the history it contained about the rights of disabled people. However, the first part of the chapter was pretty enlightening with the story of Ed Roberts.

Reading through the chapter, it was tough to believe everything that Roberts had to go through in order to just attend a University. I'm not talking about the physical requirements, more along the lines of the beaurocratic nonsense that was in his way. I believe I can get a grasp of what the administration was thinking when they told Roberts he wouldn't be able to attend Cal, but I couldn't understand why they would try so hard to prevent him from trying. I enjoyed hearing about how he was the "trailblazer" for disabled students, and how that group would meet together in the hospital and plan their next moves to help change the University to better suit their needs.

The second half of the chapter that dealt more with the history aspect was a little tough to read through. There was quite a lot of information all packed in to a relatively small number of pages. From what I was able to take away, it seems that the government acted the same way they do on most legislation: postpone, postpone, postpone. I have never been a big fan of protests (I think people have better things to do with their time), yet I rooted for the people who protested until the bill was signed. It was a good way to show their voice and their need for changes in America.