Discussion Journal #6

         Hello again a good week of school (Sep 7th-11th) and then a great week off for Fall break. During break though it is good to look back on what was learned the weeks before. Last week we learned a lot about disabilities and the many barriers that people with disabilities face. In our reading "Barriers to Recreation Participation" I learned about intrinsic barriers and environmental barriers. Things I have never considered as a barrier like lack of knowledge, I realized are huge barriers even bigger than perhaps some of the physical barriers. I was also forced to realize to how many barriers there really are for the people who suffer from a disability and how hard it is for them to even go basic places like grocery shopping. When they leave their house they must find accessible transportation, a route that is architecturally designed to allow ease of access, and plan such outings for days that the weather will not create its own barriers.
          So as part of a class activity a small group of us went out on our campus to a building with a check list of requirements. The requirements were the ADA  building requirements for new buildings to be compliant. The list was very long, and had very precise measurement requirements from the width of parking stalls, how tall counters can be, how many inches a ramp can raise over the distance of a foot, and many more. We measured and recorded all the data to see how much thought has to go into that building and how precise the builders are when they construct it. I also started to notice things in other buildings, walking to class or going to the movies, I would notice building attributes that make it more or less accessible. I also learned that while for me it may feel good to offer to help a person with a disability for them it may insinuate that I don't think they can do it for them selves, and may cause them to feel like a lesser person.
         Because of all I have learned over that last week I hope to make more thoughtful decisions regarding my interactions with persons who are disabled. I also hope to help inform my friends and family about the many barriers that face people even those with very minor disabilities.

This week we are also supposed to report on what we think we have earned for a participation grade for the first half of this semester based on my attendance and participation. I believe that I have earned a 50 out of 50 for this portion of the semester.