AUBURN UNIVERSITY
I found a building that had an old ramp on the outside that was made of wood and was rotting,” Caudle says.
“This was a very important building on campus for students.
I brought this up to my professor and told him how dangerous and inaccessible this building was.
I noticed shortly after telling my professor
this, they had torn down the old ramp and built a new one outside of this
building.”
NEXT UP, LOSE 25 ADDITIONAL POUNDS AND EXERCISE MORE
I started
realizing that when in Turkey or Morocco – I would shun restaurants that had
third story dining rooms reached only by stairs.
I would skip
the museum on a hilltop for a walk through a neighborhood on flat land.
I threw a
fit when a budget inn told me upon check-in that the elevators was broken and
wouldn’t be repaired for ages – so I would have to walk not only to my room but
to the rooftop café for included meals.
I was about
50 – and not a smoker or drinker or taker of much of anything stronger than
Tylenol – but my knees were killing me.
Finally, my
beloved wife Heidi told me I needed a plan.
No more
thinking I would walk off a giant meal.
No more fad
diet, or buying an armload to Lean Cuisine dinners and figuring those would
magically shrink my size by delivering a lower cal microwaved lunch and dinner.
I got an app
that rates the fat/sugar/carb/protein count of food.
I made a 3.5
hour trip to the grocery, buying a lot of stuff that barely made it to our fridge
and cupboards before.
I slowly,
methodically threw out dozens and dozens of treats, main dishes, sauces,
sweets, breads, brownie mixes and other stuff I’d been mainlining forever.
I try to
walk several miles per week, but I know that portion control and cutting out a
lot of stuff that is darn near poison (albeit tasty, well-marketed poison) – is
the key.
I have several
remaining goals:
1) Step up the walking even more. And
bicycle too.
2) Continue to cut out some once a week
treat foods – even if they are in small portions and fit within my meal plan.
3) Keep the 100 pounds lost off of me
for six months – to make sure I’m not one of those folks that celebrate
reaching a goal…by consuming a bunch of “cheat” treats that were the reason I
needed to drop 100
4) Drop another 25 pounds. Yep, your
read that correctly. I’m not auditioning for the role of a man on hunger strike.
I simply got so out of control, that to truly be the weight I should be – for my
age and height under six feet – I need to drop about 125 total, from my December
2019 starting date.
Wish me
luck.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Caudle experienced transverse myelitis at age 13, which damaged his spinal cord at the T11 level.
He praised the OA for
assisting with technology in classes and housing, arranging extended time on
any exam and providing accessible transportation to the entire campus.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
I didn’t really have much of a sense of freedom in the terms of getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people or trying new things,” said Clayton, who lives off-campus.
“Since moving to Auburn, I have grown as a person and have found my voice.
I’m willing to talk to strangers, challenge
myself with trying new things, and ultimately I am able to give people exposure
to someone with a disability.”
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
She has used a manual wheelchair since 2014, when an accident caused a T9 complete spinal cord injury.
She gives high praise for continual renovations that add more access to buildings, including automatic door openers that can be activated anywhere within a 36-inch range.
Also, extra
accessible restroom stalls have been added, along with upgraded seating access
in auditorium-style classrooms.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Donald says although the AU campus is
hilly, all transit systems are lift-equipped and all academic and residential
buildings have accessible drop-offs.
The year-round pleasant Alabama weather is also welcoming to wheelchair users, and several dorm units feature a suite of four rooms.
“We put in an accessible restroom and made common areas accessible,”
says Donald.
“This way, a student who uses a chair for mobility can have
roommates — nondisabled or disabled — like everybody else.
We didn’t want to
say all students who use wheelchairs must be all grouped together.”
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Trace Donald, director of the Office of Accessibility, manages a team that works closely with administrators, faculty and staff across campus to ensure that students with disabilities receive the same opportunities to succeed as their peers without disabilities.
The OA established the jAUnt door-to-door golf cart service for students, employees and visitors with disabilities.
It also founded the Auburn University
wheelchair basketball program.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
It’s a premier public university with roots dating back to 1856, top-ranked architecture and industrial design departments, as well as impressive rehabilitation counseling and international studies programs.
Approximately 60%
of first-year students receive scholarships.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
It started around
Thanksgiving 2019.
We went out
to an upscale seafood holiday buffet at a waterfront restaurant.
Overweight
almost all my life (well, since 3rd grade, but that’s almost a half
century ago), I went hog wild.
Oh, the
grilled finfish and chilled shellfish might have actually been decent choices.
But
somewhere along the way -- gumbo with rice, starchy side dishes, breaded crab
cakes, fried fish, sauces, butters, sodas and too many dessert bar trips to
count – I did what I always do: eat like a starving man.
And when we
got home, I didn’t even feel bad.
This became
such a routine, that I didn’t feel like I had a half dozen portions of full
meals – in one body.
I think just
about every one of us loves food.
We crave fat
and sugar.
Back when
there wasn’t a drive-through on every corner and a snack count at every convenience
store and gas station, we had to work all day for a meal – so if we gobbled
down a bit much, it was burned off.
For me, food
has a magical quality.
I fell under
its spell like a person with substance abuse issues chases the high from heroin,
meth or hard liquor.
Have a
miserable day. Boss tore into your over nothing? Parents 1,000 miles away not
speaking to your over a trivial issue? Treated your spouse poorly and raking
yourself over the coals trying to figure out not only how to apologize, but
also how to stop yourself from repeating bad behavior?
Eat a half a
giant pizza, down a whole bag of chips, eat a third of a pie, down 6 pieces of
fried fish drowned in tartar and accompanied with a mountain of French fries.
But food
also was a way of patting myself on the back, of making sure the warm feeling
of success felt like a zillion calories inside an ever-expanding tummy.
So a family
sized serving of whipped potatoes in butter, a half a box of gourmet chocolate,
a PBJ on artisanal bread with Jif and high fructose jelly spread thick as an
inch – those were the way to do a victory lap, to celebrate the front page
story, the closed deal with a creative client, the first day in Europe on
vacation with my wife.
While I had
to (or should have learned to) own this behavior for a third of a century of
being an adult – I did not.
It took me decades
and decades to realize that even if I didn’t care about my appearance “because
hell, I was not male model or movie star,” that I was risking my health.
(more on my
healthy lifestyle journey next blog post – February 28)
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“I would recommend going to A&M because the disability staff and testing services are some of the most motivated and helpful individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” he says.
“They promptly respond to all my emails and are always willing to help.
They’re constantly trying to be active within the
disability community, and anyone can tell that they truly enjoy what they do.”
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Kaki Kaki, a quadriplegic and a senior in aerospace engineering, uses a manual wheelchair with power assist wheels.
He is pleased with TAMU’s international studies program, through which he spent
a month in Brazil for foreign study, staying in a small town a few hours
outside of São Paulo.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Some buildings have push button entrances, but most have motion-activated sliding doors for ease of access.
Auditorium/stadium
seating-type classrooms have been retrofitted to ensure there is accessible
seating in the front, middle and back sections.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Each one has at least one accessible entrance, accessible parking, and accessible bathrooms on the first floor,” Vacek says.
“Part of the reason I wanted to pledge Delta Zeta was the fact that I found their house to be more accessible and better for me than other houses.
However, they do not have an accessible living situation so I am not able to live in the house.
Disability Resources called ahead and communicated with the Panhellenic
head of recruitment to ensure that everything would be accessible and running
smoothly throughout rush week.”
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Vacek, who wants to go to graduate school to become a history teacher, rehabbed at TIRR in Houston, one of the nation’s leading rehab hospitals.
She says many of her therapists were TAMU grads who
spoke highly of the school, which influenced her decision to enroll there.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“I do it all, and do not allow my disability to define what I can do.
I want to show others that these tasks can still be done in a different and innovative way.”
Sutton says she is also allowed to live in
an on-campus apartment — rather than the required Corps dorms — that
accommodates the space she needs for medical devices and an attendant.
FROM THE CATS WE TAKE CARE OF & CAT DADDY STEVE
We are the cats and other fur babies
protected by your monthly donations to the ASPCA. Some of us have very
sad stories to tell, but life is getting better because of your love and
support.
We are a colony of cats that lives near the seafront ramparts called the Skala de la Kasbah on the Atlantic cost of Essaouira. The fishermen with the famous blue boats give us lots of fish scraps and chin rubs, but the Moroccan Dirhams Uncle Steve donated helps a team of volunteers to build us shelters.
We are the felines of the Cat Café outside Orlando. While Disney, Sea World, Universal and water parks get all the attention – we’d like to think we are the most wonderful location in the land of theme parks. We loved the hugs you gave us, the money you donated and we look forward to safer times when you can visit again.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
“We have learning communities, one for engineers, another for leadership, other themes — and they are very popular,” says Orr.
“With our system, you can live anywhere you like on campus, at any
price point, and you are not precluded from being in one of the learning
communities because you use a wheelchair.”
Taylor Sutton, a junior majoring in
agricultural leadership and development, serves in TAMU’s Corps of Cadets, has
spinal muscular atrophy and uses a power wheelchair.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Kristie Orr, DDR’s director, oversees 17 staff members and about 15 student workers.
For 22 years, she has advocated for the social model of disability on the TAMU campus — emphasizing that a disability is part of an individual’s identity, not a problem or something to be fixed.
She says there are accessible rooms in more than a dozen residence halls on the TAMU campus, which she favors versus clustering all students with disabilities in only one or two dorms.
For
students who use wheelchairs, this approach opens many doors that in years past
created barriers instead of opportunities.
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
A paratransit system that runs on campus is widely praised by wheelchair users.
As the first public university in Texas, founded in 1876 as the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas, the original campus has grown to include several state branches with a wide array of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as global prominence as a research institution.
Students may at first seem overwhelmed with options, but 92% of freshmen
undergraduates at TAMU successfully complete their first-year studies, one of
the highest retention rates in the nation.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
The DRC links students who can
critique the accessibility of products with major companies such as Proctor
& Gamble — creating the ability for a graduate to become a consultant who
is paid well for unique expertise.
Besides also offering internship
opportunities to wheelchair users, another influential factor that attracts
students, especially from Florida, is the low in-state tuition charge of
approximately $6,500 yearly.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Most of the city of Gainesville is
intertwined with UF, so essential shopping, services, and medical and
rehabilitation resources are very close to the large campus.
“Our students are brilliant, they are advocates who want to share their experience,” Altamirano says of the DRC-supported student ambassador program.
“The Ambassadors hold panels and educate UF faculty
and partner with physical therapy and occupational therapy practitioners and
students.”
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
“Cypress is also connected, literally, to the Disability Resource Center, and is really convenient for exam taking,” says Parrish, who has cerebral palsy and uses a power wheelchair and augmentative communication technology.
“For four years, I had my own room and shared a private bathroom, which was also full of accessible features.”
BLOGGING DAILY – FOR A DECADE – ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY, INCLUSION, EQUITY AND DIVERSITY
It started
out as a way to share my travel images and thoughts on urban design.
I quickly
added advocacy for people with disabilities – which certainly is crucial to accessible
travel and barrier-free urban design/town planning.
Over the
years, I have gotten more aggressive about calling out poor design that creates
barriers for wheelchair users.
I have
pointed out how this nation still lacks affordable, accessible housing –
despite living more than three decades under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The stories
also have shared best practices for urban design, architecture and
transportation mobility – gleaned from my articles in leading publications such
as Planning, New Mobility and On Common Ground magazines.
I love
sharing images from the backstreets of Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and other locales
in Europe, South America and beyond.
I have made more
than 3,000 blog posts.
That’s
enough to fill four full-length books.
Thanks to everyone
for following this blog and sharing its ideas.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Delaina Parrish says Cypress Hall is one of the most innovative ADA dorms in the country.
“It offers the best accessibility and safety features for students with significant challenges who have still met all the rigorous entrance requirements,” she says.
Parrish is a
graduating senior majoring in marketing at UF’s Warrington College of Business
and cofounder of Fearless Independence, LLC (fearlessindependence.com), a
website devoted to promoting inclusivity and body confidence for people of all
abilities.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
but Cypress Hall delivers with wide hallways, adjustable beds and dozens
of other technologies.
“The amount of programs my university has is amazing, too,” she says.
“We have wheelchair basketball, an honor
society for students with disabilities, a study abroad program that includes
disability studies, accessible yoga and an amazing disability studies
department.”
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
While there are accessible municipal transit options for reaching off-campus venues, UF’s on-campus Gator Lift provides free paratransit to disabled students, faculty, staff and visitors.
And if a student has a lift/ ramp-equipped van for
off-campus mobility, each residence hall has assigned parking spaces striped
for accessible vans.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
It also has lounges, study spaces, a game
room, a dance studio and an arts and crafts center.
UF residence halls throughout the campus can be made accessible upon request. But the ground floor of Cypress Hall features state-of-the-art-technology that allows students as much autonomy as they want.
SureHands track lift systems transport students from chair to bed to bath.
Blinds and doors can be controlled with an iPad.
Bathrooms have ample turn-around dimensions and roll-in showers.
And there are spaces for personal
care attendants to assist with laundry and cooking food, without disturbing
studying students.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
About 50-70 DRC clients each year are students who
use wheelchairs.
“Our institution as a whole strives to be the best.
If we want to be the best, we have to have the best, and that includes people with disabilities,” says Altamirano.
“People with disabilities
have ideas and create innovations — but to be successful, we have to shift how
our system works, or they won’t get through the front door in reality and metaphorically.”