In the past few weeks, I have been told that Alzheimer's is not a disability, because the person was able to walk... The first was a parking lot confrontation with a nasty man, who was upset because I parked in a handicap parking spot, (yes, it was the only one available and he wanted it) I do have a handicap parking sticker, but only use it when I am with my dw. I explained that my dw had ad. He insisted that AD was not a handicap. I replied " just because you can't think does not make you handicapped". Another was in a restaurant where I went into the ladies room with my dw. The manager told me that I was not allowed in there.....When I mentioned AD, he said that it was not considered a disability and I could not go in to assist her. After a lot of thinking, I realized that most people do not recognize AD as being a "handicap", and the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not apply. Yes, they build ramps, put bars and wide doors to restrooms, have braille on ATM machines for blind people (but does a blind person actually use an ATM??), but other than that, they treat AD as a "difficult customer". Very few people know how to interact with AD, and I decided to go on a mission and become an educator. Often clerks will talk to me, instead of my dw. I usually redirect them and tell them to talk to my dw. They often act as if she was not present, and I often remind them that she is the customer, not me.... I have printed some cards that I now hand out. One is a recognition that the establishment meets the ADA standards, and is Alzheimer's compliant, with a Thank you for your patience and understanding. The other is a notice of violation of the ADA, and a request that they become more Alz friendly and train their personnel to accommodate AD patients. I doubt if this will make much difference to anyone, but I feel better when a business accepts AD and change their policies. Has anyone else been told that AD is not a Handicap??
Phranque, at every turn, there is an opportunity to educate the public, and you are doing your part very well. It is a long, slow, agonizing process, just like the disease.
In our area it was a requirement for anyone dealing with the pubic to attend a course on dealing with dementia patients. This included the local supermarkets. I don't know if the program is still active. I have observed clerks in our local stores being very patient with people with disabilities. A couple shops at a super market I patronize. She has had a stroke and her speech is very limited. He stands nearby but lets her go to the deli and make her choices. Clerk is very gentle and allows the woman all the time she needs. The same thing with local restaurants. We always went to the same one and the staff knew what was going on. They treated Bill with respect and spoke directly to him. Explaining before an incident really helps.
The ADA is our latest best attempt to provide access to the disabled in all possible areas of living. It is not perfect. but it has made a tremendous difference or many. There are two areas which are problematic. One, Phranque has been dea;ing with. The problem of visibility and perception. There is still a big gap in the public awareness that not all disabilities are visible, and that just because it isn't 'seen' doesn't make someone able bodied.
The second problem comes in compliance. There are levels of compliance which are acceptable--if a special door knob makes an enter accessible, the whole doorway doesn't need to be rebuilt. Smart designers and inbstallers consult with potential users so the accomodations actually work as intended. A toilet paper dispenser gets mounted so the outlet is at the prescribed height from the floor and above the grab bar, so a user can get a reasonabl portion of paper. A lesser installation will put the dispenser mounting bracket at the prescribed height, putting the outlet inches above the grab bar and all the user can do is thread the paper down past the grab bar and get a square at a time.
And then there are those who do not 'get it'. There is fast food restaurant whch has a nice new sign announcing their new accessible facilities with an arrow---direction the customer down a nice wide hall to a flight of stairs at he bottom of which is their pair ofd full accessible bathrooms. No Elevator.
This summer we went to a park out in West Texas to go swimming. The State Park was built in the 30's and was the most UN ADA place that I have seen. They have a wheel chair ramp is not marked well. They have no way for someone in a wheel chair to access the pool. The pool is a natural stream and no chlorine. The step into the pool were full of slime. I nearly fell when I got in. It was impossible to get my wife into the pool. They had fenced off the area of the pool such that the wheel chair route was the furthest to the pool. I was so mad that I spoke to the manager of the park and said a note should be put on the website that this place in not good for ADA. We traveled 80 miles round trip to go there. I wrote an email to the state parks department and last month they answered it after 3 months that they were going to put in a hoist for ADA.