*reaches through your screen and shakes you by the shoulders*
accessibility goes beyond what the government decides is accessible!
disability is more than what the government decides is disabled!
*shakes Americans harder* the ADA is not enough and should not be the stopping point for accessible advocacy!
I'm happy this struck a cord because it's deeply frustrating as a (mostly) ambulatory disabled person that my other disabled comrades had to drag themselves up the capitol steps without their mobility aids to get the ADA passed, which was hopefully meant to be a bare minimum of recognition of a systemic problem and hopefully reflect new access that mirrors what ambulatory able-bodied people can access. This was never the case and has been weaponized against us american disabled people of all demographics to insinuate that we already have equal access. Now we have fun things like "ADA entrances" and "ADA accessible" as a selling point for events and hotels and the like.
I can't use the bathroom in over 50% of public places due to lack of sanitary features for my medical device. The ADA does not require hooks and/or shelving for medical devices, only that if hooks are offered they be at a level accessible by little people and wheelchair users.
And when I do have access to an accessible bathroom/stall, it's usually the only stall large enough to accommodate mobility devices like wheelchairs, which makes me weary of taking space from someone else. I bring an S hook (thank you followers for the rec) to make my own adaptations to stalls in a pinch. This usually isn't an option for people who require larger hooks to hang their mobility aids. Most accessible stalls also lack sinks as well, so we still have to handle our medical devices with soiled hands.
July is Disability Pride Month. I'd love to recommend starting with An Oral History of the Capitol Crawl if you'd like to learn a little more about The Capitol Crawl itself and the organization behind it, ADAPT. Despite the shortcomings of the ADA, I don't want to downplay the blood, sweat, and tears that disabled activists put into getting the act passed. We wouldn't have what we have today without them.
Other disabled people feel free to chime in about your experiences, especially in other countries. I can only speak from my experiences as a us american.
