Originally posted by JudithM
I am really curious as to how you define "technically handicapped."
Hope I'm not putting words into Cindy's mouth, but the way I read that paragraph of her post is that there are interesting posts from people who have disabilities that do not require them to use a wheelchair for whom the accessible features of these rooms creates more of a hinderance than a help (such as someone with a back injury that allows them to walk but makes getting in and out of a lower bed VERY difficult). I don't think she meant offense or to imply that anyone who doesn't use a wheelchair is only handicapped by some "technicality" or anything like that.
As an architect, I deal with accessibility issues all the time. In fact, some of the best "training" I've had was when in school we did an exercise that attempted to simulate a number of possibile disabilities that would need to be accommodated. We got to go around campus in wheelchairs, on crutches, simulate varying degrees of visual impairment, difficulty in grasping etc. I think now we refer to accessible design as either "universally accessible" or "barrier free" which implies that good design works for EVERYONE, not JUST someone who has a particular disability or for people who don't have a disability at all. Things like the type of door handles that you find on hotel rooms would fall under that category because they are comfortable for everyone to use, including someone who has a disablity that makes it difficult for them to grasp and turn regular doorknobs.
In response to whether "HC" rooms work for "anybody," yes, they are primarily designed for people in wheelchairs. The thing about wheelchairs is that comfortable height for furniture and bathroom fixtures and toilet accessories is pretty different for someone who is in a wheelchair than for someone who isn't, so there isn't really anything that can be "universal" about it. I think everyone should have to spend a half hour getting around in a wheelchair sometime if for no other reason than to have some kind of an inkling about the barriers created by things that we never even notice.
I know these rooms can be a pain for people who have little kids as it brings things that are dangerous within reach of little hands. For people without little kids who don't have the childproofing problem or the "lack of place to bathe the kids" problem, my guess is that any inconvenience you might have by having a roll in shower or lack of vanity space to store your stuff is nothing compared to the inconveniences that people in wheelchairs face every day, dozens of times a day. I'd rather DVC have too many wheelchair accessible rooms and "inconvenience" someone who doesn't need it than not have enough and basically make it impossible for someone in a wheelchair to stay there.
Still, it seems that if they can make a 2 bedroom with 2 queens at BCV an actual reservation type instead of a request, you'd think they'd be able to make an accessible room a reservation type as well. I'm sure they'd be the last to book up unless someone specifically asked for one, but I would take one if it meant getting a last minute reservation at BWV rather than having to go to OKW. We have stayed in an accessible room on occasion (we always request king rooms and at many resorts, rooms with king sized beds are more likely to be accessible because they have more clear floor space than rooms with two beds in them) and it honestly was never a big deal.
Lisa
) at BCV. One of the reasons I didn't want a h/c room was because there was no tub for my 3 year old DD. That turned out not to be a problem at all because she swam all the time and never even had enough time for a bath. *blush* We usually allowed her to change out of her swimsuit without a shower anyway.
