Topic: Mom leads victory in adult-size change area decision

[DockMan]

A Local girl we know led this campaign. Kudos and thanks to her. Regular folk may not see the need but every time we leave the house as a family we do!
(I don't know if this belongs here.....it has to do with service stations?)

http://www.oacrs.com/article.php?sid=11&aid=868

Mom leads victory in adult-size change area decision
Twenty-three service centres to include adult-size change areas

Wednesday, July 09, 2008 -- Michelle Strutzenberger

On April 23 it was confirmed that the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will include adult-size change areas at the 23 service centres being rebuilt on the 400 series highways.

Seven service centres are being rebuilt this year with the rest targeted within five years.

Claudette Meriano is ecstatic about the news.

“Now we’ll have the freedom to travel across the province with dignity,” says the Chatham resident.

Meriano, a mother of four including a daughter who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, was instrumental in making this decision happen.

A family that enjoys outings, the Meriano’s have often faced challenges in finding a place to change their older daughter with dignity and in privacy.

Meriano recalls visiting an Ontario hospital and spending 90 minutes trying to find an appropriate and available room to change her daughter. She was sent to three different people and several locations in the course of her search.

On another trip, she was forced to change her daughter outside with a blanket held up for privacy.

When the Ministry of Transportation announced March 26 it would be rebuilding the service centres Meriano realized this was an opportunity to raise awareness of the need for the adult-size change areas.

She first contacted Minister of Transportation Jim Bradley, outlining the need for the large change areas and requesting that he include them in all the service centres.

She then launched an online e-mail campaign, asking for support from hundreds of contacts. She provided a form letter for people to sign as well as the direct link to the Minister of Transportation.

She was also in contact with Noris Bot, the service centre team project manager.

April 23 Meriano received confirmation from Minister Bradley’s policy adviser Kerry Toundrow that the 23 service centres would include the adult-size change areas. The same day Bot contacted her for details on the design standard.

As Meriano points out, the request is very simple: a long counter top in a private area which can service adults who need to be changed.

“It’s an essential service,” she says. “People with disabilities deserve the same rights and dignity as everyone else.”

She notes that not providing for adults who need to be changed is similar to there being no public washroom for people who don’t have a disability, or providing public washrooms but with no doors.

She adds that she has been very impressed with the responsiveness of the Ministry of Transportation in this sitution. She says they've listened "to what was needed and (taken) the initiative to make a change that will make a big difference for persons with disabilities."

Meriano has been raising awareness about the need for adult-size change area for years.

Thanks to her efforts and with the support of many other families, various facilities now offer them, including the London Health Sciences Centre, Storybook Gardens, Canada’s Wonderland, Ontario Place, and others.

But she’s not done yet. Meriano is now in contact with the chair of the Canadian Standards Association, a not-for-profit membership-based association that seeks to develop standards that address real needs, such as enhancing public safety and health.

She has submitted a proposal, asking that adult-size change areas be made a standard Canada-wide.

A June meeting of the association resulted in the decision to have her proposal remain an educational or informational tool at present. Researchers are now looking further into the matter and the association is to reconvene in October.

Meriano is hopeful a decision then will result in the adult size change areas becoming a Canadian standard.

She’s not expecting every washroom to include these areas, but there is a need for them in facilities which draw large crowds, including large malls, airports, train stations and main attractions.

Call to action: If you would like more information about adult size change areas, contact Meriano at jmeriano(at)hotmail.com.

If you have feedback on this story, please contact michelle(at)axiomnews.ca or (800) 294-0051 ext. 27.

[Alex MacLean]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

My neighbour lost his middle finger on the left hand a few years ago. I propose a new standard that all gloves be made with 4 fingers on the left hand, so he doesn't feel embarrassed. But we can't expect glove makers to pay for this, so we will have ot subsidize it with tax money.

This is for all of those people with missing fingers...the shame must continue no longer. He must be allowed to wave in the winter with dignity.

[gottarondo]

It sounds enough like a need, not a want, that I don't see anything wrong with including it when renovations are being done anyway.  I can't imagine that it will ever be something universally available but I don't see any reason why in at least 2 cases out of 5, an infant change area couldn't just be made big enough to be useful for adults, so it needn't be an arduous accommodation.  My guess is that when there are at least some of them out there, the people who need them will keep themselves informed of where they are and plan their trips accordingly. 

Getting stuff like this done does require some chutzpah and organization, so I can join in the kudos.

[dr_spock]

They would also be useful when we're all old and wearing our Depends. 

[weebl]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

My neighbour lost his middle finger on the left hand a few years ago. I propose a new standard that all gloves be made with 4 fingers on the left hand, so he doesn't feel embarrassed. But we can't expect glove makers to pay for this, so we will have ot subsidize it with tax money.

This is for all of those people with missing fingers...the shame must continue no longer. He must be allowed to wave in the winter with dignity.

Custom clothing can be made, and there are mitts as well.  Got your blinders on, eh?  Nice of you to make a mockery of this family's situation.

I'm certainly glad that I'm not in that family's predicament, but we are talking about an actual need.

Even more basic than that though, is that there are still many places where a dad cannot change his baby's diaper.  I can understand a lot of old buildings do not have change tables in the mens' rooms, as it wasn't a "dad' thing to do at one point in the past, apparently.  But new places have no excuse.  One comes to mind, and that is a Chapters location I was at when my son was about 9 months old.  He needed to be changed NOW, the mens' room had no change table, not even a counter where I could improvise, and mom was busy.  The in-store Starbucks might have had one in their washroom, but someone had a very urgent need to take care of in there, and it seemed apparent they weren't coming out anytime soon.  Chapters staff seemed to kind of shrug it off when I asked where I could change him.  I ended up taking him out to the vehicle and changed him (quite awkwardly) on the seat, but in hindsight, I should have sent a message by changing him right under the nose of the store manager.

[DockMan]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

My neighbour lost his middle finger on the left hand a few years ago. I propose a new standard that all gloves be made with 4 fingers on the left hand, so he doesn't feel embarrassed. But we can't expect glove makers to pay for this, so we will have ot subsidize it with tax money.

This is for all of those people with missing fingers...the shame must continue no longer. He must be allowed to wave in the winter with dignity.

Dork! 

[quadzilla]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

My neighbour lost his middle finger on the left hand a few years ago. I propose a new standard that all gloves be made with 4 fingers on the left hand, so he doesn't feel embarrassed. But we can't expect glove makers to pay for this, so we will have ot subsidize it with tax money.

This is for all of those people with missing fingers...the shame must continue no longer. He must be allowed to wave in the winter with dignity.

Dork! 

+1.

Alex, you should really join another forum with such a insensitive view point like that. Are you 5 years old?

[suds.1a]

good for her, she saw a way of helping people with disablites,and she went with it.
she gets 2 thumbs up from me.

[rrocket]

I don't want everyone to pile on.....but this isn't something that could be accomplished in a handicap stall?  Generally, those stalls are extra-wide to accommodate a wheelchair...and there seems to be room for 2+ people in there.

Can someone enlighten me??  (FWIW, Trish works with special needs people and she takes them on day trips.  She is able to do changes in a handicap stall, so that's why I'm wondering..)

[suds.1a]

i think these are not in your bathroom.

[Snowman]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

My neighbour lost his middle finger on the left hand a few years ago. I propose a new standard that all gloves be made with 4 fingers on the left hand, so he doesn't feel embarrassed. But we can't expect glove makers to pay for this, so we will have ot subsidize it with tax money.

This is for all of those people with missing fingers...the shame must continue no longer. He must be allowed to wave in the winter with dignity.

you...you fucken ignorant ass hole. My father lost a finger in an industrial accident.

[tenpenny]

I don't want everyone to pile on.....but this isn't something that could be accomplished in a handicap stall?  Generally, those stalls are extra-wide to accommodate a wheelchair...and there seems to be room for 2+ people in there.

Can someone enlighten me??  (FWIW, Trish works with special needs people and she takes them on day trips.  She is able to do changes in a handicap stall, so that's why I'm wondering..)

I'm thinking that some handicapped adults need to be supported while their diapers are changed...and therefore you need more floor space to work with, because some people cannot stand up while being changed, for example if they are paralyzed, you need to support them somehow, you need room to have them lie down.  That's just my interpretation.

Or, the other solution is just to demand that handicapped people stay home, out of sight, so they don't bother the likes of certain Bluenosers, who seem to be stuck in permanent stupid mode.

I used to find it annoying that many places only had baby change stations in the women's rooms, but they're more common in men's as well now.

[quadzilla]

Another reason: the new change/washroom would be unisex. Insecure guys get all freaked out when a woman enters the men's room even if they are helping somebody else.

[tenpenny]

Is this being paid for with tax money?

To answer your question, no, on two counts:
-This article refers to Ontario, and you live in Nova Scotia
-Nova Scotia has no rest areas.

[DockMan]

Most new public buildings have a "family washroom" where a parent with small a small child or children can use the restroom with child/children in attendance. Usually a handicapped stall will work great for this situation. For a baby you need a change table. For a severely mobility disabled adult (or adolescent) you need a large change table. I think that this (for the most part) is taking the family washroom (which were already in the plan) and making it slightly larger to accommodate a sturdy table/counter instead of a fold down baby changing station. That's really all it comes down to. Not too much to ask I don't think. As I said before most people don't have to think about this so I don't expect any cheering but Alex there....well he is really a piece of work.
Think, if you would, for a minute about the logistics of changing someone (an adult) with either no movement control or worse spastic motor behavior, then you'll get an iota of what it is like for parents of children with disabilities.

[Thinking Out Loud]

  for the government for acting on this in (what appears) to be a fast manner. 

The easy answer is ALWAYS no.....