Community ADA Compliance: The Village Inn
For our assignment we picked the Village Inn Restaurant in South Jordan. I was really impressed from the moment we arrived. This restaurant was built after the laws were all in place so they had to comply with all of the ADA standards to pass inspection. The parking was very accessible and right in the front, so those that needed it could be very close to the entry of the restaurant. It was all wheelchair accessible from the larger parking areas with the painted markings, the signs and the ramp that made it very easy to arrive at the front entry.
Inside, it was very light and open for ease of access to the tables with wide aisles and room to move about even if it was busy. The carpet was dark, the walls were light with a good contrast along the bottom of the wall and also dark chair railing which was a good contrast, along with the plates and cups that added contrast for those that had some visual deficits.
The bathroom was definitely big enough for a wheelchair and others to be in at the same time, with the appropriate insulation for the pipes, lower soap and paper towel dispensers and large stalls. The only down side to it, was the fact that the changing table for babies was right outside the stall, so if they were both in use at the same time, it would be a problem. There was not any other place for it except for inside the actual stall, which I would prefer to have anyway, since I really don’t like watching someone changing messy diapers, but that’s just me!
What I liked the best were the tables that were wheelchair specific. They had a small extension that flipped out to give the table just a little bit more room to go under. They were also under the law of South Jordan to have an AED defibrillator , which was well marked and near the front of the restaurant.
All in all I was very impressed with this business and the manager seemed to be very committed and proud of how they have complied.
Inside, it was very light and open for ease of access to the tables with wide aisles and room to move about even if it was busy. The carpet was dark, the walls were light with a good contrast along the bottom of the wall and also dark chair railing which was a good contrast, along with the plates and cups that added contrast for those that had some visual deficits.
The bathroom was definitely big enough for a wheelchair and others to be in at the same time, with the appropriate insulation for the pipes, lower soap and paper towel dispensers and large stalls. The only down side to it, was the fact that the changing table for babies was right outside the stall, so if they were both in use at the same time, it would be a problem. There was not any other place for it except for inside the actual stall, which I would prefer to have anyway, since I really don’t like watching someone changing messy diapers, but that’s just me!
What I liked the best were the tables that were wheelchair specific. They had a small extension that flipped out to give the table just a little bit more room to go under. They were also under the law of South Jordan to have an AED defibrillator , which was well marked and near the front of the restaurant.
All in all I was very impressed with this business and the manager seemed to be very committed and proud of how they have complied.
ACL: Garden Terrace
Going to Garden Terrace in Sandy, Utah, as a class to do the Allen Cognitive Level Assessment, was a learning experience for me. In my mind I was picturing how I was going to set it all up and read the instructions perfectly, but what happened was not what I expected at all! I definitely learned a lot, just not the things I thought I would.
Tammy and I were put together as a pair, and went into the Alzheimer’s unit. The gentleman that we were assigned to was sitting in a wheelchair in the eating area. We sat down and got all set up, but when we handed him the leather, he barely could hold it. We proceeded to ask him if he could see the holes in the leather, but we couldn’t understand what he said! We kept inching closer and closer, putting our ears practically to his lips, trying to hear him, We handed him the shoelace, but he couldn’t grip it. Both of us tried a couple of times to put it in his hand, but he couldn’t grasp it. His hands also seemed to be shaking quite a bit. At this point we realized that he was incapable of taking the test.
I remember learning about how you cannot give the test to anyone under a 3, and this definitely drove that point home for me. At a level 3, hands are used to reach and grab for objects, which he could not do. I’m not sure he was able to walk, he did have a huge gash on his head, and I’m not sure, but I think he said that he fell. I can see how he would need 24 hour close on site supervision. I’m not even sure he would be able to use the grab bars for showering to prevent falls.
One thing that happened that I thought was interesting was, after we realized that we were not going to be testing him that day, we decided to attempt to talk to him and find out a little about him. We were not very successful in our efforts at trying to understand him, but I did notice that he had a tattoo that said USMC. I asked him about it and if and when he served. He looked me straight in the eye for the first time and said that he served in WWII. It took me back a little because he seemed so coherent. I said “Thank you for your service!” He reached up and put his arm around me, and then HE, thanked ME! Honestly I got a little choked up because it was like for a split second he had a real memory. It was really cool.
All in all, I loved the experience. Even though it turned out differently than I thought it would, I learned a lot, and was very touched from the experience. I do love working with older people but after this experience I’m not sure I could do it everyday. It was sad and depressing to see, and very emotional.
Tammy and I were put together as a pair, and went into the Alzheimer’s unit. The gentleman that we were assigned to was sitting in a wheelchair in the eating area. We sat down and got all set up, but when we handed him the leather, he barely could hold it. We proceeded to ask him if he could see the holes in the leather, but we couldn’t understand what he said! We kept inching closer and closer, putting our ears practically to his lips, trying to hear him, We handed him the shoelace, but he couldn’t grip it. Both of us tried a couple of times to put it in his hand, but he couldn’t grasp it. His hands also seemed to be shaking quite a bit. At this point we realized that he was incapable of taking the test.
I remember learning about how you cannot give the test to anyone under a 3, and this definitely drove that point home for me. At a level 3, hands are used to reach and grab for objects, which he could not do. I’m not sure he was able to walk, he did have a huge gash on his head, and I’m not sure, but I think he said that he fell. I can see how he would need 24 hour close on site supervision. I’m not even sure he would be able to use the grab bars for showering to prevent falls.
One thing that happened that I thought was interesting was, after we realized that we were not going to be testing him that day, we decided to attempt to talk to him and find out a little about him. We were not very successful in our efforts at trying to understand him, but I did notice that he had a tattoo that said USMC. I asked him about it and if and when he served. He looked me straight in the eye for the first time and said that he served in WWII. It took me back a little because he seemed so coherent. I said “Thank you for your service!” He reached up and put his arm around me, and then HE, thanked ME! Honestly I got a little choked up because it was like for a split second he had a real memory. It was really cool.
All in all, I loved the experience. Even though it turned out differently than I thought it would, I learned a lot, and was very touched from the experience. I do love working with older people but after this experience I’m not sure I could do it everyday. It was sad and depressing to see, and very emotional.
Clothing Adaptation
The service activity that I performed was to adapt a pair of socks to have on hand at the OTA clinic at SLCC. Each pair of socks have an elastic strap on each side of them so that a person who has limited range of motion in their hands because of arthritis or some deficit, can easily put their thumbs through the elastic and pull them up. These will be used for teaching compensatory dressing techniques to those clients who come into the clinic. This took about an ½ hour to make.
Reflecting back on this it is amazing how much I learned. It was something that was so easy to do, but can make such a big difference in a person’s life who is struggling with doing basic ADL’s, such as dressing. Learning about all of the different adaptive clothing, and how simple it is to make, gets me even more excited about becoming an OTA and teaching clients about them. There are many different situations that can cause someone to have decreased ROM in their hands, and these socks would be very useful to them.