Iowa AgrAbility

Agrability Chit-Chat, Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 7 -- July 2000

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IN THIS EDITION:
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CONTENTS: AgrAbility and the Community: the Americans for Disabilities Act

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TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT!

In response to Carm's Comments, did you know that 10 years ago this month the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law to make America more accessible for people with disabilities? Tom Harkin, Senator from Iowa, sponsored the legislation.

The following information is based on a series of articles written in the Des Moines Register, July 17-26. www.dmregister.com/news/categories/health-index.html

Life is different today for many people because of the ADA. The Scouting program welcomes children with disabilities. In public schools, students with disabilities are able to take part in regular classes. At work, thousands of disabled people have jobs. Employers who hire persons with disabilities find that they are dependable, do their work correctly and continually. More public buildings have accessible entrances, elevators have Braille markings for the blind, and curbs have cuts for wheelchairs.

But there is still much to do. Problems include steps, narrow doors and hallways, heavy doors, small restroom stalls, movie theaters with stadium seating, and much more. In addition, the majority of disabled people in the USA are jobless. Kenny Lloyd lost his job as a Hardin County road worker after he fell from a second story porch that injured his spinal cord five years ago. The employers' side won when Lloyd appealed to the federal court.

It costs money to make buildings and programs accessible so change is slow. The enforcement of the law is based on complaints. There are no ADA inspectors. Michael Halley, a businessman in Fairfield, has a step leading up to his place of business. He said he'd never been approached on it so never even considered making a change. He would like more education to help him and other businesspeople comply with the law.

According to Tom Harkin, the biggest challenge is to change attitudes. We need to understand that each person has a unique set of abilities. People with disabilities can do anything they set their minds to do, and they should be judged on the basis of their abilities and not their disabilities. (LL)

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YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Attitudes are half the battle in enacting change. Some examples follow:

--Theresa Uchytil, born without a left hand, is a champion baton twirler and recently was selected as Miss Iowa. "Really, it's the attitude you have," says Uchytil. "If you work hard and really believe in what you're doing you have mind over matter" (Des Moines Register, July 6, 2000).

--Brandi McCauley uses a wheelchair as the result of a car accident. She works out at the Seven Flags Fitness and Raquet Club in Clive. McCauley says she generally doesn't let barriers stop her from doing the things she wants to do (Des Moines Register, July 16, 2000).

--Mia Peterson with Down syndrome works full time for Capabilities Unlimited, a nonprofit advocacy organization for the developmentally disabled. She says, "I want to be an example. I want people to see what I can do and realize they can do it, too" (Des Moines Register, July 26, 2000).

Attitudes alone will not get rid of all accessibility barriers. Because there are no police to enforce the rights of people with disabilities, changes will happen only when we get involved. One possible solution is to organize a group to work with local business associations to tour the community and identify problems. For accessibility to small businesses, there are four priorities that should be considered:

More detailed information can be found in the (free) publication, Accessibility for Customers: Guidelines for making your small business accessible, NCR-535, from County Extension offices.

Or, we may need to take personal action to improve accessibility in the community. There are four steps that we can take to get businesses to conform to the ADA regulations. (This information is available to you in more detail at www.handicap.bfn.org/ada/howto.text)

First, make sure that a violation really exists. There is an ADA Guide for Small Towns which discusses program accessibility, effective communication, alterations to town facilities, and new construction in smaller communities. This document plus several others are available through the U.S. Department of Justice ADA Home Page or through the ADA Project Information Line-1-800-949-4232. The Dept. of Justice Home Page is linked to the Great Plains Regional ADA project web page at www.adaproject.org

Second, talk with the person(s) responsible for the violation. They may not be aware that we are having an access problem unless we tell them. Most violaters will want to comply; especially if it's someone we know in the community. If this doesn't work, we can try mediation sessions facilitated by a neutral third party.

Third, if the responsible parties do not solve the problem in a reasonable time, we can file a written complaint (a letter will do) with the U.S. Department of Justice (www.usdoj.gov/). If we have been the victim of employment discrimination, we can take our complaint directly to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (www.eeoc.gov/).

The last step comes only if the Federal Government can't get the job done. We can file a lawsuit in the Federal District Court.

There are many ADA success stories in Iowa when consumers have filed complaints. The Sioux City Human Rights Commission agreed to provide a sign language interpreter to a deaf participant at a public forum. Carmike Theaters in Des Moines agreed to begin the process of removing barriers in movie theaters that were not accessible to people who use wheelchairs. A rental car company agreed to provide cars with hand controls for people with disabilities (Des Moines Register, July 19, 2000). (LL)

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PERSONAL PROFILE: Darwin Hofmeister

Darwin's story is a great example of how the community can be a positive influence when a person experiences a disability. In response, Darwin has made a personal commitment to help others as one of the leaders of AgrAbility Friends and Family. Here is his story:

I am a small grain and livestock farmer in north central Iowa. Five and a half years ago I was involved in an accident while combining corn. It was about 8:30 in the evening and we were just starting a new field. The combine was not putting out shelled corn. In the process of checking for the source of the problem, I reached into an area that I never would have in broad daylight and under a less stressful situation. The running belt caught my glove and squeezed my hand down into the large pulley. My forearm was shattered below the elbow and there was a compound fracture above the elbow with protruding bone.

After many hours of surgery, they were able to save my arm. However, because of the loss of muscle, nerves and fingers, the arm functions only as opposition, or a helper, to my right arm.

The biggest question at that time was what would I still be able to do on the farm? It was at this point that AgrAbility entered our lives. I received positive mental support, the names of other farmers with disabilities and the offer to help wherever possible to make my transition back into farming if that was what I wanted to do.

Although farming is harder than it used to be, I am able to do about 90% of what I did before. Whether we continue to farm into the future will depend as much on the economics of farming as it does on my disability.

We have learned and experienced many things because of my accident. First of all, God works all things out -- when he shuts one door, he opens another. Secondly, a disability doesn't necessarily always mean you are disabled. You just may have to do things in a different way. Thirdly, we have met many wonderful people that we would never have met otherwise. Lastly, I hope I can do as much for others as others have done for us. (CS)

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USDA SUPPORTS ADA THROUGH AGRABILITY PROJECT

USDA Secretary Glickman praised ADA, AgrAbility and Easter Seals at a recent celebration of USDA's support of ADA through the AgrAbility Project. He stated, "I'm...very proud of 'AgrAbility,' USDA's program to assist farmers and ranchers with disabilities by helping local rehabilitation professionals figure out what kinds of modifications are needed to help farmers with disabilities who want to get back to work.... AgrAbility is the only federal program specifically targeted to farm families faced with disability-related challenges." (TK)

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AGRABILITY FRIENDS AND FAMILY EVENTS

• September 9, 1:00 p.m., Waverly City Hall
• Tracy Keninger will talk about Easter Seals