[Ansteorra] What is "Reasonable Accomodation"? and the need for electricity

[Rhonda and Stephen Hays]

Speaking of electric..

Sir Max makes these wonderful boxes that discreetly provide electric for a 
cpap.

Mine lasted almost the entire week at Lilies before it needed to recharge 
(which meant taking a ride into town with it hooked up to the van).

For weekend trips, we have managed the CPAP for two nights and even a fan 
for over the bed.

Medb


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Chipman" <cchipman at nomadics.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 16, 2005 1:40 AM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] What is "Reasonable Accomodation"?


> Like many others, i have been timid about replying to this topic due 
> tofears of being labeled insensitive or uncaring. However, your phrase
>
> "A person should not have to call ahead of time to request access to 
> electricity for their powerchair or medical equipment, it should be 
> available."
>
> Struck a cord in me.  I too require electricity for medical equipment.  I 
> have a CPAP  machine, and pretty much must use it nightly.  However, it is 
> my need, which I plan for 
> (http://www.cchipman.com/cpap_on_batteries.htm)and do not require others 
> to do my work for me. I understand that myneed is not as severe as others, 
> but I still feel that I take thepersonal responsibility for what I need to 
> do the things I want. I feelit is unfair to demand from volunteers that in 
> addition to arrangingthe site, the cheap camping, the cheap food, the free 
> service, and theorganization of recreational activities, they should also 
> try toimagine any foreseeable disability and plan for all of them.
>
> People in the SCA are helpful and kind, and if notified of needs will work 
> to assist.  People can not read minds, nor can they plan for every 
> possible contingency.
>
> With trepidition,
> Sieur Jean Paul de Sens
>
>
>
> Carl Chipman
> Nomadics, Inc.
> http://www.nomadics.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lisa <silvina at allegiance.tv>
> To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at ansteorra.org>
> Sent: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 19:11:16 -0500
> Subject: [Ansteorra] What is "Reasonable Accomodation"?
>
>
>> It has been posted that the SCA has changed it's policy to require all 
>> events to
>> be legal under the ADA.  Now comes the question... What is Reasonable
>> accomodation????
>>
>> To explain my perspective on this I would like to digress a little.  we 
>> recently
>> had a discussion as to what a reasonable attempt at period garb was. 
>> This is
>> very subjective and pretty much the decision of what is reasonable lies 
>> on the
>> individual making the attempt correct?  With reasonable accomodation, the 
>> ADA
>> does give us some guidelines, but it is impossible for them to give 
>> specifics on
>> every possible situation.  What needs to be done is to take those 
>> guidelines
>> (and there IS a secion on building codes and what is acceptable for 
>> facilities)
>> and use a little common sense.  For example, if a site is pretty much 
>> nothing
>> but sand and swamp a golf cart is not an unreasonable request if the 
>> person is
>> normally confined to a wheelchair and it is obvious that their manual or 
>> power
>> chair is unable to traverse the terrain.  Hopefully, with this new 
>> ruling, we
>> won't have that issue as people will become more attentive to the sites 
>> chosen
>> and look at them for ADA compliance and accessability.  A person should 
>> not have
>> to call ahead of time to request access to electricity for their 
>> powerchair or
>> medical equipment, it should be available.  With cabin reservations, if a
>> disabled person requests a cabin ahead of time, they should have first 
>> priority
>> regarding accessible cabins rather than being told "it's on a first come, 
>> first
>> serve basis and all of the cabins are full because you didn't 
>> call/contact me
>> fast enough."  I'm not saying that a person who calls at the last minute 
>> needing
>> a cabin because of a disability should be able to boot someone out, but 
>> perhaps
>> open the reservation process a little early for those with disabilities 
>> to
>> contact instead of all 15 (number picked out of the air) cabins being 
>> filled in
>> 15 minutes and a disabled person and their family/household being unable 
>> to
>> attend the event because of lack of accomodation.  An event steward 
>> looking at a
>> site for an event should print out the ADA requirements for facilities 
>> and make
>> a checklist.  I realise that this is a lot to ask, but look at what a 
>> disabled
>> person goes through when a facility is not accessible and they attend the 
>> event.
>>  For example, no electrical access... my husband would not be able to 
>> recharge
>> his power chair and would be not only stuck in the camp, but also unable 
>> to get
>> back into the van to go home unless some strong individual was kind 
>> enough to
>> push his chair up the ramp into the van.  Why not bring a manual chair as 
>> a
>> backup?   He has severe rotator cuff damage and cannot push a manual 
>> chair
>> without ending up in severe pain.  His power chair is one of the 
>> "lighter" ones
>> on the market and it weighs around 300 lbs, he weighs around 170 lbs.  I 
>> am 5'4"
>> and weigh around 100 lbs... I cannot manhandle the weight of his chair 
>> and him
>> very far at all, and definitely not up a slope or through loose sand. 
>> Even
>> pushing his manual chair is difficult for me for long distances. 
>> Reasonable
>> accomodation is using common sense, and doing what is right instead of 
>> coming up
>> with excuses of how hard it is or how there are no facilities that fit 
>> the
>> requirements that are affordable.
>>
>> Elizabeta of Rundel
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>
>
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