A Refreshing Perspective

With 51 years of quadriplegia now behind me and my 70th birthday approaching next year, it’s no wonder that I keep my ears open for news of young disability leaders. And one of those young leaders is my friend Katie Sorensen. Katie has earned her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from USC, traveled internationally in her wheelchair to volunteer with Joni and Friends, and just a few days ago—the same week of the anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act—she became an ADA certified specialist! (As she says, she is now qualified to know whether her wheelchair fits in a bathroom! If that were all it was, I could be certified, too. :D) I was encouraged by the perspective she shared on the 28th anniversary of the ADA law, so I thought I would share an excerpt:

“It’s hard to believe there was a point in my life that I didn’t have laws protecting me to have a job, access public places or bathrooms, or have rights for accommodations.”

Katie stops and acknowledges that even with the laws, there are still plenty of instances where she runs into frustrating instances of inaccessibility, but here is what I love about Katie’s perspective:

“While those situations are frustrating to me, they serve as reminders of how thankful I am for how far our country has come. But we have more work to do. Awareness and education are the engines that will drive our country to be even more accessible and inclusive. I’m looking forward to the day when I no longer have to worry about whether or not I can access a bathroom, or see over a counter, or wheel into a restaurant. But until then, I’ll be carrying my screwdrivers around fixing bathroom stall doors.”

Isn’t that great? We could all do with a little less complaining and a little more of that “fix-it” attitude!