Do It Myself Blog - Glenda Watson Hyatt

Wednesday Darrell and I went downtown to Canada Place to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Because Canada Place is undergoing renovations, festivities were held outside. It was a beautiful day for one massive block party!

Having spent a few days earlier this year in downtown Chicago, which is wall-to-wall cement and glass, I now appreciate how green Vancouver’s downtown core actually is. I can’t imagine living in a city barren of trees.

Making our way through the crowds, we managed to reach Vancouver’s new convention centre

Impressive space! Impressive views!

However, for a “green-designed, state-of-the-art facility” that was several hundred million dollars over budget, I was slightly disappointed at the accessibility.

Automatic doors were few and far between. Sitting at one door, after several people had walked through without holding it open for us, one well-meaning woman happened by and asked, “Are you wanting to go through?” No, I’m just sitting here in front of the door, looking like a dufus, for no reason. She kindly held the door for us.

Back outside, we found our way to another stage in time to enjoy Vancouver bandleader legend Dal Richards.

Posing for a photo with Dal, after buying his latest CD, was definitely my highlight of the day!

The 1st Annual Canada Day Parade was definitely a bummer for us. Despite being on the road, parked right against the curb, while standing spectators were constantly told to back up onto the sidewalk, Darrell and I saw very little of the parade. People persistently stood in front of us, with no regard that we could not see. Even after I tapped several on the shoulder and they responded with “Sorry”, they did not move. Very inconsiderate and rude!

We are unable to stand to peer over shoulders. Stepping to side would have been a simple way to make the parade accessible to  us. It makes me wonder how ready Vancouver really is for the Paralympics.

Having had enough of the crowds, we did not stay around for the fireworks.

Darell and I look forward to seeing more of the 2nd Annual Canada Day Parade!

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Wow, June 30th already?

That means 2009 is half over! Will the second half be as crazily busy, in an equally good way?

That means that tomorrow is Canada Day! With all that is happening around the world, I am even more thankful and grateful to be Canadian. The words “With glowing hearts we see thee rise, / The True North strong and free!” hold extra significance at the moment.

Happy Canada Day! Cherish the freedoms we have in this beautiful country.

Does anything more need to be said?

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(Photo credit: Becky McCray)

Using technology and the voice of “Kate” to give several presentations in recent months, I have become acutely aware of the differences between verbal and written forms of communication.

Verbal communication is not simply text converted to speech. Verbal communication, for the most part, is less structured and more fluid. It is not always complete sentences; it is definitely not paragraphs.

Verbal communication requires thinking, rationalizing and forming an opinion in the moment. Unless it is a prepared speech, there is no luxury of a draft and revision after further thought, as is the case with writing. Verbal communication is synchronous, without a delay between the time when the message is sent and the time when it is received.

Verbal communication takes self-confidence. Do these words I am about to utter fit with what the others are talking about? Is my point valid within the context of this conversation? Self-confidence varies across situations. A confident writer may not be a confident speaker. That confidence is built up over time with an accumulation of successes and failures. And, with that self-confidence comes verbal communication skills, learned over time and built upon previous lessons learned.

Adding a communication device to the mix may make verbal communication possible in that the message is spoken aloud. But, from what I have experienced so far on this journey, using such a device (in whatever form) is not quite the same as verbal communication. In my case, using the technology that I do, it is closer to written communication converted to text with some tweaks.

Learning how to use this technology within the verbal realm has required being a quick study to appear on par with my peers. Behind the scenes, it has been difficult to know how to fit one form of communication into another. 

I wonder, when young people with speech disabilities are given communication devices and taught how to use the device, are they also taught how to communicate with the device?  The way I see it, there are two sets of skills here: the technical and the social. Both are required, but might be acquired at different speeds. 

It has definitely been an interesting journey; one that I am still navigating.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, tips or insights.

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Living from the seated position, any horizontal surface, at our level, becomes fair game for clutter. Sadly, that is the fate of the work table. No matter how I try to organize it, clutter is always attracted to its surface.

After several months of neglect and without anything else too urgent demands my attention today, I figured a lazy Saturday was a good time to tackle the task.

With some shredding, recycling and piling to be filed and assistance from Darrell, the desk top began appearing. Obviously, progress was being made. Time for some lunch!

Sitting here at my desk, eating macaroni and cheese, while watching my peeps’ chatter on Twitter – what a way to spend part of a lazy Saturday afternoon!

A tweet pops up from my buddy Chris Brogan:

Big night of writing and prep work, not to mention catching up. This is how I get it done, gang. ABC: always be creating.

His next tweet, curtsey of Rosa Say, is “DEFG: Dream, Evangelize, Follow-up Generously”.

Are you seeing a pattern here?

I follow with HIJ: Hope, Inspiration and Justice.

Chris offers HIJ: Hide in Jammies! I like his thinking.

KLM: Keep Living Meaningfully comes to my mind.

NOP: Need Oxygen Permanently naturally follows, based on first-hand experience!

Virtual Assistant guru Stacy Brice tweets QRS: Quit Reaping Stupidity!

Good one, Stacy!

I invite you to finish singing Twitter’s Alphabet Song, while I go finish what I started earlier.

Isn’t playing game and singing with friends what lazy Saturday afternoons are for?!

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Over the past couple of months, several people have thanked me for making them aware of the need for accessibility, both on the web and in daily life. I smile. While I appreciate having the tools and voice to make this need known, accessibility is not a new need.

Do you know how long I and millions of other people with disabilities have been dealing with less than accessible washrooms, curb cuts and such? Accessibility isn’t a new concept, yet many, many people still don’t get it until they are personally touched by the need.

Over the weekend, I was thinking about the environmental movement. Despite the decades of tireless work by environmentalist David Suzuki, oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, Greenpeace and countless other individuals and organizations, it wasn’t until 2006 when former US Vice President Al Gore released his Hollywood-ized documentary An Inconvenient Truth did the masses finally “get it”. Overnight, reducing, recycling and repurposing became the latest trend. Parking the car and walking to work was a new concept. “Green” products began popping up everywhere.

In 2007, Al Gore and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.

From my perspective, it took a former American politician and a documentary with a $1million budget, according to Wikipedia, to get people’s attention and to start them taking action to protect the earth. Whatever it takes!

Turning back to accessibility, what needs to happens for the similar response to occur? What would get people’s attention and get them taking action? Do we need a big name like Al Gore in our corner?

Seriously, I am asking. I welcome a respectful dialogue in the comments below.

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Wow, what a ride! In the last six weeks, I have:

• Totally rocked SOBCon09: Biz School for Bloggers!
• Presented on accessible recreation with SPARC BC (Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia) at the BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA) Symposium
• Enjoyed the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards as a nominee!
• Fulfilled my Treasurer’s duties at SPARC’s Annual General Meeting and resigned (for now) from the Board.

In that time, I have also:

• trekked to Harpo Studios in the rain and was nearly within patting distance of Oprah’s puppy Sadie. I even have proof!
• been stuck in Batman’s bathroom!
• remembered one friend, and
• reunited with another after dealing with a doorless bathroom.

Now, I am completely and totally drained. I am eagerly looking forward to a summer break! I’m looking forward:

• to laying in bed until mid-morning (or beyond), guilt-free, with the gentle breeze drifting in and my mind wandering.
• to summertime reading, including Pam Slim’s Escape from Cubicle Nation, which I began on the plane to Chicago. Imagine a business book that is actually funny! (Thanks Pam for the kind mention on page 130!)
• to finding the top of my desk and other buried corners of my home,
• to reclaiming the deck from the weeds, once the painters have finished this end of the building (Is it too late to plant pansies and petunias?), and
• to, most importantly, reconnecting with my sorely neglected husband and enjoying more views like the one below while on adventures around Vancouver:

“Summer’s here and the time is right
For dancing in the street.”

What are your plans for enjoying this summer? Or, if you are a friend from the southern hemisphere, this winter?

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Following my misadventure with Batman’s bathroom, I’d like to share this story. Prior to boarding the bus to Whistler, I decided to use the washroom – one I had used a few times previously and would rated as “adequate accessible”.

Much too my horror, I discovered the wheelchair washroom stall didn’t have a door. All of the other stalls had a door, but the accessible stall was doorless. It would save trying to close the door, but I wasn’t keen on using a doorless stall.

Some fast-thinking then occurred: This is the only women’s washroom in the station. I didn’t know where the next closest public washroom was and there was no time to go searching. Whistler was 2.5 hours away, plus loading and unloading time –not going was too risky. The doorless stall was my only option.

Oh well, if someone happened to peek, it was better than the possible alternative. I had to go for it.

I realize it is probably a female thing, but do you appreciate how difficult it is to pee without a door? Thankfully, at 7:30 am on Wednesday morning, Pacific Central Station’s bathroom traffic is very minimal.  I carried on with the day’s unfolding adventure, minimally psychologically scarred.

This past Sunday, Darrell and I met a Guiding friend Christine who I hadn’t since my Guiding days, many moons ago!  With her partner Mark and their dog Cyrus, the five of us walked and wheeled around the north side of False Creek. We had great time talking, reminiscing and laughing.

After a yummy beverage from Starbucks, we headed back to Science World where they had parked their car and made tentative plans for Canada Day. Darrell and I decided to continue onto the south side of False Creek to see how the 2010 Athletes’ Village is progressing. But, first we had to make a pit stop.

Science World wasn’t really an option without paying for admission. Pacific Central Station with the doorless stall was two blocks away. Along the way was a self-cleaning public washroom on the sidewalk. Although it is supposedly accessible, my fear was I’d take longer than the allowed time and I’d end up having an unplanned shower!

The doorless stall wasn’t sounding too bad after all.

Much to my relief, the accessible stall had been doored! The only problem was it opened out into the traffic flow rather than opening against the far wall. It meant opening the door while reversing and then driving around the somewhat opened door to get into the stall. Then I had to reach for the bottom of the door to close it.  Tricky, but doable!

The fact that I nearly fell off the toilet reaching for the paper, which was so low, was only a minor inconvenience! At least the paper holder was on the correct wall – the one closest to the toilet.

Accessibility 100 is a series of 100 easy-to-implement, free and inexpensive tips for improving accessibility for people with disabilities. This is a community project. Feel free to leave your comments, questions and ideas for future Accessibility 100 posts.

Get the entire series by subscribing to this blog by filling in the form in the upper right corner or by subscribing to the RSS feed.

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Friday evening during SOBCon: Biz School for Bloggers found us partying in the movie Dark Knight’s location used for Batman’s bedroom, which had a great view of Gotham City, also known as downtown Chicago.

(Photo credit: Duong Shehan)

Sitting with chaplain Jon Swanson and watching the many words happening around us, I gave him cause to pause and reflect when I asked: how many were actually meaningful? Culture smith Cheryl Smith kindly helped me with a Klondike Bar – the official snack of Liz Strauss’ Open Mic Nights. And, Chris Brogan and I shared a moment over a rum and coke. Quite a fulfilling networking session, I’d say!

Sunday morning found us back in Batman’s bedroom to do some masterminding for SOBCon’s fantastic sponsors. Our task was to come up with ways for the sponsors to use social media to begin a social conversation about their products or services.

All that I can say is that the sponsors definitely need social media guru Mark Carter! What better way to start a conversation than with laughter. Both Mark and I were laughing so hard that we both had tears streaming down our faces. Everyone else was wondering what was going on at our table.

The session ended none too soon! After laughing so much, I really had to use the bathroom. Thankfully there was an accessible washroom right there. (In other big fancy hotel top floor ballrooms I’ve had to go all the way back down to the lobby to find the accessible washroom.)

I drove straight in to the bathroom (rough sketch to the right), but even with my scooter nose right against the far wall, the door wouldn’t close. I backed up and tried pulling in beside the toilet. However, a small table and waste paper basket were next to the toilet – dumb place to put them! I was able to squeeze my scooter in between the table and toilet, barely. But now the metal garbage can was at risk – and I couldn’t reach it to move out of the way. It was either the garbage can or a dire consequence.

Sadly, Batman’s stylish metal waste paper basket was round no more!

Then, because I had to drive into the bathroom on an angle, my scooter was wedged in between the toilet and the closed door.  There was no point hollering for help because the door couldn’t be opened. There I was, after successfully trekking all the way to Harpo Studios alone, stuck in Batman’s bathroom! it took me ten minutes of going back and forth to straighten out my scooter enough to back up to the sink.

Note to establishment owners: in accessible washroom, please keep the open space beside the toilet open. This space is necessary for parking the wheelchair.

LIz, Terry, my apologies if SOBCon was charged extra for a vandalized garbage can! I’ll pay for it.

Accessibility 100 is a series of 100 easy-to-implement, free and inexpensive tips for improving accessibility for people with disabilities. This is a community project. Feel free to leave your comments, questions and ideas for future Accessibility 100 posts.

Get the entire series by subscribing to this blog by filling in the form in the upper right corner or by subscribing to the RSS feed.

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Thanks to a wonderful nomination package prepared by the SPARC BC (Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia), Darrell and I had the pleasure of attending the YWCA Women of Distinction Awards on Wednesday evening at the posh Westin Bayshore in downtown Vancouver.

In part of the 11-page nomination package, SPARC BC’s Communication Manager Lindsay Hindle wrote:

Her “go for it” personality filters down to all people, with or without disabilities. Glenda embodies technology. Not only does she lead the way in finding what new technology is out there, but she shares what she learns through her presentations, interactions with others, in her book, and on her website. Technology is such a critical aspect of her life as it has opened new doors of communication. Her blog that she maintains inspires the community by letting her readers in her daily life living with a physical disability and severe speech impairment. Through her blog, she educates people on creative opportunities of how to work through the barriers that some communities place on people with disabilities.…There is room on her site to open up discussion about these issues under a warm and welcoming environment so that barriers can be confronted and broken down, resulting in an increase of people with disabilities participating in community life.

Isn’t Lindsay marvelous with words!

Following the advice from the brilliant Liz Strauss, who is definitely a Woman of Distinction herself and who told me to “Tell your story and get out your message by talking about them…not you,” I prepared my 1-minute acceptance speech. Unfortunately I did not get to use my speech Wednesday evening; I was not the award recipient in the Community Building category. Instead, I’d like to share it with you, my community. Feel free to have a listen or a read below:

I would like to thank the Social Planning and Research Council of BC for the kind nomination and the YWCA for the honour.

I have learned three lessons about community building from all of you. First, that we all have causes we are passionate about; for me, its building an internet accessible to all. Second, when building a community centered on our passion, we have challenges to solve and goals to reach for. My challenge is getting people to understand the importance of an accessible internet. Lastly, building a community is not accomplished by one, but rather by working together and supporting each other’s strengths. Having enthusiastic supporters for web accessibility is such a blessing!

For these lessons, I thank you all.

Earlier that afternoon, after I had boarded the Skytrain to downtown, a TransLink staff reached around from the doorway and handed me a white rosebud. I have no idea why. Something in that moment moved him to do so. Although being an award recipient would have been quite an honour, sometimes its the small recognitions that are most meaningful.

Smile! You never know when a stranger may hand you a rose for being who you are.

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This morning I was supposed to appear for jury duty at BC Supreme Court in New Westminster. To be honest, I have been waiting years for the opportunity to serve on a jury. Since taking Law 11 in high school, I had an interest in the legal system. A tiny piece of me desired to be a lawyer; the rest of me pointed out how much work that tiny piece would have to do. Serving on a jury would provide me one perspective of the legal system.

However, after much deliberation, I chose to play my “physical infirmity incompatible with the discharge of the duties of a juror” card. Did I take the easy route out? Quite possibly. Do I feel guilty about it? No, not overly.

The past few months, particularly May, have been extremely busy for me. I am hoping I can fulfill my next two commitments before breaking! I definitely don’t need to add jury duty.

Proving I can do something is one thing; saying “No, thanks” when my plate is overflowing is something else, yet can be equally empowering. Because when one door opens, it doesn’t necessarily means passing through is a must. Sometimes walking on by is fine.

Besides, being summons to criminal court, I envisioned serving on a jury for one of the many gang-related murders. With my red scooter sticking out in a crowd, would that make me an easy target? I can do without that kind of drama in my life!

If accused individuals can use mental insanity to shirk responsibility, should the innocent be able to gracefully bow out of commitments for mental (and physical) health’s sake without fear of any retribution, perceived or otherwise? What say you?

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