Bad Bathroom

When "accessible" just isn't good enough.

Okay. So first we had the three-part series on Ally's Law, and now this. I'm sure more than a few of you are wondering if I've got some kind of obsession with restrooms... or as we used to say, "issues." If the truth be told, I do in fact have issues, and so today I'm going to rant a bit on those. Hang tight. You have been warned.

Rant #1: Retrofits.

Ever been to a public restroom which clearly was never meant to be an A.D.A.-compliant facility, but is now (barely) because it has been modified in some way? My favorite example of this is the restroom which is so small they only had room to retrofit one "stall" into the space, and if you're lucky, one sink. Navigation is a nightmare, and once you're safely inside, you're lucky if you've got 3 minutes to finish before someone else wanders in and starts jiggling the handle. No pressure there, eh? I'm lucky if I can even start in 3 minutes... but that's probably more than you want to know... so let's move on...

Rant #2: Disrepair.

Closely related to the "handle-jiggling" issue mentioned above is the general issue of repair. Why in the world is the restroom seemingly the last part of any building that gets a regular visit by maintenance? Stall doors which refuse to latch (or even stay closed at all), toilet seats which seem to be held in place only by luck and gravity, loose or missing handrails, and my favorite, the empty tissue dispenser. Any one of these is enough to make proper restroom use impossible... and lucky you if you chance upon one with multiple problems. Cleanliness is also an issue, but again I digress. It's enough to make you want to stop using public comfort stations at all.

Rant #3: Design Flaws.

This is a short one. Who's bright idea was it to place the paper dispenser so that the opening on the bottom was only 5 inches above the floor? You need the manual dexterity of a monkey to allow a comfortable reach up inside the demonic thing, and then some only allow you to pull out 2-4 paper-thin sheets at a time. If you can locate the free end of the roll. I swear, I'm going to start bringing my own paper (and duct tape for the door.)

Rant #4: Flooring.

Okay, so I sort of (reluctantly) get this one. Still, why design a restroom using a type of tile or linoleum that not only perfectly hides any water that's on the surface, but also gets as slippery as a side street sidewalk in January if so much as a light fog touches it? Hello! It's a restroom! It's going to get wet. Often. If you depend on crutches for mobility, as I do, you take your life into your own hands every time you venture into a modern restaurant's restroom. They get wet, and they get greasy. But they have to be able to clean it, you say? Agreed. But have you ever been "mopped into a corner" while using a public restroom? I have. Nothing dries slower than a public restroom floor. I expect to find a skeleton inside one some day.

Rant #5: Gender Bias.

This only becomes an issue if you need assistance in the restroom, and your friend/attendant/spouse happens to be of the opposite gender. Aside from gender-neutral restrooms (which may be the greatest invention of the modern era) you have two choices; use his, or use hers. Flip a coin to decide who's turn it is to be embarrassed. Been there, done that, moving on.

In closing.

I'm agreed that most of my rants apply equally to "the abled" as well, and to them I raise a toast to our solidarity, and our common affliction. I also realize that when it comes to a restroom, no size fits all, and so some problems are just there to be endured. Still, I'd like to think that somewhere out there, perhaps even one of you reading this, is an inventor or engineer who will go beyond the cleansing value of my ranting and perhaps find solutions to some of these problems.

I can hope, and dare to dream.

Ally's Law (pt. 2)

More on the Restroom Access Act.

Last week I shared the story of teenager Ally Bain who (along with her mother and Illinois state Rep. Kathleen Ryg) worked to pass a law that provides access to normally restricted restrooms for those with certain medical conditions such as IBD, Crohns and Colitis. This law, now known as Ally's Law, has gone on to be passed in several other states, and is being considered by the state legislators of at least 8 others. A national law is a distinct possibility.

Ohio is one of the states currently considering this legislation, and as a disabled person with Colitis I look forward to its passage with an even greater degree of anticipation than most. If there is anything more distressing than having a form of IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease) it would have to be having IBD along with a disability which impairs your mobility.

For those who are unaware, IBD (along with Colitis and Crohns) causes a sudden and uncontrollable need to use the restroom, often with unpleasant results if such access is unavailable. It affects your life in a very insidious way, often forcing you to plan your daily activities based almost entirely on the location and availability of public restrooms. Since developing Colitis over 20 years ago, I have not been to a single sporting/stadium event. Outdoor events like our annual "Rib-Off" are also problematic. Independence Day firework displays? Forget it.

This is what makes Ally's Law so important. I have been where Ally was, and it's no picnic. On more than one occasion I have been denied access to a readily available restroom because "it's for employees only" or "our insurance forbids it." I have had to abandon a cart filled with merchandise in the store while I rushed out in search of a nearby restaurant, just to use their public restroom. Rarely did I feel like returning for my abandoned items. I wonder if anyone has ever calculated the loss to a business due to refusal to allow bathroom access? I'm betting the cost is higher than one might suspect.

So we need Ally's Law, and we need it on a national level. I plan to get involved with this issue... starting right here in Ohio... and then I'm moving on from there. I hope I can count on your support when this comes up for a vote where you live.

Next week: Ally's Law part three, where I discuss other disabilities, and how they too deserve inclusion under the protective umbrella of the Restroom Access Act. Until then, please feel free to share my blog with others. It's just one man's opinion, but it's where I sit. :)

Ally's Law

(a.k.a. The Restroom Access Act)

On March 31st of this year, Michigan became the fourth state (after Illinois, Minnesota and Texas) to pass the Restroom Access Act -- sometimes also known as "Ally's Law" -- named after Ally Bain, who helped bring Crohns, Colitis and IBD into the national spotlight by sharing her story.

The following excerpt is reposted from CrohnsAndMe.com.

Ally Bain, a Crohn’s patient and teenager, experienced something that changed her life. While at a national retail clothing chain store with her mother, she suddenly had to use the restroom. They quickly ran to a manager to ask to use the employees-only restroom. But Ally was denied access and had an accident in the store. As she and her mother drove away, they vowed to never let that happen to anyone again.

With her family, friends, and State Rep. Kathleen Ryg, Ally worked to get a new law passed in Illinois. The law requires businesses to make employee-only restrooms available to people with inflammatory bowel disease and other medical conditions such as pregnancy and incontinence. The law states:

A retail establishment that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow a customer to use that facility during normal business hours if the toilet facility is reasonably safe and all of the following conditions are met:

1. The customer requesting the use of the employee toilet facility suffers from an eligible medical condition or utilizes an ostomy device.
2. Three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the customer requests use of the employee toilet facility.
3. The retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the public.
4. The employee toilet facility is not located in an area where providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the retail establishment.
5. A public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer.

Currently there are eight more states (that I'm aware of) which are working to pass this bill into law. Those states are, in no particular order, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Ohio.

If you live in one of these states, please write to your representatives and show your support for this important legislation. For an easy online form to help you help us (I've suffered with Colitis for over 20 years, so trust me, we do need this) please visit the following page. Don't live in a state with pending legislation? You can also help by writing to your representatives and suggesting that they sponsor the bill, or just become an advocate by going here. Thank you.

This law is a great first step, but like all first steps, there's always more that needs to be done. Bathroom access is an issue important to anyone with a disability, not just someone with a form of IBD. Once in place nation wide, I feel that Ally's Law needs to be extended to cover other disabilities... but more on that next week. Until then, please let's keep using our voices to create positive change. We can do it. If we won't, who will?