Local News
UCO students experience life with disabilities
EDMOND — Despite a cold and rainy week, more than 500 students a day participated Monday through Wednesday in the sixth annual Disability Awareness Week at the University of Central Oklahoma. This was a joint event made by Students for An Accessible Society and Disability Support Services.
Eboni Bolds, a graduate, made her way through a wheelchair obstacle course Wednesday. She said she didn’t realize how much arm strength was required in maneuvering a wheelchair and how difficult it was to carry items at the same time.
“My tray tipped over when I was going up the ramp,” she said. “That would have been my lunch all over me.”
Sharla Weathers, interpreter specialist, said the wheelchair challenge, which required students to maneuver wheelchairs up ramps and over water hoses, was to show some of the barriers wheelchair users face on a daily basis. She said they had similar obstacle courses on Monday and Tuesday that showed students what it was like to be blind or deaf.
“I think it’s important for students to recognize the barriers they may be placing for individuals with disabilities,” Weathers said.
She said there are various disabilities, including multiple sclerosis, bipolar depression and learning disabilities. More and more people are becoming more aware of learning disabilities and that’s the main disability UCO deals with on campus, Weathers said.
People will encounter individuals with disabilities every day and personally know at least one person with a disability in their lifetime. Weathers said while individuals with disabilities are independent, students should be cautious and conscious of the needs of those around them.
“It’s important to understand that individuals with disabilities are the same as those without,” she said. “It may take them longer or a different route but they’re still the same.”
Jason Vick, a psychology senior, said he became a paraplegic after being shot in 2004. He said daily challenges on campus for people in wheelchairs included maneuvering over water hoses and around book bags that are in the way.
“It’s harder to do things than they think,” he said.
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