Accessibility At SUNY Cortland

Have you ever been physically impaired to the point where you couldn't walk and needed assisstance with either a wheel chair or crutches? If you do have the luxury good luck getting around campus especially when the weather turns bad. My friend Alicia unfortunately tore her ACL this past fall and has to hike around campus just to keep up with her classes. She is a Physical Education at Cortland and sadly had to withdraw from her activity courses. She lives at the bottom of the hill and all of her classes are at the top. When she told me she had a rough time around campus gettting from building to building, I thought she was just kidding. But, then I thought about it and really it is hard to get around. Just to get into Bowers you can take that long and windy ramp then take the elevator in the building. Have you ever been in that elevator? It is not meant to be for passengers but just the cleaning cart! After this adventure up and around the hill to the front of Old Main back to Dowd and such she has to come back to her dorm. We both live in the Towers and if you have ever been in the Towers the front entrance is not the most friendly building. To get to the elevators you have to go to the back between Casey and Smith then take a elevator to your floor. This process is long and tiring and by the end of the day she doesnt even want to get dinner because it all repeats!

Fortunately, the campus is making renovations to many buildings. The newest remodeled building, Fitzgerald was redone this past year and now is accessible to the handicapp but only on the first floor. Many of you might not know this, but Casey and Smith's front entrances are going to be remodeled also this next spring. So step by step the school will become friendlier to the handicapp, but do not even try going into Park Center for a class, because guess what? An elevator does not exist!

The Turkey Trot

About a week and half ago, on November 10, SUNY Cortland hosted their annual Turkey Trot. It is a 5K run or 3.2 miles walk/run/wheelchair around campus. I was able to run the Turkey Trot last year, and this year I was signed up to run also but unfortunately sprainged five tendons in my foot and was in the Emergency Room the day of the race. Some of you may have participated in the it or known someone who did.

What is unique about this race is that it is a run/walk/wheelchair race. Participants have the option of using a wheelchair for the whole race. It is long but I would have wanted to do that this year because I think it would have put my life into perspective. Just for about half a week I was hobbling around this campus on crutches and it was extremely painful. Carting myself around campus took a long time and it was a great workout. Here at SUNY Cortland we offer many adaptive classes that students can participate in along with the Apple Run and Turkey Trot Run. If you ever have the chance to put yourself in someones elses position, you shouldn definitely give it a shot. It is a rewarding experience to see what people with disabilities have to deal with everyday. Next time you see someone who is on crutches at school or is in a wheelchair, help them out! This campus is not the most handicap excessible and we all know how much fun it is to walk up and down the hill!

Everyone have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Autism and Who it Effects

Autism is an unknown caused disorder that effects many Americans and people worldwide. Many of you might have family members that have some condition either mild or severe Autism. Children that have Autism do have noticeable characteristics on their face or by the way they act. Some common symptoms of Autism first show in a child of young age. Usually once that child is passed five years of age, and show no symptoms then they are cleared. Some symptoms include frantically rocking back and forth, unusual speech patterns, lack of eye contact, and can imitate exactly what the tv just presented. Autism effects a large amount of children born each year. About 1 in 100 kids have Autism symptoms but that number is growing.

Autism is an undiagnose disorder, scientists have ideas of what caused it but they are only theories. Some of the theories include genetics which many people believe is the leading cause also there is fact to believe that it is just because of problems with brain development. The other night I was watching Extreme Homemakeover Edition and the episode was about an eight person family with six children. The family unfortunately had five out of six kids diagnosed with Autism. I find this interesting because as I have researched Autism, there is only a five percent chance of having another child with Autism after having your first. The only kid in this family was 12 year old Emily who was born normal. Autism effects kids around the world but can have a greater effect on the childs parents. What would you do if your children were diagonoed with severe Autism?