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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Occupational Therapy Students and Professor Assess Area Mobility for Individuals with Disabilities
NSU’s Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) Program Director Rachelle Dorne, M.Ed., Ed.D., OTR/L, CAPS, and seven students have joined with occupational therapy colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis to complete assessments of community usability with the Community Health Environmental Checklists (CHEC) in the Fort Lauderdale area. This is the first year of a multi-year project. The purpose of the CHEC is to support participation of individuals with disabilities in the community by identifying features of sites that are usable to them. In contrast with accessibility standards that are based on regulations detailed in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), usability is measured in relationship to an individual’s interaction with the environment in which he or she engages. Spaces that are considered accessible according to ADAAG may still have features that limit their usability for some individuals. The purpose of the assessment is not to measure whether or not a site meets ADA Accessibility Guidelines or to litigate, but to inform individuals with disabilities about the usability of the site for individuals who, for example, use wheelchairs, walkers, or scooters.
The occupational therapy students were interested in focusing on assessment of sites frequented by tourists. Five students on MOT team who completed training for the CHEC-Mobility recently visited Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale, using the required tools of a 30-ft. tape measure, pitch and slope measure, and fishing scale. The CHEC-Mobility examines three major areas of a place that individuals with mobility needs would encounter: entrance/exit, using the building, and the bathrooms. After rating a site on the CHEC-Mobility, the results are submitted to the staff at Washington University, who score and upload the data to a Community Usability Map that will be available on Google Maps.
For more information, please contact Rachelle Dorne at dorne@nova.edu.