Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (June 10/05) - At 6'3", Dave Wright rarely has trouble reaching anything on the top shelf. That wasn't true on June 3.

Wright, a teacher at Thomas Simpson school, spent the day unable to write on anything more than the bottom third of the erasable "white" board in his classroom.

Dave Wright, a teacher at Thomas Simpson school, volunteered to spend his work day in a wheelchair on June 3 in recognition of National Access Awareness Week. Here, he reaches for the contents of his mailbox in the staff room.

That's because he was in a wheelchair - an experiment during National Access Awareness Week to highlight the challenges facing the disabled.

The day started with a taxi picking up Wright at his home before 8 a.m. Because he was convincingly playing the role of a physically disabled person, he needed plenty of assistance whenever he caught a ride.

"Getting in and out of vehicles is a nightmare," said Wright.

Upon arriving at the school, he was grateful the building had a wheelchair ramp. However, when he wheeled up near the top of the ramp, he realized that the cement had settled and a one-inch lip impeded his forward motion.

He had to get someone to help him "pop a wheelie" to get over the small bump and then needed the front door held open.

Once inside, he was able to manoeuvre around the wide hallways with relative ease. Several students offered to push him.

"The kids were good. They were all very helpful," Wright noted.

Some, like 16-year-old Lynette Anderson, were initially taken aback and thought something serious had happened to their teacher. After learning of the project, Anderson said it was admirable.

"I thought that was pretty cool. Not many people would do that," she said.

Throughout the day, Wright encountered numerous encumbrances. He said he couldn't carry anything in his lap because he needed both hands to guide the wheelchair, which pulled to the left "like an old shopping cart."

Alternate methods

Neither could he reach down to pick up anything from the floor, nor could he get very close to the board. He spent much of the day figuring out alternate ways of doing things he normally takes for granted, he said.

He frequently scraped his knuckles on door frames while entering and exiting rooms. Although he wore bicycle gloves in the morning, he forgot them in the afternoon. Wheeling the chair proved to be very tiring and hard on the hands, he explained.

"It's a real eye opener," said Wright.

Student Malerie Hardisty, 18, observed, "It seemed hard for him to get around."

She added that she thinks every government building in Fort Simpson should be made accessible to the disabled.