Ever get into a situation when you need to find a restroom immediately? Well for a healthy person it becomes a major issue but when you’re living in a wheelchair and need assistance that becomes a real problem. Over this past year traveling by plane or car is a problem. Think about it you’re an able person walking into a small bathroom on an airplane and you go wow, this is tiny, can’t imagine if anybody else besides you need to be in this bathroom. They will not fit.

There are all kinds of needs for a family-handicap bathroom. One may have a family member who is a child and needs a family-friendly bathroom to accommodate those needs of a child or teenager.  You may have a male and a female that need a gender friendly bathroom which is almost impossible to find when traveling or out and about. When I talk about disabilities it can be a mental or physical disability. Often times these folks including myself need help when transferring from the wheelchair to the toilet seat. There may be examples of a parent meeting the change in adults or teenagers diaper and there are no accommodations for that.

Entering to and from a restroom there often need to be automatic doors to be able to push as somebody with a disability may not have the hand strength or the capability of opening and closing doors.

On domestic flights I find there are little handicap accommodations. The only thing airlines accommodates for on plane wheelchairs that will take you to the restroom. You have to be able to stand up and negotiate the bathroom. On a recent flight in 2018, I was fine internationally and they did have a handicap bathroom. This bathroom encompasses two restrooms with the sliding door to allow for enough room for a wheelchair and a companion. Most major city airports have family bathrooms that have made it much easier for families traveling with a disability.

Now let’s talk about travel by car. On a recent trip, I was traveling between Georgia and North Carolina to find that even these state rest stops did not accommodate family bathrooms. The bathrooms did have handicap stalls but if you have somebody helping you that is a different gender they cannot accommodate these needs.

Tamra and Terry want to hear from all of you that are living with a disability or with somebody with a disability to comment and take the time of your experiences. Our goal at twins coast 2 coast is to be advocates and speak on behalf of people in need. We are working diligently with our state House of Representatives and senators to form awareness for people living with all kinds of disabilities.