Making the world more accessible: Langham family looks for change

All Bryson Meili wants to do, is be like the other kids.

The 11-year-old watches his friends, his family and all the other children play without fear of being left out. But Meili isn’t like all the other kids.

He has cerebral palsy, and it’s becoming tougher and tougher, for his parents to keep up with the demands of what they consider an inaccessible world.

Meili’s first 11 years were full of his parents — Charity and Jason — carrying him when he wasn’t able to access areas the boy had hoped for. Now, with Meili getting bigger, things aren’t as easy as they once were.

“The world will be accessible for the majority. (Unfortunately), it’s kind of falling short for people who have any kind of mobility (problems),” Charity told 650 CKOM Thursday, in front of one of the City of Saskatoon’s six fully accessible play park areas.

These areas cost around $500,000 to build, according to Jody Hauta, the City’s manager of Recreation Facilities and Programs for the Recreation and Community Development Department.

But, it wasn’t a playground that made the Meili family feel the need to approach the media on their concerns.

On July 12, Bryson and his family were at Riversdale Pool in Saskatoon. Bryson, a lover of waterslides, wanted to go down at the City-owned facility.

“There are just some things he’s getting too big for,” Charity said. “This is the first time we’ve actually had to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ But, we just couldn’t pick him up to bring him up the waterslide. He’s not getting any smaller and we’re not getting any younger.”

So, Meili decided to take out her cell phone and film Bryson explaining how it made him feel, not being able to access the waterslide.

“They should have some form of accessibility,” Bryson said in the video. “I want to use them, but I can’t because I’m in a wheelchair.”

Charity said she thought the video was cute, that it would pull on the heartstrings of a lot of people.

“I had tons of comments, just saying that, ‘Yes we should … bring this to light.’ The fact that there are so many places for kids who have that need for adventure and they’re just not accessible for these kids,” she explained.

“Just because somebody is in a wheelchair or has a disability doesn’t mean like they aren’t like any other kid.”

Hauta said the City has a number of accessible pools in Saskatoon. He keyed on zero-depth entry, with three outdoor pools of the four offering. Four of the City’s leisure centers also have zero-depth entry, with lifts at both the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre and the Shaw Centre.

The Meili family still wants to see their fearless, adventurous 11-year-old enjoying what he wants to do: water sliding.

They commended the City of Prince Albert and its water park, which is accessible to all. The family also added that the Delta in downtown Saskatoon is a great destination for them, complete with an elevator to the top of the slide.

For young Bryson, he said making the world more accessible doesn’t have to be the most expensive, or toughest thing to do in the world.

“Install ramps or elevators. Just one of those two,” he said.

“It’s kind of hard to find places … Things need to be accessible so I can actually use them and have fun. It’s kind of annoying. (It makes me feel) sad, frustrated, excluded.”

When speaking about the world outside the recreational facilities, the Meili family said they’ve had problems doing everyday things as well, even as simple as getting fast food can be a chore.

“When we drive into a parking lot, the first thing we look at is where is the ramp? We were at Ruckers the other day, couldn’t find a ramp to get into Ruckers … Often, you actually even see places in front of fast food (restaurants) where the ramp is actually right in front of where the handicap stall is. That doesn’t make sense because the nose of your vehicle will be up against that ramp,” she said.

“Sometimes people that are designing these things, they don’t understand what it’s like to actually to be in a wheelchair. They don’t understand what is needed.”

Although Bryson is 11-years-old, he is already looking forward to what he wants to accomplish when he grows up. The young boy said he wants to become an engineer, to fix all of the places that aren’t accessible to him, along with everyone else who is wheelchair-bound.

“It needs to change. Fast … It would make their lives a lot easier if they had ramps … Make buildings accessible. Honestly, it’s going to change lives,” he said.

Hauta said the City is continuously trying to find ways to improve accessibility and has its own Accessibility Advisory Committee. Earlier this week, it applied for funding for accessibility upgrades at all leisure centres and has budgeted funding in future years for upgrades at these outdoor pools and indoor leisure centres.

“We do feel we are progressing in the right direction. There’s certainly further work that needs to be done,” said Hauta, before he had a message for Langham’s Meili family.

“It’s very unfortunate and I feel bad for the child that isn’t able to access the waterslide. That is a very tough conversation to have with a child. Unfortunately, at this stage, the waterslide is not accessible. It would be something we’d have to look to in the future and as funding becomes available to make that adjustment,” he said.