Complementary Activities

Guest Speakers

Guest speakers are an important complementary activity at the Center both in individual classes and at all-school assemblies. Physicians have spoken on TPA and emergency room procedures, as well as the rehabilitative process. Guests who have been particularly well received have spoken about Medicare, Health insurance, alternative healing methods such as acupuncture and death and dying. At the Center’s annual Honor’s Day celebration, speakers are highly respected medical, political and educational leaders.

Field Trips

Field trips have always been significant and often represent the first and/or farthest ventures for students since the onset of rehabilitation. They are an excellent opportunity to practice being in unfamiliar circumstances within the safety of the group.

Student Advocacy

Self and group advocacy is a vital part of the Center's teaching. As students gain confidence and friendships in a student-driven environment, they become aware of their power to affect change. When they see a need at the Center or out in the community, they are willing and able to act.

Students frequently testify at local government meetings and they have twice lobbied local legislators at the State Capitol. Letter writing campaigns have been very successful. They have been more successful than we wished at times! One simple letter requesting a new flag resulted in such a flood of donations that we could have opened a store!

One widely publicized effort came from students' frustration at finding certain restaurants unfriendly and inaccessible. They decided to use a positive approach and visit a few that were on the better end of the continuum. They created a score sheet and went as a group, with a couple of instructors, during the Center lunch period to eat and observe. They used a 1-4 “wheelchairs” rating system with 4 wheelchairs being the highest. Two of the restaurants that received the 4 chair rating proudly display their certificates.

Disabled diners discover area’s best restaurants

By CAROLINE BLISS-ISBERG
Special to the Sentinel

When looking for a great place to go for a special meal, most of us just need to consider the food, the ambiance and the price.

The students at the Cabrillo College Stroke Center have to take a good deal more into account before they venture out for a good time with friends or family.

Stroke Center students are all living with the after-effects of stroke, or are living with other conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease.

Visiting a restaurant can be a wonderful social event, or it can be an uncomfortable and embarrassing ordeal, depending on how conscientiously the owners have complied with the provisions of the Americans With Disability Act.

The 17 students in the advanced class of the Cabrillo College Stroke Center took these issues on in a major project this semester.

The Garage Gang, as they called themselves, decided to explore the Santa Cruz restaurant community to discover what makes a restaurant truly accessible to people living with disabilities.

Setting standards

The students judging the restaurants have a wealth of life experiences among them.

They range in age from 50 to 93 and include a librarian, a former team member of the Philadelphia 76ers, a record-breaking ice skater, a Coast Guard Auxiliary heroine, and a former member of the Santa Cruz City Council.

Along with spouses and instructors, they visited seven establishments: the Pino Alto Room at Cabrillo College’s Sesnon House in Aptos; Zelda’s and Takara Japanese Restaurant in Capitola; the clubhouse at DeLaveaga Golf Course; Hobee’s, Tony and Alba’s and the Royal Taj in Santa Cruz.

Almost all the restaurants were reasonably accessible, accommodating and friendly.

One stood out, however.

Takara won praise from the group for its service and comfort.

Restaurants were reviewed using a standard form created by the students based on their personal experiences.

With this in mind, they looked at the following features:

Ease of entry: Are handicapped parking spaces available? How many spaces are there? How close are they to the restaurant entrance? How accessible is the front entry?

"We like wide curb cuts, gently sloping ramps, and strong handrails wherever there are ramps or stairs.

"Is the entryway welcoming? The width and weight of doors as well as lever-style door handles placed low enough for wheelchair use can make all the difference." said Jan James,

"If I have to go into a restaurant through the back door, I feel like a second-class citizen."

An elevator or lift is critical if the restaurant is on the second floor.

Service: Service can make or break the whole dining experience. Waiters need to be cheerful, friendly and have a good sense of humor. Some disabled patrons have difficulty reading, others can’t hear and some can’t speak, but they can point and write.

What is important is to have waiters who are sensitive when a problem arises, but who don’t talk down or patronize. If a waiter is willing to talk slowly, write out questions and listen carefully with patience and humor, ordering can be just fine.

Eye contact is important. Sharon O’Connor said it’s especially humiliating when waiters spot her wheelchair and then don’t talk directly to her, but only to the person she is with.

Just because her legs don’t work, doesn’t mean she can’t order her own meals, she said.

Menus: The group liked menus that members can read. Large bold type on a light background made all the difference for aging eyes. Braille menu availability is a help for some.

Food: Of course, the food is important. The Garage Gang Gourmets looked at price, tastiness and availability of vegetarian choices.

"I like lots of vegetarian choices," said Anita Rossman, "Some restaurants we reviewed only had a couple."

Health-conscious choices are a must.

Noise level: If the restaurant’s noise level is too loud, those with hearing impairments can’t take part in the conversation. Hearing aides tend to amplify background noise and in some instances the noise level can even become painful.

Sharon O’Connor noted that sometimes she is seated out of the way of other patrons near the kitchen door.

"Then the noise level really escalates," she said.

Space between tables: Students were very concerned about not causing trouble for other restaurant customers. Past experiences had taught them that although wheelchairs might be welcome, other patrons frequently needed to be moved to allow for maneuverability.

Stroke Center students said disrupting other patrons’ meals was a greater source of concern and discomfort to them, than other barriers that directly affected the students themselves.

Restrooms: The ideal restroom has a private entrance with a wide, lightweight, well-balanced entry door, a good lever handle and plenty of room to turn around in a wheelchair.

If toilet seats are too low, some people can’t get up once they get down.

Handrails on both sides are critical. A handrail on one side doesn’t do much good if you are paralyzed on that side.

One Stroke Center gourmet commented, "You can’t pay the bill, if you’re stuck in the John."

The top choice

The most accessible restaurant the group visited was the new Takara in Capitola.

This restaurant, located in the remodeled space near Gottshalks parking lot in the Capitola Mall, exceeded all of the students’ expectations for food, friendliness and accessibility.

Owners Angel Yeo and Yuki Chan gave the City of Capitola credit for providing well-thought-out standards and guidance during the remodeling project. Yeo was pleased to have Stroke Center students test the accessibility of entryways and bathrooms.

On returning from one such bathroom test, Ken Lee said, "On a scale of one to 10, it’s an 11."

Yeo also pointed out that tables had been carefully constructed to accommodate wheelchairs.

Their height had been adjusted. Table legs also were set so that they did not create unintended barriers.

Takara has even provided for wheelchair accessibility at the sushi bar. Although our party was held in a beautiful private room, it was obvious that individuals in wheelchairs could easily maneuver between tables in any part of the restaurant.

Students unanimously voted Takara the best we reviewed, and promised many return visits.

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