Last Sunday, members of AIAS had the incredible opportunity to tour the home of Utawna Leap (Miami '93). Mother of a 9-yr-old with quadriplegic mixed-type cerebral palsy, Utawna is a passionate advocate for those with disabilities. After her divorce, she and Lianna moved in with her parents, living in a carpeted multilevel house that was hardly suitable for Lianna and her wheelchair. Utawna then began the search for a place of her own, even collaborating with Kathy McMahon-Klosterman and her Disability Studies class to create a video application to ABC's "Extreme Makeover Home Edition." Although the application was unsuccessful, Utawna refused to let go of her dream of building Lianna a fully accessable home.
That's where graduate student Taryn Nye (Miami '06) stepped in.
For Taryn's thesis project, she worked with Utawna to design a safe and accessible home for Lianna and her mom. Now built, the house provides hard floors, wide doorways, low counters, and other accommodations that make life noticeably easier for Lianna - and Utawna.
And the neighbors are great. Walter and Faye Leap, Utawna's parents, live right next door. As Utawna told the Hamilton Journal, "If it had not of been for my parents’ constant support since the day she was born, I think I would be in a padded room." Their love and care is essential, whether they are taking Lianna on golf cart joyrides to feeding her Reeses Cups.
Since Taryn graduated, Miami keeps in touch with Lianna and her mom through AIAS's community service program, Freedom By Design. Last year, Freedom By Design designed grade-level reducers to help Lianna's wheelchair get over the 'bump' in the doorways as she enters and exits the house.
While successful, these wooden prototypes have not been highly durable. This month we hope to find a design solution to that problem as well as taking on new projects, for Lianna and for others who face challenges from buildings that, too often, weren't designed with them in mind.
If you are interested in learning more about Freedom By Design or if you've got some great ideas for projects, let us know! Contact Mary Dickerson at dickerm2@muohio.edu.
For more on Lianna and Utawna, visit their photo essay entitled "Lianna's Voice."
No comments:
Post a Comment