High school sophomore Joel Buyer is almost always on the go. He’s on a bowling team, a part of his local 4-H club and he loves to travel. He recently visited New York City for his sweet sixteen.
“I have a favorite part: the train,” said Joel, who has cerebral palsy and speaks through an augmentative and alternative communication device.
“Yeah, we liked riding the subway,” his mom Heather chimed in.
On a spring afternoon, the mother-son duo is taking a less glamorous trip. They’re headed to Fayette County’s new rest area. It’s one of many the state is remodeling to include rocking chairs, walking trails and shiny plaques honoring Ohio History.
But, for the Buyers, one addition to the rest areas stands out above all: 29 of the rest stops will have a changing table large enough to fit teens and adults who need continence care. These so-called universal changing tables are hard to come by, Heather said.
“Our kids need someplace private to go to the restroom,” she said.
The challenge of meeting a basic need
Joel, like many individuals with cerebral palsy, needs continence care. But the small, baby changing tables in most family restrooms don’t fit growing teenagers like him. That means every trip the Buyer family takes comes with a lot of questions.
“Can I take him on my own? Are we going to be able to go to the bathroom? Is there a place to stop and eat?” Heather said.
Often the lack of accessible restrooms leaves families with few choices: stay at home or change their loved ones in uncomfortable, sometimes unsanitary conditions.
Kim Kirkwood, who co-leads the Ohio chapter of the Changing Spaces Campaign, said, for a long time, she resorted to changing her 12-year-old son Aiden in the back of their van.
“I have had to on road trips, pull the car off to the side of the road, find somewhere no one else is around, empty out all the luggage from my trunk and put [Aiden] into the trunk to change him there and try to angle my van away so no one can see him,” Kirkwood recalled.
Disconnected from community
Such experiences lack dignity, Kirkwood said, and can discourage Ohioans with developmental disabilities from going out into their communities to restaurants or malls.
“This kind of invisible barrier of not having access to a safe and dignified restroom experience when you're out and about, is very, very isolating to people with disabilities and medical conditions,” Kirkwood said.
It’s a loss for communities, too, who miss out on the contributions of people like Joel and Aiden when a lack of accessible restrooms keeps them at home.
“Having more universal changing tables across Ohio means freedom to myself and my son and my family. It means freedom to go into our communities and experience life just like everyone else,” Kirkwood siad.
Changing spaces
After more than a decade of advocacy, Ohio now leads the nation with 166 adult-sized changing tables scattered across the state, according to Changing Spaces Database. Second place — Tennessee — has just 48 changing tables.
They’re at airports, libraries, fairgrounds and at the rest stop just down the road from the Buyer’s house in Washington Court House.
Heather and Joel inspect the restroom’s new addition: It's about six feet long and height adjustable. Heather moves it up and down with the push of a button, looking excited as she discovers it offers a safety rail.
“Dang boy! This is nice,” she said to Joel.
Joel approved too: “I like,” he said.
A bathroom changing table may seem like an odd thing to celebrate. But, Heather said it feels like her family is finally being considered by their community.
“There are more families like mine that like to go do things. Nobody wants to be stuck at home and stay at home, and not have fun. Everyone wants to have their needs met.”
A world of possibility
Gabby Kozinski, a 23-year old Bucyrus resident, is excited to see the movement for universal changing tables gain momentum. She advocates for people with cerebral palsy, like herself. She said she feels limited by the lack of restroom options in her community.
“Growing up there were not a lot of places where I could be changed properly in my community,” she said. “I would have to leave early or wait to be changed until I got home or I wouldn't be able to go with my family to a certain place due to needing to change.”
The universal changing tables at the new rest areas across the state open up a world of travel possibilities for her. Kozinski said she will be more comfortable doing what she loves.
“I like to go to amusement parks. I like to go to festivals. I like to go out of state, preferably somewhere warm,” she said. “I live in Ohio but my body is made for somewhere warmer.”
And while the potential for beach travel is exciting, Kozinski said accessibility isn’t just about being able to go on vacation. She’s advocating to make universal changing tables commonplace in her hometown community, too.
