Hi! I'm Renee Sharp. I'm 33, I work for the State of California in an office building downtown, and I have used a wheelchair since a car accident in 1987, when I was 21. I'm a T-12 paraplegic, which means my legs don't work and my arms work great, thank you very much. I drive a Honda with hand controls and I push a lightweight rigid chair that weighs less than my cat.

Every time I go somewhere new, I call ahead and ask, "Are you wheelchair accessible?" And every time, somebody cheerfully says "Oh sure!" And about half the time that means there's only ONE step. So I started keeping notes, and my friend Lupe said I should put them on the Internet so other people don't have to find out the hard way. So here they are.

I'm not trying to shame anybody. Most places that fail are not mean, they just never thought about it. A lot of places get an A because somebody did think about it, and I want to give them credit and my money. Please send me your own reviews, especially if you use a walker, a scooter, or a power chair, since I can hop a small lip that a 300-pound power chair can't.

Latest Grades

Older report cards (the dentist, three grocery stores, the library, my own office building and more) are in The Whole Gradebook.

The ADA in Plain English

I am not a lawyer. This is what I've learned from living with it, reading a lot, and asking questions at my local independent living center. If you have a real legal problem, talk to a disability rights group or an attorney.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed on July 26, 1990. I watched it on the news in my first apartment on my own, three years after the accident, and I cried into my macaroni.
• Title III is the part about "public accommodations": restaurants, stores, theaters, hotels, doctors' offices, banks, gyms. Pretty much any business open to the public.
• Buildings put up new since early 1993 are supposed to be fully accessible. There's no "grandfathered" for those.
• Older buildings don't have to be torn apart, but they are supposed to remove barriers when it's "readily achievable," meaning it can be done without much difficulty or expense. A little ramp over one step, moving some shelves, putting in grab bars or a paper cup dispenser I can reach: usually readily achievable. So "grandfathered" is not the magic word some managers think it is.
• The federal guidelines say a ramp shouldn't rise more than one inch for every foot it runs, and doorways should have at least 32 inches clear. Tape measures are cheap.
• Accessible parking spaces need an access aisle next to them, and some have to be van-accessible with a wider aisle, because a lift comes out the side. That striped area is not a bonus parking space, folks!
• If a place won't fix a problem, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, or get help from a disability rights organization. I have never had to. Usually a polite letter, and then a less polite letter, does it.

If You Own a Business

Hi! Thank you for reading this far. Here is the cheap stuff that makes the biggest difference:

1. Sit in a desk chair and roll through your front door and to your bathroom. You'll see it.
2. Don't store the mop bucket and the high chairs in the big stall.
3. Keep one table at regular height with no post in the middle.
4. When someone calls to ask about access, tell them about the steps. Honest info is almost as good as a ramp, because I can plan.
5. Talk to the person in the chair, not whoever is pushing it.