Duane Hicks
Some local residents are asking the town for a new change room at the Memorial Sports Centre for families with special needs, handicapped, or young children.
Parent Lindsay Strickland and respite caregiver Cathie Sinninghe appeared before town council Monday night to express the need for equal access to service—and send the message that they’re not only the ones who feel this way.
Strickland said her nine-year-old son, Matthew, has autism. And because of his special needs, he has not been able to participate in local team sports or activities such as hockey, soccer, softball, judo, or Tae Kwon Do.
And he doesn’t yet have the focus for artistic activities such as piano, guitar, or choir, but he does love to swim.
The problem is Matthew can’t change into or out of swim gear before and after swimming because there isn’t a change room attached to the pool he can access with a helper.
Because he is a boy over the age of five, he is expected to use the men’s change room attached to the pool.
Ninety-five percent of the time, he is at the pool with his mom or a female respite worker, such as Sinninghe, and they can’t go into the men’s change room with him.
Likewise, Matthew is not welcome in the women’s change room.
The Memorial Sports Centre has tried to accommodate Strickland’s situation by offering a hockey change room outside of the pool area.
This means, after swimming in February, Matthew and whoever he is with walk soaking wet out of the pool area across a cold atrium, where doors are opening and closing, into an area that also feels cold, and change him.
“Sometimes they remember to actually keep the doors unlocked for us and keep the lights on, as there is no switch we can actually access,” noted Strickland.
“And sometimes not.”
She feels that the unspoken message is that they’re unwelcome there.
Both Strickland and Sinninghe stressed special needs children should not be treated as second-class citizens and deserve the same respect as everyone else.
Strickland also said this is not just an issue for her family.
Families with special needs children over the age of five, or a parent at the pool with children of the opposite gender that need help changing, all are affected by the lack of an appropriate change facility, she noted.
“This is not simply an issue of convenience,” said Strickland. “It’s an issue of equal access and fair, equitable treatment for all members of our community.”
There are ramps and buttons that open doors for individuals with mobility impairments so they can access facilities, she added.
“We need the same kind of access for individuals with developmental special needs, with health challenges or young families,” Strickland reasoned.
Community Services manager Jason Kabel said the town sincerely apologizes for not having a change room for Matthew.
“We are at the mercy of a facility that was built in ’70s and they didn’t think of accessibility concerns like we are aware of these days,” he remarked.
“Is it ideal we have special needs children dress in hockey dressing rooms? It definitely isn’t,” Kabel added, noting they are heated—although it may not feel like it.
Kabel said the issue has been discussed by the Community Services executive committee and there are some alternatives being considered, with “a sincere desire to find a place for you.”
Coun. June Caul said the town will figure something out.
“It will be quite expensive because there is no special family bathroom—just the plumbing alone will be very expensive,” she conceded.
“But we’ll work in stages, I’m sure, and try to get something done along the way,” Coun. Caul stressed.
“It might not be right away because our budget is in for the year, but we will work on this for you because I think it’s very important to help you out in this,” she added.
Coun. Wendy Brunetta said it’s “past due” the centre has such a change room, emphasizing it helps not just families with special needs children but, for instance, single dads who have young daughters that they can’t bring into the men’s change room.
Strickland and Sinninghe both guaranteed that more families, whether they have special needs or not, will use the pool if there is a separate change room.
“I really want you guys to hear our hearts,” said Sinninghe, adding she hopes steps will be taken quickly to help address the situation.
“It may not seem as quick coming to you as you’d like, but I vow by the end of the summer, Matthew will have a place to change that will be warm and closer to the pool,” Kabel replied.
