Relato de vivência em cadeira de rodas

Abstract

The present work is a written account of experience on wheelchairs, developed by an Occupational Therapy student at UFPB who is at the eighth semester of the graduation course. After defining the route herself and moving around on a wheelchair within two days (26th and 27th of February, 2015), the author of this report visited restaurants, pubs, rehabilitation institutions, as well as surrounding areas where she resides in the city of João Pessoa with the objective of evaluating the architectural and also the behavioural barriers to people who need to get around on a wheelchair. In every visited place there was a kind of architectural barrier to overcome. This was the main difficulty found. It could also be found buildings without the accessibility standards or even adaptations made in the wrong way. The ABNT (Brazilian Association of Technical Norms), in its technical norm number 9050 (ABNT, 2015), determines the criteria and technical parameters which have to be observed so that conditions of accessibility are guar-anteed in all projects, from construction, installations and adaptations, to furniture and urban spaces and equipments. What can be affirmed is that, despite this norm, which apllies not only for public, but also for private buildings, wheelchairusers are exposed to frequent risks because of irregular pavement and broken or non-existing access ramps.