Barriers experienced by nondisabled wheelchair users: A university-based occupational therapy program educational exercise

In the context of a course in assistive technology offered by the Departmen t of Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto, a practical exercis e was conducted to better understand the physical and social barriers exper ienced by wheelchair users. The purpose of the exercise was to sensitize st udents to the ways in which the environment and people's attitudes can impa ct on the lives of people who use mobility devices. Using structured field logs, students recorded their observations of barriers experienced in diffe rent environmental contexts over a 48-hour period in which they used a whee lchair. Students rank-ordered each barrier in terms of perceived difficulty on their occupational performance. This article describes the educational exercise and students' reactions to the exercise. Implications of the educa tional strategy and the findings that emerged will be discussed in relation to professional education, clinical practice, and research.