By Anna Pendleton and Cici Gutierrez
My first thought when coming into school is “I really hope my friends are here.”
That may seem normal — everyone wants their friends to be there — but it’s actually for a totally different reason. Yes, I love my friends’ company, but a day without them could cause chaos for me. I walk to my classes at Highland Park Middle School with my friends, like everyone else, but if one of the friends whom I walk with is absent, then it’s up to me to figure out how I am going to get to my classes. It can be really stressful, especially when I know that there are places where I can’t go because of the inaccessibility.
Being a wheelchair user definitely has its struggles, whether it’s trying to get into a building, opening doors, or reaching something on a shelf. But the real struggle is that no one fully understands it. People always assume before they realize, and that alone can make things so much harder. Most of the time, accessibility isn’t the first thing that people think about when designing buildings.
To help others understand these challenges, my best friend, Cici, and I had an amazing idea for a newspaper article. What if some of our own teachers and peers got to experience what it’s like to be a wheelchair user?
A few weeks later, we turned this idea into reality with the help of our teacher, Mrs. Wall, and all of the great people who agreed to participate. Before school began, the selected people got their wheelchairs from the nurse’s office. We got four students, one from each grade at Highland Park Middle School and McCulloch Intermediate School, and four teachers who teach different grades. Throughout the day, they were able to experience what it is like to be in a wheelchair. They were only allowed to get out of their chair when they needed to go to the restroom, and of course for special reasons.
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The results were mixed; however, there was one thing that everyone could agree on: being in a wheelchair all day was hard. Whether their back, arms, or posterior hurt, they were all just tired of sitting down. Some had difficulty getting to their classes, some opening doors, and some even just getting around the school.
Thresholds are difficult for wheelchair users to get over. For me, I think they might be one of the worst problems due to the risk of tipping over and hurting myself or others. A lot of people involved in this article mentioned doorways as another of their struggles. Also, elevators that do not function are a big thing for wheelchair users. Since most wheelchair users can’t walk, the elevator is crucial to getting around if there are multiple floors in a building.
Simple things that students can do to help accessibility are walking on the right side of the hallway, keeping their eyes ahead, and maybe, just maybe, not jumping and shoving their friends in the halls.
Cici and I believe that this article was very important for my peers and teachers because it opened their eyes to the real-life struggles of being a wheelchair user. Most of the people chosen didn’t know of the challenges beforehand. This experience definitely opened their eyes. My hope is that this article will positively change people’s attitudes about wheelchair users and will change my school for the better.
Student Perspectives
Samuel Wall (fifth grader)
Samuel thought that the day was going to be “easy (because) everybody will push me around.” He said, “I had fun,” but turning was difficult.
Kees Harvey (sixth grader)
Kees expected the day to be “awkward but also a cool experience. Getting to class on time and pushing myself around school” were her struggles. She added that “everyone will now understand what people’s lives are like. Everybody is different, and we should accept that.”
Julia Zhang (seventh grader)
Julia thought that the experience would be “easy, (because) I don’t need to walk.” By the end of the day, she said that it went terribly. “I could never live normally if I had to be in a wheelchair.”
Paxton Ayoub (eighth grader)
Paxton thought he was going to have “a very nice and relaxed day.” However, “going to the bathroom, (and) fitting through tight spaces” was burdensome. Otherwise, he said that “people were helping me out.”
Teacher Perspectives
Greg Poteet
Mr. Poteet explained that “just getting around school has been a challenge. Time wise, it takes a lot longer to get around. I hope that (students) have more appreciation for people in wheelchairs, and the challenges they face every day. I’ve been able to share with them the obstacles that (wheelchair users) encounter.”
Brock Blair
Coach Blair struggled with “putting things in the dryer and couldn’t reach the buttons, so (he) used a broom stick.” Being a wheelchair user affects people’s jobs and their everyday responsibilities, such as cleaning and drying clothes.
Brittany Cristofoli
Mrs. Cristofoli saw that getting around the building was difficult, and said she had to move the tables in her classroom to maneuver. Her students were having fun until they realized the challenges she was facing, which led them to empathize with her. Through this experience, she was able to understand the hardships of being a wheelchair user.
Stephanie McKinley
“I wish more kids could have the same experience to see just how much the world is synced to the needs of non-disabled people.” Ms. McKinley told me that “(she) wish(es) more people could experience a day in (my) shoes. I think they would be more aware of the things (I) just suck up with a smile on (my) face daily!”
Anna Pendleton and Cici Gutierrez are eighth-grade students in the newspaper class at Highland Park Middle School. Anna also enjoys creative writing. A version of this story first appeared in the fall 2025 issue of The Red & Gold Record, the student newspaper for Highland Park Middle School and McCulloch Intermediate School.
