Three USF students prove that disabled does not mean unable

By Milca Rivera
Correspondent writer

TAMPA, Fla. -- Justin McFatridge said he has become oblivious to most of the stereotypes surrounding physical disability, but he does notice that if he's with someone, like his mom, people assume she needs to talk for him.

McFatridge, Kimberly Schwartz and Kyle Romano are three University of South Florida (USF) students who require the aid of a wheelchair. They want people to know just because someone uses a wheelchair, it does not mean they cannot do things for themselves or that they are mentally disabled.

While these statements may seem intuitive, McFatridge, Schwartz and Romano find themselves having to deal with these misconceptions.

McFatridge, 23, a junior public relations major, was 14 when he suffered a compression fracture to his spinal cord in a diving accident. The injury made him a quadriplegic, meaning he has little to no use of his arms or legs.

He said Monday that he's always handled the situation well, because it could have been much worse.

"I just thought about how lucky I was, because I was in a pool and I almost drowned," he said. "I could have had brain damage from lack of oxygen, or I could have died if my sister and her friend weren't there to pull me out."

Even though he did not suffer any brain damage, some people assume a mental disability is the reason why he uses a wheelchair.

"Some people assume that every disability is the same disability," he said.

Schwartz, 21, a freshman theatre performance major, has had to deal with the same issue.

Schwartz was born with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect that does not allow the spine to form completely, cutting off some circulation, feeling and motor skills.

It did not cut off any of her intellectual abilities, though.

She said that while waiting to board a plane at the airport one time, she was approached by a man who pinched her cheek and asked her how she was doing.

"I just looked at him and said," I'm great sir, how are you?"

She said the man was embarrassed after realizing that she did not have a mental disability.

Romano, a senior communications student, has also dealt with the stereotype.

"There's a lot of misconception about physical disability," Romano said. "A lot of people think because you're physically disabled, you're mentally disabled, which is not the case."

He requires the aid of a wheelchair because he is a quad-amputee. After contracting a rare form of bacterial meningitis at the age of 1, doctors amputated his arms a little past the shoulders and legs slightly below the hips.

Having to use a wheelchair has not stopped Romano, Schwartz and McFatridge from living life, enjoying college and making friends. The services provided by the office of Student Disability Services (SDS) makes campus more accessible for them, as well as provides any accommodations they may need.

Romano said that he sings in a band with his brother and some friends, and would also like to do some motivational speaking and write a book about his experiences, but not just those relating to his disability.

As for making friends, "People that are more accepting of my condition are kind of drawn to me as I am to them. People who are not comfortable with me seem to stay away," he said. "As far as that goes, I've always had a small circle of close friends. It's really good because I know that small group of friends really well. They know me so well that they’re able to tell their friends how I am and it usually goes pretty much unhinged."

Schwartz said she has a great group of friends, too. She also LARPs, short for live action role-play, and is involved with Revolutions, a dance company which incorporates able-bodied and disabled persons into routines.

"I've only been doing it for a year and a half, and it’s not my special area," she said. "I'm not comfortable with it yet because people are looking at your movements, not listening to my voice or my face as I perform a theatrical piece."

Still, feeling uncomfortable has not stopped Schwartz from dancing with Revolutions. Recently, USF dance advisor and instructor Merry Lynn Morris came up with the idea to create a dancing wheelchair and saw to its inception by teaming up with engineers at USF. The dancing wheelchair moves accordingly with the movements the person sitting in the chair makes.

Because Schwartz has full use of her upper body, she is a good candidate to use the dancing wheelchair.

"I can't wait to try it," she said.

As for McFatridge, a huge smile takes over his face at the mention of the words "power soccer."

Before his accident, McFatridge said he was a swimmer and soccer player. While in rehabilitation after the accident, Karen Russo, the executive vice president of power soccer, found out that McFatridge had a power wheelchair and requested that he come out and watch a game.

"It took me a while because I just couldn't picture it, and when I was in rehab a lot of the sports that I was exposed to I couldn't do because I didn't have the same abilities, like upper body and being able to walk and stuff like that," he said. "I just couldn't picture it, but then when I went there I fell in love immediately, and I haven’t stopped since."

McFatridge started playing power soccer when he was 16 in his hometown of Indiana. He will soon have been playing for eight years, about four of those years with the Tampa Bay Crossfire.

He said that power soccer is similar to soccer, but adapted for wheelchairs.

"We put a metal guard on the front of the chair, and we play with an oversized soccer ball that's sort of like the size of a beach ball," he said. "We can't play outdoors because wheelchairs aren't very good in off-road terrain, but we play on a basketball court, rather than 11, we play with four, and in order to move the ball around, we spin our wheelchairs and kick the ball that way."

McFatridge's Facebook profile boasts a friends list of 906 and he said that he tries to put people at ease by approaching them and letting them know that everything is OK. He encourages other students to be as respectful and helpful to students with disabilities.

"Be aware and go that extra mile because you don't know how that could help someone's day," he said. "That could be the thing that brightens their day, prevents them from not getting to class on time, or having an accident, or not being able to get lunch."

    



To read more about the USF Student Disability Services in an article written by Taghrid Alrajoula, click here.