Changing tables are often associated with infants or young children, but there is another population in need of the accessible devices: teenagers and adults with disabilities.
In most cases, caregivers are forced to change them on the floors of cars or bathrooms. Sometimes, there is no choice but to change them in public, in full view of others with no privacy.
Joshua Taylor has made it his life’s mission to make adult changing tables mainstream in Michigan.
Due to a genetic condition that affects his connective tissues, Taylor has experienced a decline in mobility and began experiencing incontinence.
“I realized that this wasn’t a convenience,” said Taylor. “This was a need. And not just for me but for tens of thousands of people just in our communities and millions of people across the country.”
He, too, has been faced with the challenge of figuring out a place to change when a changing table wasn’t available.
“I have had to use the back seat of my sedan to change,” he said. “I have had to lay on a dirty bathroom floor and put as much padding or blankets down as possible, or even just not go out.
“Even if I am able to go out, it might mean sitting in a soiled garment for hours because of the lack of accessible restrooms available.”
He said people typically stay home rather than risk going outside and feeling stuck when a restroom isn’t an option.
“Think about how much more people can get out of life having this available,” he said.
There are several models of adult changing tables available. One at Dodge Park in Commerce Township has a lift that can bear 1,000 lbs.
Taylor is working with various local and state officials to install the changing tables across Michigan. He’s also the Michigan chair of the national organization Changing Spaces USA.
“Through the advocacy of myself, through the advocacy of countless others, we’re hoping to get as many places as possible to have adult changing tables available,” he said.
A list of Changing Spaces USA’s interactive map of adult changing table locations can be found here.
