ADA Compliance and Why You Should Care

Ashley Youngdale
Dec 31, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Jan 2

ADA Compliance Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

I’m constantly amazed by the lack of accommodations for disabled people everywhere I go. I think about my own lack of awareness before I had Declan, and I get how people who’ve never needed to think about accessibility don’t understand the problem.

Something that took me a long time to understand is that ADA compliance is basically the bare minimum.

A building can be technically “compliant,” but the ramp or accessible entrance can be all the way around the back of the building, no matter how large it is.

All right, so we ask disabled people with mobility challenges to go out of their way, in the cold or the rain, to enter. Super.

When “Accessible” Isn’t Actually Accessible

We were walking around D.C., and leading up to the Capitol building was a ramp so people could get up the first three steps to a landing. But then there were more steps, and another landing. Then more steps, another landing. And on and on.

No more ramp.

On paper, someone could probably point to the existence of a ramp and check a box. In reality, it wasn’t truly accessible.

Bathrooms and Growing Kids

Toilets are another big one.

In the last few years of Declan’s life, I worried constantly about what we would do when he went through puberty and was bigger than me, but still needed help and couldn’t go to the bathroom alone.

What would we do in public if there wasn’t a family bathroom?

Would I need to stick my head in and holler that I’d be bringing a disabled teenaged boy into the women’s bathroom?

That’s not just awkward. It’s unsafe and undignified for everyone.

Sidewalks That Force You Into the Street

Sidewalks surprise me too.

When we went to L.A. with Declan and Nash in June, pushing his wheelchair on the sidewalks wasn’t even an option. They were in such bad shape that we had to push him in the busy street.

The most shocking thing about this is that it’s not that shocking. If anything, it’s what we had come to expect.

Why You Should Care

So…why should you care about all of this?

I think it depends on what kind of world you want to live in. How inclusive do you want that world to be?

And then consider this: it could be your parent, your child, your grandchild, your partner, or you who needs these accommodations one day.

Disabled people aren’t just people who “did it to themselves.” They aren’t only the old, the sickly, or the unwanted. Disability can happen suddenly to anyone.

What if your spouse gets bladder cancer and has to have a catheter in place for a while? They can’t manage the bag on their own and need help. You’re out in public and there is no family bathroom.This happened to someone we know.
What if your friend is hit by a drunk driver and loses a leg? They have a prosthetic, but it hurts, their skin breaks down, and they can’t use it for a while. They need their wheelchair—and they have to wheel around the block in 20-degree weather to enter through the back door.

What if your mother, your child, your loved one needed these accommodations?

What if you did?

Or what if you just want the world to be accessible to people like Declan? We can do better.

“But It’s Expensive…”

I know the pushback: money. And money matters. Someone has to pay for things.

But we shouldn’t let “perfect” get in the way of “better.”

Maybe a fully equipped family bathroom isn’t possible in every building because of space or funding. But could there be a private room available in the back for diaper changes, catheter care, or other intimate needs?
Why not add a ramp at the front of the building instead of only in the back?
And here’s an easy one: don’t park in handicapped spots if you don’t have a placard and don’t need them. Don’t “borrow” someone else’s.

Small decisions add up.

Holding Myself Accountable

I’m part of a group that signed a development agreement with Sky Zone trampoline parks. We’re opening our first three in 2026.

Here’s the honest truth:

One of the three locations doesn’t have room for a family bathroom.
At another, I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t think to ask for it initially. But we are fixing the problem and getting it added now before the city issues our permit and it becomes even harder to incorporate.
At the third location, I realized early on that a family bathroom and a nursing room were missing from the floor plan. We do have the space there, and we aren’t locked into construction plans yet—so we’re adding both. And we’ll make a point to include them wherever we’re able to in the future.

I’m still learning. I’m still catching things late. But once you see these gaps, you can’t unsee them—and you start making different choices.