Thanks for writing about you and your daughter's experience.

I'm going to take a moment to write to our government and LAX admin, as I am concerned about both the TSA disorganization and no accessable restrooms for caregivers and missing buses/elevator access at LAX.

While it certainly could just be a confluence of bad timing, I wonder about lack of consideration instead. I think that this is exactly what ADA was meant to be about.

(I'm neither disabled or travel from LAX, but we are meant to about freedom for everyone).

+1

It is important for the currently able-bodied among us to remember that any one of us (or a member of our families) could go from able-bodied to disabled in the blink of an eye, meaning these kind of airport/TSA experiences could suddenly become the norm for us or our family members.

Thank you to everyone for all of your support. I raised the point originally in response to the more recent episode of the young girl going to Disneyland. It was more of an observation of an example of disorganization and misguided hypervigilance , rather than an example of malice. It was merely meant as an anectdote describing some of the concerns we have experienced.

As a guest in your country I would not take it upon myself to complain and TBH the US has done lots for accessibility ( although there is always more to be done). Much of our travel with my daughter was to the US as accessibilty was always good there compared to many other places.

The availibility, or lack thereof. of unisex washrooms is a whole other issue and one which causes division even among disability advocates. Unisex accessible washrooms are the norm in the UK but unfortunately the exception in N. America, partly due to advocacy ( here in Canada at least) from some disabled groups to avoid a perception of 'It" washrooms. ( i.e.Men's rooms, women's rooms and "It" Rooms). As recently as 2-3 years ago the Canadian Paraplegia Association was vocal in its opposition to unisex washrooms.That is slowly changing but still has a long way to go. From the washroom perspective I have always argued that we need both physical accessibility as well as social accessibility, as many many disabled people have opposite sex caregivers, whereas most "handicapped" washrooms are primarily designed for paraplegics.

Bizarre! I'm not aware of a similar prejudice in the States. Accessibility guides tend to give higher ratings to places that have family/unisex restrooms, and extra double bonus gold stars if the family restroom includes a platform/changing table that an adult can lie on.

According to LAX's website, "Restrooms equipped for the disabled (unisex) are available at Terminal 2 on the Upper/Departure Level", which for an airport the size of LAX is clearly nowhere near enough (because, you know, disabled people don't fly out of any of the other terminals - what?).

I think it is less now than it was but was one of the reasons why the Building Code for Canada required accessible stalls in the men's and women's bathrooms but did not require the provision of unisex facilities. Many businesses baulked at putting in a third set of washrooms, due to the additional expense. Larger institutions and buildings like Malls and airports have been slowly getting on board. The CPA had a lot of articulate and educated members, many of whom had become disabled later in their lives and who may have had a different perspective as a consequence. They were also more likely to be both educated and articulate, so were the natural group that governments sought advice from when developing guidelines.

I think that over time some of their leadership became more aware of cross disability issues , so I hear that they have become less strident in their opposition and I believe their official position is to support unisex washrooms in addition to accessible single sex rooms.

Rather surprisingly one of the more effective drivers for unisex washrooms is related to accessibility for the trangendered but if it helps improve the situation who cares.

One of the things that makes travel easier for me (I have CP, btw) is a unisex/family bathroom. When my husband and I travel, we don't bring my cumbersome, heavy motorized wheelchair. We bring my light, extremely portable, non-motorized wheelchair. It can only be pushed, though (that is one of the things that makes it so light). As a result, when I go to the bathroom, my husband needs to be able to go with me. This is where the unisex/family bathrooms are ideal.

I am so sorry your daughter went through that experience.