Fight for Disabled--He Makes It His Business

There are parties that Ed Tessier doesn’t go to, plays he can’t see, guest lectures he won’t hear.

It’s because the events aren’t accessible to wheelchairs.

Some people might just accept that and move on. But not the 21-year-old Tessier, who was left a quadriplegic by an accident at age 16.

He decided to do something about it--and make some money in the bargain.

Three days a week, the Pomona College student leaves campus for an office in Pomona, the home of Designs for Independence, a nonprofit corporation he founded 1 1/2 years ago. There, he doles out information and advice to businesses, private homeowners and schools on how to make buildings more accessible to the handicapped.

“There’s a real gap between knowing the code and how best to apply it,” Tessier said, sitting behind a desk stacked with state and federal building code requirements. “I quickly learned I had a point of view the building industry wasn’t familiar with. I could learn their lingo and translate my practical expertise into practical suggestions.”

Tessier said he has learned that “the biggest thing that can sell the business community to wheelchair access is that access means good business. There are 43 million Americans with disabilities, the largest portion of whom live in California. The ones wanting to get ahead in this game are the ones that are going to get the business.”

After enrolling in college in 1986, Tessier was struck by how many places were closed to wheelchair users: bookstores, government offices, fraternity parties, dormitories. He soon became an active member of several disabled-rights groups. Now, he chairs the Committee on Disability in Claremont, which has awarded him a grant to study accessibility issues in the city.

His involvement in the community, coupled with the founding of Designs for Independence, led to his being awarded Time magazine’s College Achievement Award in April. It is given each year to 20 juniors in North America.

Sometimes, Tessier said, clients will shun his advice and go with a cheaper, less reliable plan--for example, wheelchair lifts instead of elevators--or no access plan at all. Although ignoring access codes might be grounds for a suit, Tessier said, he refrains from threatening the company because he is playing the role of professional consultant, not of activist.

“When a firm decides not to do the legal minimum there’s a real conflict of interest,” he said. “I feel ethically I can’t use the knowledge against them at that time. But if that lack of access becomes an issue later on, if there’s an accident for example, I’ll be the first to offer my information.”