Students and staff at DeKalb County High School got just a taste of what people with disabilities face on a daily basis as several took part in the Team ALeX “Spend a Day in My Wheels” challenge.

A 10th grader at Friendship Christian School in Lebanon, 16-year-old Alex Johnson, came up with the challenge. Johnson is a wheelchair user and the son of Smithville native and DCHS alumni Nathan Johnson. He is also the grandson of Mike and Jeana Johnson.

Participants are challenged to spend a work or school day doing their daily activities in a wheelchair in hopes of raising accessibility awareness for people that confined to wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The Permobil Foundation supplied the wheelchairs for all wheelchair challenges. Through a partnership with the Permobil Foundation, Alex hopes to change the world one challenge at a time.

Among those taking on the challenge were DCHS Assistant Principal Thomas Cagle and DCHS Senior Brayden Tubbs. They were among nine students, three teachers, one administrator, and Director of Schools Patrick Cripps, who took part in the event.

“We are trying to do as many challenges as we can in the wheelchairs all day. From going to all our classes, the restroom, going to the cafeteria, whatever it is, we had a pre-checked box of things to try to accomplish today in the wheelchairs, and the goal was to stay in the wheelchairs all day and to try to do as many things as possible,” Cagle explained.

“There are some things we struggled with, but that is part of the point to understand the impact wheelchairs can have on individuals that need them and for us to gain some empathy for those people and try to understand what life is like for them and how it is different,” Cagle concluded.

When asked what some of the most difficult challenges he faced during the event, Brayden Tubbs said that just opening the door was a struggle. “It’s hard to multitask. It was different. You feel like you are on a different level than other people. It’s like people have to look down at you. It’s just a weird feeling, but it was a learning experience.”

“It was hard,” Tubbs said. “My arms are killing me right now. I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow.”

The challenge hopes to highlight the struggles those with disabilities face each and every day, from handicap parking, to opening doors, to just using the public restroom.