Is carrying a person with a disability an acceptable method of achieving program accessibility?
Generally, it is not. Carrying an individual with a disability is considered an ineffective and therefore an unacceptable method for achieving program accessibility. Carrying will be permitted only in manifestly exceptional cases, and only if all personnel who are permitted to participate in carrying are formally instructed on the safest and least humiliating means of carrying. “Manifestly exceptional” cases in which carrying would be permitted might include, for example, programs conducted in unique facilities, such as an oceanographic vessel, for which structural changes and devices necessary to adapt the facility for use by individuals with mobility impairments are unavailable or prohibitively expensive. Carrying is not permitted as an alternative to structural modifications such as installation of a ramp or chairlift. C.F.R. ยง 35.150(b)(1), analysis supplement.