Accessibility Guide
Introduction
We all know that accessibility is important. It is providing access to people who have a variety of access needs that is different from the traditional approach to experiences and activities that we do in the community. While most people can agree that access is crucial to the well-being and diversity of communities, knowing how to implement accessibility to all the processes can be overwhelming.
I have been on both sides of the conversation. I am a person with disabilities who have been trying to access the activities in my community. Some did work out to varying degrees but many were inaccessible for me. I have also been the person working for organizations to make programs and events happen, usually with limited resources. From my personal experience, the frustration of the inaccessibility is not from things that are out of someone’s control but from the decisions (or lack of decisions) in an organization’s process that is directly and indirectly creating and upholding barriers.
Some of the inaccessibility can be from lack of access awareness and knowledge surrounding the lived experience of persons with disabilities. Others can be the lack of intentional decision-making due to the perspective that including accessibility means increasing costs, resources, and time to put accessibility into action. It does not have to be time-consuming or expensive, it just needs to be prioritized to be inclusive and accessible for all. That is what this guide is created for, to provide awareness of what decisions have to be made at different stages of the process to make the experience better for everyone.
So, What Can You Expect From This Guide?
The goal of this guide is to shift your mindset and increase your understanding of what it takes to create an accessible and inclusive experience. There is a gap between what society believes the level of accessibility we have and the experiences of persons with disabilities who are advocating for better accessibility. What you can expect from this guide are
What Do You Need to Bring to This Guide?
If you want to improve your process of creating an accessible and inclusive experience, there are a few points to consider that will help you throughout this guide. You will need to
I know some of the points of what is needed from you is quite broad and higher level thinking. However, this guide will have actionable steps and take you through the thought process of planning and hosting activities in an accessible and inclusive way.
Important Notes About the Guide
This is not a full accessibility guide of every single barrier and gap that exists within our society. There are many considerations of accessibility with some steps being highly technical for specific industries. This guide has a specific focus of broadening your understanding of what is needed in order to provide an accessible and disability inclusive experience. The goal is to shift attitudes and behaviours on accessibility in events and programming so that persons with disabilities can participate in community events without the unnecessary steps and pressures that are still present today. In this guide, the word “activity” is used to collectively discuss events and programming provided to the community.
This is meant to be adapted to your work and resources. If you see room for improvement, great! If you are not ready yet, consider it as feedback to implement into planning for the next activity. Putting this feedback into action is dependent on the activity that you are doing. Accommodations, which is a common practice for accessibility, can work quite well, if you plan ahead, are aware of the limitations that you may face, and communicate with the person who requires accommodations. But, it does not work for every situation and there are many opportunities to make accessibility the standard.
Table of Contents
Things to Consider
Before getting into the details of planning and hosting an activity that is accessible and inclusive, there are a few considerations that need to be highlighted. This section is to bridge the gap of what information is casually explained about accessibility and disability inclusion and connecting with the experiences of barriers to show why there are still issues with planning and hosting an activity.
Accessibility Mindset
Reflection
Let’s start with where you may be with accessibility. Think about your answers to these questions below.
1. What does accessibility look like to you?
2. What accessibility adjustment/considerations/processes have you implemented in your activity?
3. Do you have feedback from persons with disabilities that inform the successes or failures that need to be improved on?
These three (3) questions can reveal how much of your work considers access needs and/or the inclusion of persons with disabilities. If you have trouble answering the last two (2) questions, then accessibility may not be part of your process. The first question, “What does accessibility look like to you?” is to explore your current thoughts about accessibility.
The simple answer about accessibility is to include persons with disabilities in activities that exist in our communities. To include persons with disabilities, adjustments in built environments such as physical and online spaces, how to communicate and give out information, and being flexible and adaptable to accommodate different access needs are crucial to ensuring that persons with disabilities can participate in your activities. From a planning, logistical, and implementation point of view, it is not always as simple as the idea of what we want accessibility to look like.
Most accessibility conversations are narrowly focused on accommodations' perspective of providing access. While an important part of accessibility, it has a trend of placing the responsibility on persons with disabilities instead of the people who make the decisions about the activity. The mindset of accessibility has to shift to placing the responsibility on organizations and individuals who are designing activities that can be creating and upholding barriers. Instead of solely relying on requests for accommodations (which is not always clear or easy to find), there are many steps that can already be completed to make the activity more accessible.
Persons with disabilities are just looking to participate just like everyone else in the community. The way the activity is communicated and designed will impact whether or not members of the disability community can and will join your activity. It is up to the people who organize these activities to be transparent and clear on what accessibility considerations have already been made and ensure enough time for people to request accommodations if they are not being considered. No one is surprised that there are barriers and gaps to consider, it is the organizers' approach to removing or lessening the impact of the barriers that exist so that persons with disabilities can participate if they chose to.
You are looking for the barriers and finding the solutions to improve persons with disabilities’ experience in an inaccessible world. Do not assume that persons with disabilities will tell you that there is a barrier that you need to resolve. It is not unusual for persons with disabilities to not come forward on informing the inaccessibility of the activity for a variety of reasons. It can span from not knowing that they can inform you to being exhausted about the inaccessibility to not having a place or contact information to inform someone about the inaccessibility. Recognizing that many of the barriers are based on decisions made during the activity's planning and implementation stages is a good first step.
Universal Design and Accommodations
While it is not a new concept, it is sometimes only implemented to a certain degree. For example, in public spaces, flashing and audio fire alarm systems are becoming the standard. However, the definition of a public space varies in the building code leaving some spaces that do not have these systems because it blurred the line of public and private sphere. An excellent example would be seeing these systems in hallways but not in rooms which can be a huge safety concern for someone who cannot hear the fire alarm.
Universal Design can be great if implemented correctly and thoroughly for better accessibility. However, it does not mean that we forget about individual needs. Universal design does not fully consider someone’s access needs that can be unique due to disability and the many intersectionalities that can exist. It can be different due to personal assistive devices and technologies, the spectrum of disabilities (including the intersectionality of multiple disabilities), someone’s support system, and the resources available to the person from government and nonprofit organizations. So while creating experiences that consider different needs in mind is crucial to an accessible and inclusive experience, it is critical to keep in mind the uniqueness of individuals and their access needs.
Accessibility Methods
If you search how to be accessible and inclusive, you will find many resources and methods to make the process easier. This guide is one of the many resources that can help you out. It is important to consider the goals of different methods that aim to make your activity accessible to persons with disabilities.
The most common resource is an accessibility checklist. Some checklists are basic and some are quite extensive. These checklists are also more general to apply to all organizations without fully being aware of the resources, capacity, and current status of accessibility within the organization. It is a great resource for you to see where you are at and where you need improvement. It is also a base for you to build on.
These checklists do not always consider the work behind the scenes to make it happen since it is just a checkbox of yes or no. It is a great reminder tool and maintaining accountability throughout the organization by setting the standard of what to expect for those activities. It is crucial to build on them based on the organizations’ needs, resources, tools, and capacity. Adjustments will likely need to be made to fit the activity.
The work that is happening behind the scenes is what this guide is created to help with. To translate general steps of creating and facilitating an activity to proper and extensive processes that can make your workflow easier from an accessibility point of view. To go from “we made sure these basic steps are covered” to “we made sure that everyone who comes to our activity is able to participate regardless of ability and we will problem-solve if issues arise.”
Summary
The section “Things to Consider” provides insight on the mindset around accessibility, the difference between universal design and accommodations, and accessibility methods that are typically used to help organization’s processes for greater access to activities in the community. Awareness around the connection of accessibility and decision-making that can impact whether or not persons with disabilities will find barriers in your activity. The goal of this section was to open your mind to the thinking that currently exists and provide a path to being more accessible and inclusive in the decision-making.
Planning and Hosting
An Accessible Activity
When planning and hosting an accessible and inclusive activity, it is best to start at the beginning of the process where you can design the activity with accessibility in mind. This guide is best utilized to help you from start to finish of an activity. It can also be used if you are at a certain part of the process to start including considerations of accessibility and help with the problem-solving due to not designing from the beginning. The goal is not to be perfect but to improve each and every time you plan and host an activity with accessibility and inclusivity in mind. In this section, you will learn the overall steps of the process of doing an activity from start to finish.
Planning An Activity
When aiming for accessibility and inclusion, planning is the crucial step of the process that can determine these three concepts below.
Making the activity as accessible as possible with the resources and capacity you have
Incorporating flexibility in the design to meet different needs and situations
Possible tools and services that may be requested to facilitate access and participation
These concepts need to be considered in the brainstorming and designing the process to make the experience as inclusive as possible. Considering the accessibility of the activity while designing means that you can brainstorm all the barriers that at least one (1) person could experience in your activity. This can include (but not limited to)
Physical (and online) spaces
From getting into the space to participating within the space, it is crucial to consider how the infrastructure may limit someone to get to the activity. This can include ability to participate, and meeting basic needs like bathrooms and foods. The physical and online space can be both from the infrastructure itself but also the decisions made by people involved in the activity that can be creating barriers.
You find out through an audit that the building is accessible for mobility concerns. However, the oversight on the day of the activity is the ability to move around tables, chairs, and equipment. It is limited, especially with assistive devices like wheelchairs and walkers. There was awareness for the building but not for the set up for the activity. Now you will have to adapt on the spot to remove the barriers that could have been sorted out ahead of time through planning.
Communications
Communications also takes into consideration the different ways someone provides and receives information. Make sure that if information is being provided in one method, ensure that there is an equivalent tool or service to obtain the same information in a different way.
Cognitive
While communication is a part of this, the connection to how people can process information differently may not be considered. From attention to memory to perception, the approach of providing different methods for communicating information and giving the space and time to understand is essential for participation.
You are doing an activity that facilitates participation. Some people need background information ahead of time to be able to participate. Some people need more time to understand as it takes longer to process the information. Creating solutions and opportunities to provide an accessible and inclusive activity is crucial for success.
Attitudes
Attitudes can be the reason for not willing to participate anymore. Maybe, not even to enter into a space. Critically analyzing why these inaccessible structures exist and how we react to them can provide some insight on the barriers that we may be creating.
Reflection
Wondering why persons with disabilities may not be in your space or participating? Some may be structural but many are decisions based on attitudes towards persons with disabilities. Consider it as part of your evaluation if you would like to be more inclusive to persons with disabilities.
Barriers exist everywhere. Do not assume that we live in an accessible society. Disability spaces work tirelessly to create accessible and inclusive activities because they know how it feels to have to navigate those barriers. It may be more time in the planning process but it will provide freedom and clarity when you get closer to hosting the activity.
The planning process consists of what is planned on being purchased, created or utilized to facilitate the activity. It will also include embedding considerations into the timeline to ensure that you and persons with disabilities have enough time to learn, reach out, and participate.
Advice
Whatever you learned, note it down. If you learned that purchasing a particular content is inaccessible and has not been improved on, consider that in your evaluation to discontinue and to look for more inclusive content. If the venue is inaccessible or not as easy to be flexible, consider searching for a new one. If you keep the inaccessible content or venues, persons with disabilities are not going to take the time to be in a space that is not inclusive.
Take Action | For Planning
When you are planning for your activity, you are thinking about the resources, capacity, and goals of your activity. In terms of accessibility considerations, this is where the bulk of your research is being done to figure out what needs to be considered and if it aligns with your resources and capacity (or whether you need to find ways to make it happen). This is where
Logistics
Logistics are closely tied to planning with the key difference being you making decisions on how an activity can be done. You should be noting when decisions should be made, why, and how specific decisions can reduce or create barriers. The planning process should provide you with the information needed to determine logistical decisions. Here are some of the key areas in the process for the activity.
Knowing when you need to start booking services that exist to improve access is crucial. If you know that you have to book something two (2) weeks before the activity, then you will have to make the decision and/or make sure there is enough time for people to request the services as accommodations. Map all of this out in planning so you can make the decisions in a timely manner. Timelines can also include knowing where to add buffers and obtain feedback to ensure that the activity is as accessible and inclusive as possible.
For example, most sign language interpretation services will say that they will need at least 2 weeks notice to best book the interpreters. However, that does not mean that you will be able to book interpreters. You will need to consider the availability of interpreters for the time of the year. If the activity is being planned during a busy time with high demand, providing an earlier deadline will help the process.
Imagine having your participant find a barrier to your activity and content. Not a great feeling. If you have the time to test the content and activity, use a checklist to determine if the content and activity will work with everyone. If there are barriers, take the initiative to make adjustments.
For example, you know Zoom can be a good platform for an online activity. However, you want to use the polling feature for better engagement and feedback, can everyone use the polling? Can screen readers guide a person to use the polling feature? Are there other options you can provide that could expand the participation opportunities.
Do you have a resource for accessibility best practices? For presenting? For coordinating? For evaluation? Having the resources on hand can help you and your team to create the best possible experience consistently. It can ensure that every aspect of the activity is aligned with the decisions and planning that you did for an accessible and inclusive activity. Providing resources to the team of people that make the activity happen ensures that they have the knowledge and tools to problem-solve a situation when needed. It is especially helpful if you have an addition to the team at the last minute to help with the event. Then you can provide the information to ensure that the standard you set can be met.
This is the most underrated process of logistics. You need to communicate to people to request accessibility accommodations so that they have the confidence in you to meaningfully participate in the activity. You also need to communicate to everyone involved in the activity to take those key steps as well. Informing others by providing resources or guidance can make a significant difference.
For example, you booked ASL interpreters and captioning services to make your activity more accessible. But, you did not communicate that you already have it booked. If someone who needs those services found your activity less than two weeks before the activity, they may not even attempt to register and come to know how difficult it can be to obtain those services. If only you communicated that information with the activity promotion.
Having different options to contribute to the activity is critical for accessibility. Knowing that not everyone is going to respond the same way to the same approach means that you have to design with options and alternatives in mind.
For example, a buffet is not accessible to everyone. From dietary concerns to the ability to serve themselves the food, there are many issues that can arise. Provide options such as serving a different meal for dietary concerns, have staff or volunteer person make the meal for the individual by assisting or getting their order to bring to table.
Logistics are your decision-making process. Planning becomes more crucial when the ease of your logistics stem from the work you did attempting to reduce the barriers and improve access. Taking from the research, feedback, and suggestions from the community on how to be more accessible and inclusive to aligning with the goals and process of the activity, logistics is critical to ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
Take Action | Logistics
It is time to take what you learned from planning and determine what decisions need to be made at different points of the activity. This section is usually done throughout the whole activity but can be easier if the planning process develops enough information to make intentional decisions and problem solve with adequate knowledge in mind. Consider the questions below to determine whether you took action with accessibility in mind.
What if you did not do the planning with accessibility in mind?
Registration
When attempting to include persons with disabilities into knowing about your activity, you will need to know which methods are more accessible based on needs and preferences. This happens in two (2) main areas, communications and accessibility.
Communications
How you communicate, where you communicate, and how information can be submitted and received can either encourage someone to register or drive them away. It can be from navigation, to obtaining and understanding information, and/or inability to request accommodations. If a person cannot go through the process to register (or even learn about it), how can you expect them to be interested in your activity? This is crucial to sending a message to the community that your activity is accessible and inclusive to everyone by how you communicate the information and how much information you communicate in the registration and promotion process.
Accessibility
If you made decisions that are easy to promote (like having ASL Interpreters and CART), promote them! It is difficult to go through the process of requesting accommodations and hoping it will be fulfilled. You can also do this with a section on accessibility information as part of the registration process. Start making it easy for persons with disabilities to participate.
If you take the accommodations requests approach, make sure you answer the questions below
1. How do you want requests to come in?
2. Is it in a way that you are going to look at them and consider the requests?
3. Do you have capacity to confirm and discuss accessibility needs?
If you cannot do the three questions above, then it is a significant accessibility issue and the accommodation process will be useless. Without looking and confirming accessibility needs, it will feel like performative accessibility more than creating an accessible and inclusive experience.
Taking these two (2) areas into consideration in registration ensures that you are attempting to reach persons with disabilities about your activity and actively acknowledge that we live in an inaccessible society that puts significant stress on persons with disabilities. Try reducing the pressure and anxiety that requesting and obtaining accommodations can be.
Take Action | Registration
This is usually the first place that people find information about your activity. It will likely determine someone’s decision to participate in your activity or not. So, when doing registration, have you;
Any information you can provide that can give insight to the decisions and research that was done to ensure accessibility of the activity is helpful for persons with disabilities. It shows that you took the responsibility to provide an accessible and inclusive event and allow people to just consider individual access needs.
What if you did not do the planning with accessibility in mind?
Registration and promotion is one of the hardest sections to adapt to at the last minute. Since there is so much preparation and moving parts with registration and promotions, it may not be simple to change. It is important to consider that if it was not taken into consideration before promoting to your audience, persons with disabilities may have already been frustrated with your process and lost interest. The best you can do is make as many of the key changes as possible within your capacity and timeline. This can include
Activity
Before the Activity
Before the activity, there are tasks that can be done to make the activity be as accessible as possible. These actions are to provide understanding and expectations to everyone involved ahead of the activity to make a more inclusive experience.
Have a best practices document that lists the expectations and reminders of what to do during the event so that everyone is prepared. This includes presenters, facilitators, tech support, panelists, staff, and volunteers. This is not necessarily a big list either. It can include
People who requested their accessibility needs should have confirmation that their request is fulfilled, an agreement, or an alternative through communicating with the person request an accommodation
If you have any content that can be given ahead of time, share it! It will help with ease of understanding, especially if relying on artificial intelligence (AI) tools. If you do not provide ahead of time, account for the extra time needed to process the information.
During the Activity
Even with the best planning and preparation, problems can still arise. Make sure someone is available to assist and troubleshoot. If someone has requested a specific need, give them a contact person that is available during the activity so that any issues can be quickly resolved. It is key to make it clear if it is not the same person that has been in contact before the activity so that the issues are not being reported to people that have no availability, knowledge, or capacity during the activity.
Every activity has a “housekeeping” section in the beginning to inform their participants of any information that can be helpful. Include accessibility considerations on the list. This can include recognition of the services available, how to access them, specific practices to help the activity (similar information in best practices), and instructions on how you can participate in the activity.
It would be recommended to provide this in both verbal and visual representation when explaining key information, especially if the tools available are AI forward. While AI tools are considered free and low-cost options, they are not always reliable with correct information and can create miscommunication.
After Activity
The activity is done! Now it is evaluation time. Most activities have a debrief session to discuss what went well and what can be improved on. Include the accessibility of your activity as part of your evaluation process. This can be evaluated by the feedback provided through surveys and interactions. It is crucial to note that not everyone is going to be comfortable giving feedback, especially constructive feedback because of fear or discomfort.
What also should be considered is whether persons with disabilities even participated in your activity. If they did not, maybe there are barriers that you are setting up that you did not recognize. Did you provide the space to request? Did you follow up about the request so it can be confirmed? It is also important to be aware that not all disabilities are visible and not everyone is willing to disclose their disability. This is more crucial to consider that there are people that could be in attendance that you are not aware of that have disabilities and may have no issues with the activity or have issues with the accessibility of the activity and not feel comfortable to report.
It is critical that you provide different options to obtain feedback. This can be different options such as written and verbal feedback or it can be you reaching out about your process from the community to see if there is room for improvements.
Virtual Activity
As the COVID-19 pandemic shifted our approach to activities to virtual, there is still a gap of what is considered accessible in a virtual setting. While it increases accessibility in some ways, it also creates more barriers for persons with certain disabilities to participate.
One of the key considerations are virtual platforms. Each virtual platform has their pros and cons. To make evaluation more difficult, the platforms are constantly updating to potentially improve the user’s experience.
The three (3) most common platforms, Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams which have similar features. The effectiveness, usability, and flexibility of the platforms is where the differences are. While research will help you, it is strongly recommended to test them with the activity you have with the potential tools and services you are using. The gaps will appear more if you are able to spot them than anticipate them. It is better to have a plan set up than to troubleshoot in the middle of the activity.
With the rise of hybrid as an option due to restrictions being lifted, it is important to still have flexibility when having both in-person and virtual aspects. Hybrid can allow people to choose what is best for them, especially if accessibility and safety is a concern. Make sure that information can still be understood and that people can still participate even if they are not physically in the room.
Below are a few tools and devices that need to be considered when evaluating platforms.
Take Action | Activity
This section “Activity” is more of an awareness section. If you read this guide from beginning to end, information can help inform your planning and logistics process. In terms of taking action, the hope is that your planning gives you the knowledge and confidence needed to host this accessible and inclusive activity and to problem-solve if any issues arise.
What if you did not do the planning with accessibility in mind?
At this point, the activity is happening. The best you can do is be as flexible and adaptable as possible during the activity. This is the best time to realize how important the planning and logistics process can be, putting emphasis on the evaluation process to improve your activity to be more accessible and inclusive next time.
Summary
The section “Planning and Hosting an Accessible Activity” goes through the steps from start to finish where accessibility can be taken into consideration. The steps are planning, logistics, registration, and the activity. Planning is the first step and is the most important step when it comes to accessibility. Without adequate planning, adjustments that need to be made at different steps of the process become harder when the knowledge and tools are not available to make the best decisions for an accessible and inclusive activity. Suggestions and advice are provided throughout the section to help if planning did not occur but the biggest advice is to consider accessibility from the beginning of your activity which is the planning step.
Assistive Technology
and Services
Many persons with disabilities have their own devices and tools to help with their day to day lives. It is a significant part of them and is crucial for their accessibility and comfort. These devices and tools are often referred to as assistive devices and technologies.
It is important to understand that use of assistive devices and technologies is based on the individual needs and the accessibility of the resources for the assistive devices and technologies. While assistive devices and technologies may have universal design standards such as bluetooth capabilities, software compatibility, and sizing of devices as examples, it is meant to fit the individual’s lifestyle and needs.
Do not assume that if one person with a specific disability comes with a device that everyone with a similar disability has the same device and tool. There are many reasons why the choices are different. It can be a resource issue whether it is due to cost, how easy it can be to obtain, or lack of knowledge about such resources. It can also be an issue with aligning with the person’s lifestyle and comfort level such as culture, built environment, education and career choices, and the steps that may be required to maintain the assistive devices and technologies.
Therefore, knowledge about these amazing tools and resources can be helpful to know what additional considerations may need to be made to include people with disabilities into spaces that you are designing. It can also help with the problem-solving skills of knowing what options do exist and what to look for when someone mentions their assistive devices and technologies into the discussion of accessibility accommodations.
The most extensive resource I have found relating to assistive devices and technologies is the State of Minnesota’s Guide to Assistive Technology where they go through each group of assistive technologies from low technology to high technology solutions. While it may not consider how these devices and technologies would fit into your activity, it does provide examples that can provide more awareness on assistive devices, technologies, and adaptations that can be useful.
While assistive devices and technologies are more commonly discussed due to the ease of access and increased demand due to digital technologies, it is important to also remember the person-centered services that provide high-quality access for persons with disabilities. From sign language interpreters, to communications support, to care workers for daily living, it is critical to remember that while digital access over the years has provided more options, some may not be at the standard to ignore the quality of service that people can create and support.
Considering every single potential assistive device and technology in your activity is not always possible. However, having awareness of such devices and technologies can be helpful when someone’s access needs are connected to their assistive devices and technologies. It can allow the flexibility, adaptability, and creative problem-solving occurring in your activity to be accessible and inclusive to their individual access needs.
Summary
The section “Assistive Technology and Services” highlights the importance of assistive devices and technologies to persons with disabilities. While it is more individualized to the person, it can still appear in your activity to best accommodate their access needs into the activity. This section also provides insight on the different barriers and situations relating to assistive devices and technologies to give guidance on why it is important to not make assumptions or question someone’s decision to have their needs met with the devices and technologies that they have. It is also critical to not forget that while digital technologies have provide more options, it does not always meet the quality of person-centred services.
Updating Organizational Processes
Many of the key components of creating an accessible and inclusive experience is recognizing and fixing the gaps and barriers in your current process. This includes policies, procedures, and processes that are creating or upholding barriers and making changes to ensure that every interaction and experience can be accessible and inclusive. In many ways, crucial steps for accessibility that are missing needs to be included in the processes if the goal is to be accessible and inclusive.
In smaller, less complex organizational structures, the ability to change and update those policies, procedures, and processes may be a little easier compared to massive, complex organizational structures. The knowledge of what environment of policies, procedures, and processes you are working with can be critical to the success of achieving and maintaining the experience that is accessible and inclusive.
Reflection
How do you tackle structures that may be complex?
To help, here are a few questions that you can ask to explore the organizational processes that you may be working with.
It is important to know the responsibilities and roles within the organizational processes as decision-making can impact the ability to take action and reach the goal of an accessible and inclusive experience.
For some decisions in your activity, it can be simple to make the change to ensure the accessibility and inclusion of the activity but for other decisions, it may be up to someone else whose role and responsibilities best suits them.
In some ways, it can feel like it is out of your control when these decision-making processes are complex and confusing creating the barrier to accessibility and inclusion. If you end up in a situation where critical decisions for access and accommodations are impacted due to other policies, procedures, and processes, it is important to bring attention to people who may have the power to change the situation. Being equipped with knowledge about accessibility standards, barriers, potential solutions, and rights of persons with disabilities can help make your stance stronger.
Another aspect of the organizational process is reaching the goal where the expectations and standards of accessibility and inclusion are consistent throughout the entire organization. It can be difficult when getting started in implementing those processes and standards for a more accessible and inclusive experience since it is easier to start in one area and work your way across the organization. However, if you do not keep an open line of communication, frustration can be high if one aspect of the organization provides an accessible and inclusive experience while a different part of an organization is not at the same level of an accessible and inclusive experience. It can break the confidence and trust of ensuring that the person can access your activities.
Since organizational processes can be complex, an accessibility audit of the organization can be beneficial to be aware of where the barriers and missing steps are to be the roadmap for change. Not all barriers are created equal when applying policies, procedures, and processes to different areas of the organization when persons with disabilities interact with the organization. Sometimes, gaps cannot be easily closed due to interconnecting processes that are indirectly upholding a barrier.
An audit can tell you what is missing and what needs to be resolved. It is important to note that there are many different audits with different goals. Many audits are for the built environment and technology requirements since there are legislation and standards that are defined to follow. Some barriers may not be easy to find as legislation does not have clear direction or do not consider certain elements as it is highly dependent on the individual. There are many resources to do your own audit in different areas. However, it is critical that adaptability and flexibility remain the key skills to ensure that the experience is accessible and inclusive.
Summary
The section “Updating Organizational Processes” explains the broader issue that needs to be addressed to ensure that accessible and inclusive activities can be the standard in our communities. While it may not just be the person responsible for planning and hosting the activity that needs to make it happen. It is important to consider that there are many interconnected moving parts that can be creating and upholding barriers. Looking into who we can start a conversation with, who has the power to initiate the changes needed, and how complex it could be can open dialogue and conversation between the disability community and the organization for better accessibility in the community..
Advice
This advice section is meant to provide you with more information based on my personal experience of being a person with disabilities and an activity coordinator managing the logistics and communications of activities for the community. There are highlights to the barriers, gaps, or questions that I commonly view from myself and the community.
Problem-Solving and Communications
The biggest barrier I experienced in both roles is the problem-solving and communications side of activity planning and hosting. The lack of communications about accessibility and accommodations requests is one of the reasons for turning me away as a person with disabilities. It is also one aspect of activity planning and hosting that can be overwhelming since it is a skill that you must be willing to continue learning and evolving no matter what.
What is turning me away (and many other persons with disabilities) is the lack of communication. Whether it is not providing information about accessibility or not following up with the person who requested accommodations, it is a key component of planning and hosting an activity that makes or breaks an experience. The common fear from people who are responsible for planning and hosting these activities is being aware that they may not be able to accommodate whether it is due to resources, capacity, or time. But leaving persons with disabilities in the dark about an activity that interests them is not going to help, in fact, you will likely lose them forever.
The time, effort, and energy to review the activity, request for accessibility accommodations, and wait for an answer is quite costly for persons with disabilities. Having honest, open communications about the accessibility of your activity is going to be more impactful for both sides than ignoring the access need. In many ways, having these conversations might open doors to potential solutions that you never thought of because you do not live the experience.
No one knows their own access needs better than the people who need them. No one knows the potential solutions, adaptations, and alternatives better than the people who constantly look for those ideas because they need them. Remember in the beginning of this guide, I said that one of the things you need to consider is that the world is inaccessible? No one expects you to be perfect, but they do expect you to try and keep an open line of communication when possible.
Put the time and effort into your planning to make sure that an open line of communication can be maintained. From displaying what access considerations you already considered to providing the space to request to actually having that conversation is crucial to creating that accessible and inclusive experience.
What Information is Important to Give?
We live in a world where making assumptions is automatic. When standards exist, we assume that people already consider those barriers and close the gaps. But built environment standards such as building codes are not fully accessible and have gaps that were never considered due to differences in technical language. We have not even considered all the other barriers such as information and communications where initiative needs to be taken. With barriers in mind, questions and information have to be provided to ensure that it is accessible as possible.
There are two sides when considering what information is important to give. Commonly, we consider the side where information is provided to the community. However, we also need to consider information we give to people that make the activity happen.
To the Community
To the community, some information to consider that is important to the access and inclusion of persons with disabilities are;
The Built Environment: Not limited to the ability to enter and exit the building, the ability to reach the designated space, equipment and furniture in the space.
Transportation Options: Not limited to free vs. paid parking, public transportation options, accessible transportation options.
Information and
Communications: Not limited to sign language interpreters, captioning services, translation services, signage, audio and visual quality, support services.
Dietary needs, including options to help make it easier for a person to eat such as prepping food differently or a support person.
Not all of these suggestions need to be available before you share information about the activity and not all of them are critical to the activity. However, it is important to be aware of them as they can be barriers for people to join your activity which can prompt accommodation requests. Being aware and having some knowledge of what could and need to be
For the Activity
Think about all the aspects of planning and hosting an activity. I have a few examples listed;
All the people that are contributing to the activity also need to consider the accessibility and inclusivity in their part of the activity. From accessibility audits to providing information such as best practices, there are many ways to ensure that everyone is moving towards the same goal to make the activity a success.
Listening to Persons with Disabilities
Persons with disabilities are the ones that know about their access needs and lived experience. If you want to ensure that your activity is accessible and inclusive to the community, you have to include the input from those who experience the barriers the most. It includes positive feedback but also constructive criticism.
The phrase, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” is one that is consistently voiced by the community because it is difficult to know the barriers unless you experience them. It is difficult to know what needs improvement unless you are the ones that need it the most. If persons with disabilities give you feedback, please listen and find a way to improve your process to remove the barrier and create an accessible and inclusive experience.
It is important to note that not everyone will provide the feedback. For many of us, we have been saying the same concerns over and over again. It is not surprising that exhaustion and frustration can influence whether or not someone would like to provide the feedback. Feeling like your experience of the inaccessibility of the community is invalidated because your concerns are not being heard is common for persons with disabilities. If providing an accessible and inclusive experience for your activity means something to you, please do not ignore what the disability community has repeatedly stated.
The Difference Between Standards, Legislations, and Best Practices
Now that there are governments emphasizing the importance of accessibility, the words standards, legislations, and best practices have been used more often towards the public. Below are descriptions to help broaden the understanding of these key words.
Standards are guidelines that are developed with a mixture of legislation, experts, and community consultations and surveys. Standards are what industries follow to meet the expectations of governments and communities.
Legislations are what governments developed to be the laws, policies, and expectations of what the governments are responsible for in the community it serves. While communities can be involved in the consultation process, it is decided through the elected and appointed officials to inform the standards that everyone strives for.
Best Practices are documents that can be developed by anyone, usually informed by legislation, standards, experts, and lived experiences. The documents typically have specific topics to provide individuals, groups, and organizations tips and advice to best align with the goal.
Resources
This guide is to help with the mindset of creating and maintaining an accessible and inclusive experience for persons with disabilities in your activities. While it is a resource you can utilize, there are many resources that are available to the public with various degrees of knowledge and action. I have divided the resources into sections below.
Checklists and Trainings: To provide knowledge and a tool for taking action to increase accessibility and inclusion
Frameworks: Different concepts and ideas that can help with understanding and improving experiences of persons with disabilities
Legislations: Current legislation that exist in Canada
Best Practices: Resources providing guidance on expectations, processes, and actions that can provide consistency and accessibility to the experience
Accessibility Resources: Additional resources relating to accessibility, disability inclusion, and disability rights
This is not every resource that exists on the internet but, it can be useful for awareness and skill-building to take action for accessibility and inclusion.