Quick Tips for Accessibility: Path to Disability Inclusion

“Quick Tips for Accessibility” in an outline rounded rectangle. A gradient ring on the bottom half of the image with “Path to Disability Inclusion” within the ring.

Accessibility can be overwhelming at a glance. With the different needs, tools, and services available, figuring out what is considered fully accessible is difficult. Do we go with the traditional view of accessibility and take the accommodation approach or do we work on trying to make the experience inclusive, regardless of ability?

In an ideal world, accessibility would already be part of the design because physical and online spaces, information, and activities would have been accessible. We do not live in this world, yet. 

It is understandable to feel like there is no right answer when making activities disability-inclusive. However, there are so many resources available as legislation becomes more clear. There is no longer an excuse to admit that you cannot figure out how to make activities accessible. You may not recognize all the gaps and barriers but you can at least set up the structure to include accessibility in design to continually improve persons with disabilities’ experiences.

One of the biggest challenges with activities is that you can design the registration of the event or programming to create barriers. If you do that, people with disabilities may not enter your space to contribute to greater accessibility. Is that what you want?

I hope not. This is the issue with how accessibility is traditionally viewed. You set up your activity as you normally do and you adjust based on accommodations requests. Once the request comes through, then you evaluate whether or not you can fulfill the request. A few issues come up with this approach.

• You have to provide the space for requests and review them, including communicating with the person to confirm the request

• If you do not give sufficient time, you automatically exclude many people who need time in order to participate due to the time it takes to obtain services and the logistics both on your end and the person who requested accessibility needs.

• If you design your activity without flexibility, you give yourself a challenge to figure out how to accommodate, at a time when you are already stressed and busy with pre-activity logistics.

Designing accessibility from the start is not just good for persons with disabilities to participate, it is great for you to provide a more inclusive experience but with less stress. Being inclusive means that you reduce (and hopefully remove) barriers and design with everyone in mind. If one person could potentially experience a barrier, you adjust to find an equitable and fair solution so that people can still meaningfully participate. 

I recognize that we still have a long way to go for disability inclusion but, we also made enough progress to have readily available resources to guide your work and activity. So, how can we bridge the gap to achieve greater accessibility and disability inclusion? 

With little prep and resources

If you already did the planning and logistics for the activity, here is how you can best use the accommodation approach. 

• Provide the space or contact information for accessibility requests

• Make sure someone is reading them and communicating with the person who submitted the request

• Make sure there is a contact person during your activity that the person can reach out to in case of problems and difficulties

• Take accessibility as part of your feedback and evaluation and start improving accessibility in your next activity or planning session

With prep and resources

If you are just starting to design your activity and/or you have the fiscal resources and capacity, then you can start including accessibility from the start. It will not be perfect the first time but it will set you up to keep improving with each activity. 

• Start with an accessibility checklist, there are plenty on the internet to learn from. Keep in mind that you will need to adjust to your activity and environment.

• Develop a best practices guide for you, your team, your organization, and anyone who is participating in your activities.

For more information, check out my blog post “Time to Start Designing With Access in Mind: Designing from the Start.”

The goal is to consistently improve and reach the world where persons with disabilities are included and valued. Once you know there is a better way to do things, you do better. The work may seem intimidating when you start, but it can make your process much smoother in the long run. Start making your activity accessible and inclusive.

Amanda