Tag: Disability

Note: Originally posted on https://jenrohrigdesign.com/

A lot of people will ask that question because for the most part they go through their lives without needing to think about how difficult things can be. Sometimes even when they do experience some difficulty they’ll think “that’s just the way the world is” without considering if it could be better. Sometimes the only reason why things are at least somewhat accessible is because it’s the law.

A blot post from AssistiveWare asks Why isn’t the world accessible in the first place? for Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

If we believe that accessibility is important and we should be implementing it, why don’t we already consistently and thoroughly account for disability in design? Is it just a knowledge gap, or is there more at work?

In my previous post The ADA at 32 I talked about how many people don’t really have a full understanding of the limites of the American’s With Disabilities Act. They will talk about how things are “illegal now” or to simply “call the ADA” to report issues. Things can and should be made better and it’s a struggle to get people to understand why things should be improved for all of us. I also included a few links in that post about how the ADA does not go far enough.

My answer to “why bother?” is “why not?” – I mean honestly why not make things accessible to everyone? The problem is as I said above the majority don’t even see the problems that do exist. It isn’t a problem for them so they don’t bother thinking about it. As a result accessibility depends on people actually fighting for it and continuing to make noise about the various issues that exist.

Accessibility Benefits Everyone

But let’s look at it another way – accessibility isn’t just for disabled people, when done correctly it can benefit everyone.

Why Designing For Accessibility Helps Everyone written by Daniel Abrahams at Access Innovation Media:

Automatic doors can also save businesses money – they open only when needed, they cut down on energy waste which directly implies a reduction in heating costs plus no fingerprints on the doors either so no need for extra cleaning.

Getting Accessibility Right

We still need to make sure things are accessible to all those who need it. Often accessibility is denied without thought because someone believes it isn’t worth the cost or the time. Sometimes it’s about a lack of awareness of what is needed or assumptions being made about the types of accommodations that should be offered.

For example I’ve seen situations where only a sign language interpreter was offered and when captioning was requested as well it was denied because “there’s an interpreter provided” – which ignores the fact that many who are hard of hearing don’t know sign language and still need captioning. Of course there’s also the assumption that automocati captions are good enough without realizing just how bad auto captions are.

Another example is in webinars the sound quality may be bad and when it’s pointed out people are directed to the captions that exist. The problem with this is that people with cognitive issues may not be able to read the captions and are depending on good sound quality.

In both examples any attempts to point out issues are dismissed because people believe what they have done is enough.

About Competing Accessibility Needs

Competing accessibility needs do exist. Sometimes making things accessible for one group will make things inaccessible for another. Attempts to mitigate the problems should be made but it should also be acknowledged that it isn’t always possible. There are things that should be done to address the issue however.

Understanding Competing Accessibility Needs by Brooke Winters at Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism:

It may not be possible to make every single event accessible to every disabled person but there are steps we can take to make sure that every disabled person has events that are accessible to them.

Final Thoughts

Accessibility is always a work in progress and I believe we should always try to do better. We should notice when things are difficult and we should make noise about it when possible. It’s important to remember that the Americans With Disabilities Act often depends on disabled people to voice complaints about inaccessibility before anything is done. Nothing changes unless someone says something so people should say something.

Note: Originally posted on https://jenrohrigdesign.com/

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was created in to prohibit discrimination against disabled people. At least the ADA was intended to prohibit discrimination – many places are still inaccessible and discrimination still exists 32 years later. Many businesses have spent the last 32 years, and money, arguing why they shouldn’t be forced to change their buildings rather than changing them. Employers still use “not a good fit” to cover a multitude of sins. Even when employment is granted accommodations are routinely denied for a number of reasons or the person ends up fired. The general public doesn’t seem aware of the issues – instead arguing “it’s illegal!” Or “Call the ADA” without realizing the burden is on the disabled person to sue the employer or business that is violating the law.

Here’s an article that details a few examples: Advocating for ‘tough issues’: ADA enforcement often falls to people with disabilities

During the pandemic many of the accommodations that disabled people had been asking for years were granted only because everyone needed them. Some examples include being able to work from home, virtual doctor visits and other events that became virtual. As soon as everything started opening up again those accommodations were taken away. People were encouraged to return to the office, and many of the virtual options were discontinued as soon as in person events could happen again. But the fact that the accommodations were granted only shows that it is possible to have that kind of access.

The ADA has always been under threat – many lawsuits have gone through the courts, some that could have led to the ADA being gutted because certain groups felt that the ADA required too much from business and employers. Because of recent actions by the Supreme Court disability rights lawyers are increasingly hesitant to file lawsuits because they fear it will give the court a reason to gut the ADA. Read the article at MSNBC.com – “How this Supreme Court is setting back disability rights — without even trying” by Eric Garcia, MSNBC Opinion Columnist

Back in July 2020, Cal Montgomery, wrote a blog post “I Will Celebrate ADA30” in which he noted additions problems with the ADA:

“But the ADA represents a hollow promise. It was never meant for all of us. It was always intended to protect some disabled more than others, and still other disabled not at all. And the independent living movement, which plays an enormous role in cross-disability agenda setting, has focused on the kind of “one and done” accessibility that is coded into the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) (and even then only some people’s “one and done” needs are addressed) rather than the ongoing work of negotiating the fluctuating and complex access needs of individuals, groups, and communities.”

The ADA may have done a lot to improve the lives of disabled people in the 90s but it never went far enough and these days it seems like it could be gutted at any time because certain groups don’t believe others should have access to anything.

Be sure to also read: A Letter to the Americans with Disabilities Act on Its 32nd Birthday by Sandy Ho posted earlier this week.

The moment that photo captured, your passage, was just the beginning. As we both know by now, the first step in every struggle for civil rights is necessary but hardly enough.