Barrier Free Architecturals
November 24, 2010

How to Make Simple Accessibility Modifications to Your Home

Wheelchair Symbol. Image Source: Wikipedia.

If you’ve decided the time is right to make your home more accessible to wheelchair users, but are worried about the cost or time involved, fear not! Here are a few simple things you can do to your home to make it more accessible to anyone with mobility problems:

-       It’s really easy to change doorknobs from round to lever-type handles, and it will make a huge difference to the overall accessibility of your home, both for wheelchair users and anyone with restricted mobility.

-       Add a piece of string to each lever door handle in your home – it will help anyone who uses a wheelchair to close the door behind them should they want or need to.

-       Look at all the floor surfaces in your house and work out if there are any ledges or uneven levels that might cause problems to a person in a wheelchair. You can easily purchase wheelchair ramps online or simply attach small wedges of wood or metal to serve the same purpose.

-       Consider getting rid of any loose carpets or loose rugs from around your home as they will cause problems for wheelchair users and may be a tripping hazard for anyone with mobility issues.

-       Move around your house and ensure there is at least an 80 centimetre path around the furniture. There should also be a 5 foot turning radius.

-       Make sure you don’t have any really low tables around the home. If you do and don’t want to get rid of furniture, you can easily attach wooden blocks to the bottom of the legs to make them an easier level for wheelchair users.

-       Check how slippery your bathroom floor is and consider installing a non-slip surface. It’s also a good idea to install some grab bars around the bathroom – you can easily get these online as well and will make a big difference in your accessible bathroom.

-       Make sure you have at least one entrance to your house that is wheelchair accessible. Because this is outside, you might need to get a professional ramp instead of the home made ones inside the house. If you do decide to install the ramp yourself, make sure you research the correct gradient first.

Filed under Health and Mobility Tips, Home Safety Tips, bathroom safety tips and products
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November 17, 2010

United Spinal Association Sues Transit Authority

Image Source: United Spinal Association

Just over a month ago, on October 13th, the United Spinal Association sued the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) on the grounds that they “discriminate against people who use wheelchairs, the elderly, and anyone else living with a mobility impairment.”

Members of the United Spinal Association include people who have disabilities arising from spinal cord injuries or spinal cord disorders. Using a recent multi-million dollar development at a specific subway station in New York as an example, the United Spinal Association is claiming that the transit authorities accused are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because they have not put any funding towards improving the facilities for people with mobility impairment, such as elevators or wheelchair ramps.

Speaking on behalf of the United Spinal Association, James Weisman said, “Without access to the subway, the MTA makes travel next to impossible for New Yorkers with physical disabilities and prevents them from getting to work or seeking employment.” The New York subway system has notoriously poor accessibility for people with disabilities. The case has actually analysed how many stations are below minimum accessibility standards and has come out with the shocking figure of 80%! There are 468 subway stations in the city and that 80% figure means that only 86 are accessible to people with disabilities.

The counsel for the offence, a Mr Sid Wolinsky, articulately explains why this lack of accessibility is such a big problem: “A person who does not have access to the subway in New York simply does not have access to the range of professional opportunities, cultural events, and social relationships which are so essential to the fabric of life in the City.”

The United Spinal Association has a long track record of legal involvement on behalf of its members and anyone with physical disabilities. In fact, the Association was heavily involved in putting together the Americans with Disabilities Act back in 1990. Since then, it has campaigned to improve quality of life for anyone with spinal cord injuries and/or disorders, including multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post-polio.

Filed under Health and Mobility Tips, Mobility Issues and News
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November 12, 2010

New Accessibility Rights Lawsuit Against United Airlines

United Airlines Logo. Image Credit: United Airlines.

On the 25th October, the National Federation of the Blind together with three blind Californians, Michael Hingson, Mike May, and Tina Thomas, filed a class-action lawsuit against United Airlines. The case is based around the touchscreen facilities that are unavailable to blind passengers. These screens allow travellers to perform all sorts of useful and necessary travel tasks, such as check in, print tickets and boarding passes, look for upgrades and check baggage.

Other airlines have made such services accessible to all by creating audio interfaces or other technologies. The President of the National Federation of the Blind is Dr. Marc Maurer. He argues that this oversight from United Airlines is a blatant discrimination that is made so much worse by the availability of technology to make these information kiosks accessible to all. This argument was solidified by Mike May, a leading manufacturer of technology for the blind: “I have been working in the adaptive technology field for twenty years, and I know well that it is easy and practical for United to make its kiosks accessible.”

The National Federation of the Blind has a long track record of successful advocacy for its members and it seems likely, given the damning evidence against United Airlines, that this case will be won.

There are a few airlines in America that don’t have a particularly good track record when it comes to accessibility for all. A recent study by a computer scientist at Towson University in Maryland discovered that four of the top ten airlines’ websites were largely inaccessible to blind people. The ramifications of this are serious: it basically means that blind people are often forced to pay more because they have to use the telephone to book tickets; they can’t access the cheaper web tickets and/or they are charged for calling the airline’s number.

Accessibility for all is so important and must take place across all sectors of society, from travel through to culture, finance and commerce. Barrier Free Architecturals focuses on physical accessibility for all by creating packages to create, for example, accessible kitchens or accessible bathrooms.

Filed under Mobility Issues and News
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November 5, 2010

Are you an AccessaPhobe?

Last weekend saw the end of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (or NDEAM 2010). Two articles caught our eye on the subject of accessibility and employment and we thought we’d share them.

Accessibility News International covers a lot of stories about accessibility and rights from around the world. Over the weekend, they featured a really interesting post from the website for AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act), entitled ‘Are you an AccessaPhobe?’

Written by Geof Collis, an Accessibility Consultant/developer, the post repeatedly exemplifies what it means to be an ‘accessaphobe’. Just as it is considered homophobic to believe homosexual people don’t deserve equal treatment in society, it is considered accessaphobic to believe that people with disabilities are not entitled to an equal position in society.

Here are few of the examples the post gives:

  • “If you think it’s ok to put up inaccessible documentation on your website and then tell us we can have an accessible copy “Upon Request”, perhaps days later if we’re lucky, then you’re an AccessaPhobe.”
  • “If your only choice for Voting in an Election is a Mail In Ballot, then you’re an AccessaPhobe.”
  • “If you’re a Business and you need to be forced into making your premises accessible by Legislation, then you’re an AccessaPhobe.”

One of the points that Collis makes is that following legislation on accessibility simply because it’s a legal requirement isn’t enough to get you out of the accessaphobe zone. As with the third example given above, a business that has to be forced to install, for example, accessible desks for its employees is accessaphobic because the mindset is all wrong. A non-accessaphobic business would have installed the desks without a glance at the requirements laid down in the legislation.

The second article we noted was in the form of an open letter from Career Edge’s CEO to Canadian employers. It outlines the state of employment amongst people with disabilities in Canada and issues a call-to-action to employers country-wide to readdress their recruitment policies in this area. Ability Edge is a subset of Career Edge and arranges internships to meaningful employment for graduates with disabilities.

Filed under Mobility Issues and News
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