Accessibility information: Disabled people need more than ‘fully accessible’

I don’t expect the world to be perfectly accessible. I’d just like it to be honest about what it is offering.

I am quite capable of making my own decisions.

I know. Revolutionary.

I am also quite capable of deciding whether somewhere is accessible enough for me.

What disabled people need is a little information.

When we plan to visit somewhere new, we do what most people do these days, go online and investigate.

Except our research is slightly different.

While other people are checking the menu, reading reviews and admiring photographs of the stunning coastal views, we are looking for the really exciting stuff.

Is there a ramp?

Where can I park?  How far is it from the entrance?

Is there an accessible toilet?

Can I actually get through the bloody door?

Far too often I can find everything except the information I need. There will be photographs of the food from different angles. There will be glowing descriptions of the “relaxed ambience”. There might even be a video of somebody walking through the front door.

But nobody thinks to mention that there are three steps between the entrance and the coffee.

Businesses may already have features that would allow people with different Access needs to visit. They just haven’t told people. I understand why.

Accessibility is complicated. It’s not a neat little tick box exercise where you either pass or fail. What works for one person may be completely unsuitable for another. A venue without an accessible toilet might be perfectly manageable for someone making a short visit. A café with a small step at the entrance might work for someone using a lightweight manual wheelchair who has assistance but be completely impractical for somebody using a heavy powerchair.

Someone with limited mobility might need accessible parking and a sturdy chair but have no need for a ramp. A Deaf person may want to know whether videos are captioned. Someone with autism might appreciate knowing about lighting, noise levels, background music or quieter times to visit. So perhaps businesses need to stop asking themselves: “Are we accessible?” That question can be surprisingly difficult to answer. Instead, ask: “What can we tell people about our accessibility?” Tell us what you actually have.

Is the entrance level, ramped or stepped? How wide is the doorway?

Is there accessible parking?

How far is it from the entrance?

Is there an accessible toilet?

Are the tables movable?

Are assistance dogs welcome?

Is there somewhere quieter to sit?

And if you don’t have something, that’s okay too. Don’t feel that admitting you have three steps at the entrance somehow means you’ve failed Accessibility 101. Just tell us. Because the words “fully accessible” can actually be far less useful than an honest description.

Disabled people are very good at assessing our own needs. We have had plenty of practice. Give us the information and we can decide whether your particular version of accessibility works for us. And this isn’t just about wheelchair users.

Accessibility is about recognising that people interact with the world in different ways. The person who needs a ramp may not need captions. The person who needs captions may not need an accessible toilet. The person who needs a quiet environment may not need either. There is no single definition of accessible because there is no single definition of disabled.

So don’t worry about having the perfect accessible business. Start by being an honest one. Because when I am deciding where to spend my money, I don’t necessarily need you to have everything. I just need you to tell me what you’ve got.

And, preferably, tell me before I arrive at the three bloody steps.

Jonny Wilkinson is the CEO of Tiaho Trust Disability A Matter of Perception, a Whangarei based disability advocacy organisation.

This article has been previously published in the Northern Advocate.