World Braille Day
The importance of accessibility
As we celebrate World Braille Day, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the benefits of an accessible world. Being from my line of business, you’d expect me to be focussed on accessibility issues for people with visual impairment. However, many of the principles of good accessibility practice and the benefits of implementing those apply to a wide range of people and situations.
For individuals
Disability discrimination is often not malicious or premeditated. It is sometimes the result of unconscious bias, sometimes a lack of information and education, and at other times a fear of doing or saying the wrong thing for fear of causing offence. Many people with visual impairments report feeling marginalised because of assumptions about their competencies, and because of the attitudes and behaviours of people they meet. Coupled with the physical barriers that many people with disabilities face every day, it’s no wonder that there is a strong connection with additional mental health issues. Making our community more accessible is the right thing to do for all the individuals who share it with us.
For society
There are very few ‘reasonable adjustments’ for accessibility’s sake that make a situation less accessible for someone else. Improving the visibility of obstacles or walking routes benefits the elderly and parents or guardians of young children as much as anyone with a physical or sensory impairment. Adding captions or an interpreter to a video really doesn’t spoil it for those of us who don’t have a hearing impairment, but can benefit a much wider range of our community who have other communication needs. And, don’t we all really enjoy watching the interpreters on stage with the artists at our favourite festivals? The important thing is to build in accessibility from the start. That way, individuals don’t feel marginalised or have to start a campaign just to get access to information about their community.
For work
There’s enough research data available by now for everyone to agree that a diverse workforce is hugely beneficial to an organisation. For commercial businesses, there’s the bonus of attracting more customers who see that members of the staff reflect their own culture or circumstances. For any organisation, there’s the benefit of knowing that you’re likely to be making better, more informed strategic decisions when you involve diverse people. Research increasingly demonstrates that when employees respect and share the values of an enlightened employer, job satisfaction and productivity increase, as does employee retention. At the same time, absenteeism decreases dramatically. What’s not to love?
For fun
Everyone needs something that makes them smile in their life. It’s not just girls that wanna have fun. And, fun for a range of people means a range of things. Some people enjoy sports, either watching or taking part. Some people enjoy watching films, reading or listening to music. There’s no limits to what people might enjoy doing in their spare time. Likewise, the same range of likes applies to people with disabilities. The visibility of para-sport these days is a really powerful message to all of us showing what is possible when we tweak the world to suit other abilities.
My heart was warmed recently when I had a thank you message from a small charity that we support. They’d asked us to help them write Santa letters to some of the children they support. They sent us the letters and we created the different formats the individual children needed to be able to read their own letter from Santa independently. The photos were a joy, and a reminder that very small gestures can make a huge difference. That’s why accessibility matters.