To think that any one who designs a town, building, theme park or attraction should have to spend the day navigating it in a wheelchair?

[Flufferblub]

Needed a wheelchair on some days since my early 30s, and the experience has been eye opening. Some spaces seem well designed such as airports, but others it feels like disabled people are a complete after thought. Even in new places that have just been built in the past few years. You can understand in historic towns and places, but if some where has been designed and built in the 21st century, you'd think that they'd put a button to open the disabled toilet door.

The people who design and run these places need to spend a day getting around in a wheelchair. Design it with wheelchairs in mind first, and everyone else will be alright. Who doesn't like a ramp and automatic doors any way?

Also can I add that disabled people shouldn't have to jump through hoops either to access things where the rest of the public don't.

Eg: recently went to a London museum after it was closed for well over a year for a refurb. Before leaving I accompanied my disabled client to the toilets. Took the lifts down and walked to the end, only to find that the locked door couldn't be opened with a radar key, but with another one that you had to get from staff.

So we had to walk back and wander looking for a member of staff, found one who had to go and find another member of staff to bring said key. And to top it all off, we ended up being locked in and had to pound on the door and wait to be let out.

It's so dehumanising.

Yanbu - after all flat entry and wide doors benefit another larger demographic, parents not to mention the elderly! I had a double buggy for two years, it was an eye opener! (My older dd has asd so it was used longer than normal thus heavier children? Yes as others have said we need to recognise all disabilities but push button doors and slopes are enabling for all!

I have a child who is 3, registered blind, is fully dependent on others for all of his needs, the world is a pretty inaccessible place for children like him. Even at our local hospital the Changing Places bathroom was full of equipment meaning the bed and hoist were not accessible.

Or bin day, where the pavement is littered with bins all day despite collection in the morning

Yes 100% agree with this. I don't know why it isn't done.

I am not a wheelchair user but I had to use one for a couple of months a few years back following an operation.

And my god, what an eye opener. I was actually embarrassed i'd basically sailed through my life thus far blissfully unaware how challenging it was. I honestly hadn't realised just how difficult every single bloody thing was for wheelchair users. Even some fairly new buildings which I just assumed would be fine, were not! How, in this day and age, they cannot get it right I have no idea.

They do.

Just as a friend who uses a wheelchair discovered, not people who have disabilities.

Disbelievers are free to find examples that contradict me, of course.

i always bring this up when there’s underemployed disabled people or more often helping getting the disabled into work. Yes, have all the seminars you like about reasonable adjustments and rest breaks but you actually need a line of the job advert that says whether you can actually access the building. Cause all the shops, offices, hospitals and cafes mentioned on this thread are off limits. My last office was all singing all dancing and cost eye watering sums. Lift access to all floors, great except once in the lift most chairs couldn’t turn around so you had to hope someone was there to yell which floor it was - such a stupid mistake. Anyway then covid happened and it me 1 person could use a lift at a time so a queue of thousands.

Yes, have all the seminars you like about reasonable adjustments and rest breaks

Held in inaccessible buildings, naturally.

There was a massive sigh of relied when Teams/Zoom became normalised, as it meant no need to spend money on adjustments.

Once again - prove me wrong.

Sorry to go on a tangent here but the door readers are usually programmable and can have the length of time the door is open for adjusted. You may be able to speak to your buildings facilities team to get them to increase the time they are open for.

All of that DEI money that's been given to overpaid people to tell organisations that they should be more inclusive of gender diversity should be given instead to someone who prioritises ACTUAL inclusion for all.

But who's going to be fucked off by a ramp and automatic doors? Or better yet, a smooth level with automatic doors.

People with walking aids like sticks and crutches can be fucked over by ramps

Smooth, level access would be ideal but it's simply not practical

someone who prioritises ACTUAL inclusion for all

Unnecessary transphobic comment and ignoring that these should go hand in hand (there are trans disabled people!)

This, with bells on.

It goes beyond physical buildings and spaces too. I was at a conference recently (legal), and with some spare time attended some sessions on accessibility with respect to software and services.

We have a long way to go!

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/record-number-of-lawsuits-filed-over-accessibility-for-people-with-disabilities.aspx

YANBU.

Wheelchair.
Mobility scooter.
Double buggy.
Crutches
Walking frame / rollator
With vision problems
With hearing problems
Cognitive problems
...

It is amazing that's its still overlooked in the modern age. I'm also the only parent who doesn't pull up onto curb on the school run. I'm really shocked that people still do that as well

My late husband was an electric wheelchair user, the amount of times we booked to go somewhere and there were things like doors weren't wide enough, thresholds were too high, toilets were too small (even on the ward of a hospital department he regularly visited) we once booked a holiday to the Isle of Wight in a 'fully accessible' apartment, you couldn't get in the bathroom! Too late once you're there. Some people also seem to think that fold up wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs have the same requirements!

Wouldnt it be great if places had to advertise their (actual) accessibility somewhere as well. Number of times I’ve had to ask whoever answers the phone, then give them a lengthy explanation on why I’m not only bothered about disabled toilets, then I have to explain DS’s condition cause they dont know what needs he has (which is fair, how could they), then they can’t help me anyway cause they don’t know the answer.

hopefully somewhere big gets sued and that puts the frighteners on everywhere and they improve their game. Other than enforcing the laws that exist I can’t see what else can happen.

https://www.accessable.co.uk/ they are quite good for getting an idea how accessible some places will be.

I like it when places have the information clear on their website. Even better if it has photos and amazing if they also have social stories!

Totally! It wasn’t until I’ve had a pram (and now double pram) and walking my dog alongside that I’ve really appreciated how hard it must be in a wheelchair. My council have wheels bin trolleys with boxes on them for recycling. They are left all over the pavement every time they are collected and it’s literally impossible to pass them a lot of the time so I have no option but to walk on the road. The other day they were doing work on a pavement at one side of the road, digging up water pipes I think. So that side of the pavement was completely shut off. They had conveniently put a massive sign on the pavement at the other side to let you know they were doing work across the road 🤦🏼‍♀️ So I couldn’t pass on either! It happened again the other day elsewhere in the town and I’m so not that person but I very nearly started taking pictures to send them an angry email 😂 Luckily I am able to walk (my baby, toddler and dog) up the road but a wheelchair user might find this impossible to get past

Exactly - if a wheelchair user can get around, then probably so can young families with prams, or elderly people using sticks or walkers. And when you add together all those groups of people whose mobility is limited for different reasons, that's a sizeable chunk of the population

Totally agree.

Disabilities can happen at anytime to anyone, even short term ones like a broken leg. That was my first experience of a wheelchair user, and how difficult it was to get about.
I now have two disabled daughters and the rage I feel about their experiences about trying to get and about. The too high counters, the needing someone with you to get a member of staff to go and open the disabled access at the rear of a building (our local cinema) so the loss of independence, the ramps that are far too steep to safely navigate, the narrow aisles in shops, with displays making it even narrower, amongst other things.

Many many house builders STILL build whole estates that do not have level access to their homes (basic legal requirement section M I think was passed ?? at least 5 or 6 years ago. Maybe 2015 or 2018). Friend of a friend moved into a Bellway one on the basis it would have level access when built....it didn't has a HUGE step, about 8 inches. Bellway are reluctant to change because it won't match rest of estate or something like that. Been moved in over a year and still not resolved

I am a wheelchair user. It should be one of those courses at school , like they did with those baby doll things. Spend a week in a wheelchair. Then write about your experience.

I agree with you totally. It's obviously not the same level of frustration as for a wheelchair user, but having a pram and no car has really opened my eyes as to how awful accessibility is around where I live.