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Inclusive Media and Design is often called upon by higher ed institutions to caption video in the curriculum as an accommodation request. However, on occasion, students who were not Deaf or hard of hearing have made the request because they've seen this accommodation made in other or previous classes of theirs, and enjoyed it so much.

Having the spelling of names and complex/unfamiliar terms – sometimes muttered by a presenter or lecturer – really helped with comprehension. This especially was the case for the (in the GTA, especially) majority of students for whom English was not their first (or even second or third) learned language. Captions also helped them review video or audio material w/o relying on a headset when in a shared study space, such as a library.

I had the pleasure of coordinating a government-funded project through Abilities Centre called Accessing Whitby over the summer. Our goal was to educate local businesses on simple, low-cost solutions to make their space more accessible for the ParaPan Am Games. With great success, we conducted numerous audits of customer spaces, and educated business owners on a variety of subjects, including AODA. The amount of positive feedback and willingness to learn was amongst the prouder moments of our project. Often times, businesses were able to increase their levels of accessibility without spending a dime. This is the challenge- to get business owners to see that Accessibility does NOT need to be an intimidating subject and at the end of the day- it's good customer service. Abilities Centre is proud to say that we are helping our community become a more inclusive and accessible place, and this project is only one step that we have taken to do so! #AccessSuccess

Very excited about the potential for the private sector to self-motivate to go accessible. We traveled around the United States last year to write a wheelchair-accessible travel guide and found that while the law could make all places accessible, the differences in how enthusiastically services approach that law can make a big difference, i.e. between having one staff-operated lift in the back of the building without any signs pointing to it, vs. having big, clear signs throughout the building and a ramp added to the main entrance. In other words, the law can force services to comply to a certain level, but to get to that next level of really caring about accessibility perhaps a self-motivating model is the trick.

Hi there everyone!!

The biggest value of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (or any legislation for any jurisdiction that advocates for people with disabilities) is not in having society becoming more accessible.

Hopefully, the biggest value is in having corporations treat people like individuals, for individuals to have more compassion, and for humanity to evolve. That’s why it is beneficial for all of us, which has little to do with disabilities, specifically.

Read the full article (with Visual Quotes) here:
http://blog.ordinarywords.com/2015/07/transforming-corporate-culture.html

Variety Village recently held the 19th annual Active Living Conference. With the support of our community partners, we had an exciting day of speakers, adapted activities and exhibitors promoting inclusive participation. This event is popular with students, educators, families, coaches, staff and volunteers interested in learning more about accessible initiatives in the community. The feedback received indicated an incredibly successful learning initiative with a focus on the provisions / resources in the community for people of all abilities. This may be an ideal venue to share the Certified for Access project.

Inclined to go along with what's safe rather than what's conventional? Who says what’s practical isn’t fashionable? I think all staircases with 1-4 steps should have a ramp next to them so that all people have the option of using a safer method to access changes in level. Ramps most certainly give people using mobility aides such as walkers, canes, wheelchairs and scooters the ability to access the same entrances and level as everyone else. For staircases with more then 4 steps, the most practical solution for universal access is a wheelchair lift or an elevator. These options are costly, but considering the high rate of injuries on stairs the cost can be justified.

I’ve been to many places where staircases were replaced by ramps. Some people think that's absurd, but why? Consider the growing number of individuals who are aging and living with a disability who don't negotiate stairs comfortably. It's less likely for a serious injury to occur if a footing or balance is compromised on a ramp or grade level surface in comparison to falling on a staircase, stair free buildings begin to make more sense. Investigation time, how many unnecessary injuries and deaths have been caused by stairs? When moving a piece of furniture, is wheeling it up a ramp or lifting it up stairs safer? Can fitness be achieved by walking a ramp?

How often do injuries or death occur by walking up or down a safe ramp? Traffic on ramps instead of stairs may be compared to a driving a gradual hill instead of motoring off a steep cliff.

If buildings had level or gradual sloped entry, ramps, lifts and elevators instead of just stairs as a standard this would help buildings accomplish meeting AODA standards and bring positive change.

I’m looking forward to living in a safer barrier free world!

Our story of accessibility and inclusion at the Miles Nadal JCC - http://www.rudermanfoundation.org/blog/daily-lfe/7245

One of the great successes of the Accessing Whitby Project was our Accessible Website:

http://accessingwhitby.com/

check it out to get a good idea of what an accessible website looks like. Features include high contrast options, different sized font options and options to have the information read audibly to those viewing with visual impairments.

Also included on our website is a variety of statistics, success stories and simple, low cost solutions to improving accessibility for business owners.

There seems to be more willingness to talk to customers

Good afternoon, as a way to keep trying to get the word out about the value of Universal Design and give the public a chance to hear about it's value has anyone ever contacted the Habiat for Humanity folks to offer them a few Universal Design ways to look at things?? Just an idea.
Steve