Beyond accessibility: the people behind it

I want to join forces with Mike Prescott to talk about accessibility and how to make it happen. Mike has spearheaded projects to promote accessible tourism to the world prior to Olympic and Paralympic Games, guided hundreds of local governments through the accessibility planning process and assessed the accessibility of thousands of businesses and their properties. Mike has professional degrees in business administration and urban planning as well as a PhD in rehabilitation sciences that complements his 35+years of lived experience as a person with a disability and informs his views on accessibility and inclusion. We worked together when we were both PhD fellows and we worked again later, me as a research coordinator and him as a postdoctoral fellow, on a research project related to the accessibility of national parks.

Having worked on matters related to accessibility in a wide range of industries across North America for more than a decade, we have figured out a few tips and tricks we want to share. This might inspire those who also want to make such matters part of their practice. It is also an opportunity to share about colleagues, experts, and clients who make it all possible.

Viewpoints 

Throughout our life, we develop reflections and ways to view our reality. As an occupational therapist, when I look at an environment, my first reflex or my starting point, is to identify the different tasks that are performed in this environment and how a variety of individuals with disabilities will complete these tasks with the tools they are given. The individual remains the centre of the analysis. I make sure to identify convergent and divergent needs to consider everyone. Then, I review standards and consult with designers to identify limits and opportunities to make changes. But this is not the sole way of doing things. Having the opportunity to exchange with individuals who have complementary ways of analyzing the environment is not only pertinent, but necessary to gain insight on the best solutions in a given context.

For example, Mike uses an approach he calls the Journey Experience Mapping Model (JEMMA) to assess the physical and social infrastructure of an entity. This includes examining administrative functions such as human resource practices, communications, and the indoor and outdoor physical infrastructure that an organization manages. This approach isn't an evaluation of accessibility but presents measures of the environment that can be used to find potential barriers as well as conditions that add a burden to the user. Geographical information systems (GIS) are used to present these findings, allowing for more complex spatial analysis that allows for more strategic decisions to be made.

Collaboration

Apart from our amazing sense of humour and our limitless love for our dogs/cats, what helped us in our collaboration was that our goal was the same and we were both open to find solutions. It didn’t really matter if we didn’t have the same background. We shared information from our respective expertise, we asked ourselves lots of questions and we did this to make things better. It’s not just a standards’ thing, it’s not just about how it’s going to be applied, it’s about how we can help to make our society more inclusive. Sharing similar values was a great foundation. Stephanie knew nothing about mapping tools and how to develop an app and Mike didn’t have an occupational therapist’s perspective. We potentialized everyone’s strengths and valued the other’s input.

We have both worked with individuals with various backgrounds, with and without knowledge about accessibility and universal design. Regardless, there is knowledge to be gained! We both have disabilities, but everyone is different, and the impacts of disabilities will vary from one person to the next. The unicity of individuals makes encounters and exchanges limitless, there is always something to be learned, whether it has to do with the impacts of a disability, the facilitators in the environment, how certain elements in the environment must be built and the materials to be used, how to interact with certain groups or methods to collect data, etc.

Reaching the equilibrium

Being open, listening, collaborating, sharing, debating, and exploring together are ways to be better professionals. You cannot expect to make things more accessible in a context you don’t know, when you don’t talk to users about themselves and how they wish to use the environment, when you don’t try to have a more global view of issues that are experienced. This might not seem scientific, it might not be easy to actualize, and not everyone is willing to second-guess themselves to better perform, but it’s a good recipe for success in our opinion.

At the heart of a more accessible and inclusive world is meaningful engagement and a strategic mindset. This means co-designing and co-producing physical and social environments that promote full participation. To achieve this, all stakeholders need to have a systems approach that seeks out innovative solutions that are good for individuals, organizations, and communities. One approach to meaningful engagement is journey mapping where you look at how participation in an activity emerges and examining, with a diverse group of people with disabilities, potential gaps at different touchpoints along that journey. This can be informed by quantitative and qualitative evidence, creating a shared understanding of the accessibility challenge that exists.

Last words

As for myself, Stephanie, I just want to share that I love my job, I want to improve our world, I want to make it safer, and I want to continue learning. I have learned a lot during my graduate and postgraduate studies. I put a lot of energy into studying, researching, reading, observing. I can’t say that it was easy and fun all the time, it really wasn’t. But some people have made the journey way easier, more interesting and sharing their experiences and knowledge has made me more knowledgeable, stronger, and allowed me to consider different aspects of a single object or environment. I can’t list everyone that influenced me and helped me become the professional I am today, there are too many. Coworkers and fellow students, researchers, the experts I contacted and work(ed) with in various committees, as well as lived-experience experts and groups defending the rights of individuals with disabilities, you have all contributed to the person I have become and have influenced my practice. I want to also thank my clients who believed in me and were eager to put energy into making their projects unique, beautiful, and more inclusive. This requires a lot of courage and involvement, it’s a way to go beyond and to improve our communities one project at a time. This comes at a cost, but it has so many benefits for way more individuals than we might think.

Since I might not have the opportunity to work with some of you in the future, I have a hard time not ending on an emotional note. I have gone through beautiful and difficult times with some of you. Not only have you shared your time and knowledge about accessibility, universal design, inclusion, architecture, urban planning, etc., but some of you also shared/provided their support, their positivity, their contagious enthusiasm, their courage, and I count you as friends.

I want to thank you Mike for your strength, and your lack of apparent bitterness with life, you inspire me so much. You create good, positive, and useful experiences for the people around you and take an active part in making more accessible environments. You helped me tremendously when I was in a rough patch, reminding me that people around me believed in me, cared for my wellbeing, and helped me refocus on what is truly important. Having a positive outlook on life has numerous benefits, and you’ll always remind me of that, even if I no longer annoy you daily with tons of questions. Thank you for your patience, your time, your positivity, your wise advice, your experience sharing as well as this opportunity to work with you again.

I hope that this blog has helped everyone understand the value of working together, and of being open-minded when it comes to inclusion and accessibility. We can create great things with these two values and get to know really great individuals in the process!