accessibility & neurodiversity in our

movementsApril 15, 2014

critical approaches to access

• social model of disability

• does not operate on premises of charity or “fixing people”

• works toward reinventing physical & virtual spaces

• enables full & equitable participation

• embraces disability-positive identities

designing for the widest array of users possible

↑universal design

participatory design

↓a process of design by which users become co-designers

universal design

• Designing for all

• Access from the beginning: This means access is not an afterthought or retrofit

• Equitability

• Flexibility

• Simplicity

• ** see NC State ’s Center for Universal Design website

universal design // equitability

providing the same means of use or access for everyone

avoiding segregation

universal design // flexibility

providing choice in how people access a space or product

creating spaces in which accommodations are a natural part of those spaces

universal design // simplicity

reducing complexity

being clear and consistent

designing a space that welcomes a wide range of languages and literacies

participatory design

• Involving people in creating accessible spaces

• Access is a communal project

• Cannot anticipate everyone’s needs (and also, making assumptions = bad)

• Sometimes, people’s needs conflict

• Embracing “nothing about us without us”

{ participatory access }

access + event planning

• When planning an event, meeting, or virtual gathering, what do you do to ensure access?

• Think about before, during, and after the event: What considerations do you need to make?

attending to access

• Highly stimulating events—how to cope?

• Valuing all the ways that people communicate and interact

• Considering the built environment

• Competing access needs

competing access needs

What happens when one person’s access needs conflict with another’s?

Participation + flexibility

Universal design never ends

spoon theory + crip time

Everyone experiences time and energy differently.

For some of us, time goes by more quickly, more slowly, or we might experience time outside fast/slow.

spoons + crip time

interaction badges

talk to me

don’t talk to me

difficulty initiating conversations

summary

• Consider neurodiversity & access at the beginning of planning or designing an event

• Involve as many people as possible in your planning

• Continually revisit the issue of access needs

• Think carefully about time, presence, energy, language, literacy, communication, and sensory needs.