We have created 5 personas from various backgrounds, with a wide range of experiences and requirements. We hope these personas can help drive human factors and enable disability inclusion and accessibility improvements in multiple sectors.
Over the coming week we will introduce each persona to you individually and then share more of their stories to support you on your journey to true inclusion.
Today marks a very special moment for me, both personally and professionally. I am proud and humbled to officially launch the Jimmy Greer Awards.
These awards are named in memory of my dad, Jimmy Greer. To the world he may not have been a household name, but to those who knew him, he was unforgettable. He was a man of quiet strength, unwavering kindness and fierce loyalty. He championed fairness and inclusion long before it was fashionable or expected. He simply believed in doing the right thing and in making sure that people felt seen, heard, and valued.
My dad never sought recognition for his actions. He wasn’t the kind of man who wanted the spotlight. But he deserved it and so do so many others like him. That’s why these awards exist.
The Jimmy Greer Awards are here to celebrate the unsung heroes of disability inclusion and accessibility – the people who are making a difference, without any reward or formal acknowledgement. Their efforts may be part of their workplace, their community, or their own personal mission, but the common thread is this: they are not being paid to make inclusion happen. They are choosing to do it because it matters.
This is about recognising the change-makers. The people who put in the time, energy and heart to make the world more inclusive, even in small but meaningful ways.
There are two award categories:
There can be multiple winners each year, because inclusion is never a competition – it’s about impact.
As Jimmy’s daughter, I could not be prouder that his legacy lives on in this way.
As Founder and CEO of Be #PeopleSmart, I’m honoured that we can host these awards to shine a light on people who truly deserve it.
Nominations are now open. You can nominate someone else, or you can put yourself forward. Often the hardest part is acknowledging our own contributions and we want to celebrate that too.
Please share this widely. If you only ever do one thing for me, let it be helping spread the word about the Jimmy Greer Awards. Together, we can make sure those quiet champions of inclusion are finally seen.
This one’s for you Pops. 💜
You can find all the details and nomination forms on the awards webpage.
I’d like to share a real-life case study with you, of an awful recruitment experience, and I can share all the nitty gritty details because I was the one on the receiving end.
I hope this helps other organisations to avoid making mistakes and enables them to be #PeopleSmart.
I’ll start from the beginning, as the song goes it’s a very good place to start – if you haven’t ever watched the Sound of Music then where have you been?
I recommend reading right to the end, not just because it’s my blog post, but because my experience just got worse.
A job spec was shared with me on LinkedIn because a connection thought it sounded right up my street. It was a part time role – 60% of the working week – for a Global Disability Specialist for a large bank.
Now, to be honest, I had no intention to go back into the corporate world. The only job that ever tempted me back was with LEGO, but come on it’s LEGO!
However, this was only 60% of the week, giving me 40%+ of the working week to commit to my other clients and to pass more opportunities over to my trusted partners and freelancers.
Anyway, I digress. So, my interest was peaked and I reached out to see if I could get some time with the line manager. I was hoping I could convince them to take on a consultant instead – me obviously – but it was clear they wanted someone internal.
The manager seemed nice, was very complimentary and said she’d be very keen to bring my skills in to her team – positive so far.
She also said that if I was interested I would have to go through the full recruitment process – no problem.
I spoke to her about the fact I would continue to also run Be #PeopleSmart and support my own clients and that this was non-negotiable. So, she agreed to check with her compliance team to ensure there wouldn’t be any conflict of interest and that if I were offered the role there wouldn’t be any issues further down the line – still sounded good.
My task at that point was to drop a note to them about my salary expectations to ensure we were on the same page, which I did shortly after our call.
I received a note just a day or two later saying compliance stated the only requirement would be that I wouldn’t personally consult for any other banks whilst working for them, but Be #PeopleSmart could as a company, and on those terms would I like to progress to interview stage?
Not an issue, I have people I trust who could take up those roles.
I dropped a note back to say the terms were acceptable and I was keen to take it forward. It was more junior than roles I’ve had in the recent years, but that appealed in many ways as there would be less politics to negotiate. And ultimately my only work goal is to create disability inclusive and accessible workplaces, and this was another opportunity to make a difference.
I received an invitation to select a date for interview, which I did, and it was all set in my calendar.
Then came interview day. About an hour before my interview I received an email from the line manager with links to two case studies, and an apology that I hadn’t been sent them a week in advance as I should have, as the first interview was based on my constructive feedback on those case studies.
The email included a further note not to be concerned as they were aware they hadn’t sent them to me and so wouldn’t be judging me on my responses. I only saw this 20 minutes before the interview so had a quick look at one of the case studies before the call started.
I went on the call feeling very unprepared. A few minutes in I was wondering why I was still waiting for the call to start. Had something gone wrong? I checked my emails but nothing. I thought I’d give it a few minutes and drop a note out. Then 5 minutes into the meeting time the line manager and another person popped up on my screen and kicked off the discussion. No mention of their tardiness, just straight into the chat.
Now, I’m not a stickler for other people’s time keeping, but traditionally the one time you try to be on time is for a job interview and that works both ways. Of course things can happen, but that’s what communication is for.
I shook that one off, maybe that was a Jodie-ism?
The next part of the conversation went like this (I’ve slightly tweaked the wording here to avoid using individual names):
Line manager: “Well you know who X is” (the other person on the call).
Me: “No, I don’t, we’ve not met” (I was a bit confused, should we have met?)
Line manager: “Oh so you didn’t receive the bio either?”
Me: “No, I guess I should have done then?”
Line manager: “Yes, usually you would get mine too, but as we’ve already met you should’ve just got theirs.”
At that point my mind went to thinking more about what they hadn’t sent me than what we were going to talk about.
We then spent the next 5 or so minutes for the person (from recruitment) to introduce themself.
OK, we were back in the (virtual) room ready to get this show on the road. It was time to address the ‘elephant in the room’. The line manager apologised for not sharing the case studies sooner and asked if I’d had chance to see them. She also repeated that I wouldn’t be judged on my responses.
I was honest and said I’d only seen them shortly before the call and that we need to acknowledge I would be judged on my responses if the interview revolved around those case studies and my feedback. That point was semi-acknowledged, at least visually, and we moved on to taking a look.
We looked at the case studies, I gave my input, which of course was a bit of a quick-thinking test for me and then moved on to some other conversation points which I don’t recall very well to be honest.
My head just kept thinking that I’m not one to be concerned with interview situations but many people are and had I been neurodivergent this whole thing could have really knocked me off kilter and stopped me being able to demonstrate my capabilities.
I was then asked if I had any questions and although I’d had several of them answered during my initial conversation with the line manager, there were a couple more points I wanted to query.
I asked about any need for travel, which was answered – no travel, so no lack of sleep in hotels for me – winning. I do it of course, but there’s nothing like my own bed.
I then asked about holiday entitlement, particularly as I was moving away from governing my own time across the year and unfortunately neither party had the answer.
I thought this was another poor show as they knew where I was based and the core benefits are a fundamental piece of the recruitment puzzle, surely?
The line manager did say she would make sure she had the answer for me when we met at the second interview if they took me forward – ok that was fine. She also told me that the next interview would be conducted along with two of her colleagues.
Good to know what to expect, at least there was a thumbs up there. Those thumbs would soon be pointing down though – you’ll soon read why.
My last question was about next steps and when I would hear if I would be taken forward to second interview stage and the answer sent my ‘Spidey Senses’ in to overdrive – “well, we do have some other people to interview, and we should have scheduled them by now, but unfortunately we haven’t and I don’t know when they will be scheduled, so I’m unable to give you any timeline on when we can let you know.”
Wait. What?
I didn’t have a warm fuzzy feeling at all and I should have listened to my gut. But did I? Nope. I’m too focused on the making a difference part, I need to take more notice of what’s good for me.
I received an invitation to a second interview about a week later, so not too long really, and again it was set in my calendar. The only surprising element was that there were two people named on the invite and neither was the line manager.
The second interview day came round and I logged in a few minutes early, to be met rather promptly by one of my interviewers. She seemed very friendly which was nice. When she went to kick off the interview I advised her I thought we were waiting for another of her colleagues, which she was surprised by and so checked the invite. As if by magic the other interviewer then appeared on screen.
The surprise factor didn’t sit well with me, as it seemed there was no preparation.
I asked if the line manager would also be joining us and was advised she wouldn’t. So, I asked if she’d passed my pending question on to them to answer and they told me she hadn’t – hmmm there went those ‘Spidey Senses’ again.
We had a very nice chat and I was pleased to note that one of them was based in London, so I’d have them and their team to connect with on days I went to the office, as the line manager isn’t based in the UK. I also thought at least I could get my holiday entitlement question answered, but turned out that wasn’t possible.
I did say not to worry about the pro-rata element, just the full-time equivalent would be helpful, but they still wasn’t sure. And yet they’re based in country and so are their direct reports – hmmm.
On the plus side they did say they would find out for me and drop me a note shortly after our call. I never received that note. That was on 24 April.
The next I heard was on 9 May. I didn’t chase, looking back part of me knew those ‘Spidey Senses’ were on high alert for a reason.
A different member of their recruitment team, this time in the UK, asked me if I was free to speak that afternoon. I did have a free slot in my diary, so she gave me a call. We spoke the old-fashioned way, via actual telephone, which is quite novel for me now with all the Teams, Zoom and Google Chat calls.
She gave me some very positive feedback from the team and said they’d like to make me an offer so she needed to check if I was still interested.
It’s always nice to hear some positives, and I decided then and there that they needed my help and said I was interested. However, first I needed to understand about the benefits, particularly the holiday entitlement.
She immediately told me it was 25 days for all full-time staff in the UK, so that would be 15 days for me then. OK, that’s fine.
She checked salary with me, which she said may even be a little higher that I asked for but needed to confirm with the team – tick.
She also said they have flexible benefits which she would send me after the call so I can get a better understanding and start thinking about my options – which she did and I made my selections in my own mind that evening.
I was then asked to communicate just with her until recruitment was complete – no problem, she seemed nice and helpful.
I was told she needed to go back to the team to confirm the offer being made and that I’d receive my offer letter within the next 2 days.
I also learned about the next steps:
1. I needed to sign and return the offer letter.
2. Security clearance would take 4 weeks.
3. Agree a start date.
The timeline worked for me, it gave me time to hand over some client work to other people.
It was a Tuesday so I was quite pleased the process could kick off before the end of the week.
It was obviously the time for activity, as that same week I was approached by two different companies who needed consultancy services until October and end of 2023 respectively. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to commit to the time either needed with the new role.
I did offer another consultant to cover it but both said they had an alternative in mind if I couldn’t help them myself. I felt a bit deflated to have to decline the work, but I’d already committed elsewhere and there aren’t infinite hours in a week. I always dislike turning clients away when they have a genuine intent for improvement.
By the end of the week the offer letter hadn’t turned up.
I chased the following Tuesday, as it had been a full week, and two days later got a strange reply thanking me for my patience and saying I should have an update early the following week.
Update? What was going on?
No update or offer letter was forthcoming early the next week, so on the Thursday – another full week later – I chased again. I included the point that I’d already turned down work due to the verbal offer but was concerned by the continued silence.
Then the ‘piece de resistance’ came that same evening at 20:50. Saying:
“Thanks for your note. My sincere apologies for the delay. Thank you again for your patience these past couple of weeks.
The team had very positive feedback from your interview, but at this time, they have decided to move forward with another candidate for the role.
That being said, we would love to keep in touch about future opportunities. It’s been great getting to know you and we would love to keep in touch about future HR roles.
Thanks again for your interest and patience. I look forward to speaking again soon!”
What the..?
How could such a large company operate so poorly?
I have no issue with not getting a role. I can put my big girl pants on with the best of them, and I have a business that keeps my lights on and keeps me fulfilled in so many ways. But I was mad!
I was in shock that a verbal offer ended up this way after weeks of chasing, I was offended at how I’d been treated and I was seriously pissed off that I’d turned down business based on the commitment I’d made to them.
I sent a reply straight back saying how surprised I was and telling them I’d turned down work following their verbal offer.
The next surprise was an out of office message – she’d just headed off on holiday.
Sod the communicate with recruitment request, I sent the email chain to the line manager asking for her feedback. At this point I was really mad.
To her credit the manager came back that same evening, and it was even later for her, inviting me to have a call with her which we scheduled.
Fast forward to the next week when I spoke with her again. There was an apology, which didn’t mean much to be honest, and she said that although the recruitment team member I’d engaged with was on holiday she’d spoken with her and there was some confusion because she said she’d never said anything about an offer letter.
Wait. What? Are they for real?
I was very clear about the fact she had, that I only knew the full process because of it and she’d followed up with the benefits details.
I also repeated the fact that their poor processes and even worse communication had cost me real money and the opportunity to help companies who want to achieve inclusion and accessibility.
My final point was to stress how negatively this could impact someone, particularly their mental wellbeing, if they were reliant on this role to pay their bills and who could quite possibly have turned down another job offer if this was their preference.
She gave me lots of positive feedback and shared how my skills were strongest in many areas, and said they’d finally decided to progress with a candidate from a digital accessibility background as it would make engaging with their own digital accessibility team easier.
I saw no value in telling her that I’ve been engaging with and educating digital teams for years, I was just done with the whole scenario.
I informed the line manager for this role I would be sharing my experience publicly, as I feel this is the perfect case study to share to ensure other people do not make people feel so disrespected with such poor recruitment practices.
On the morning of publishing this blog post I saw a LinkedIn update from someone I know and respect sharing they had started the role in question.
The only upside in this saga is that someone I have every confidence in has a new opportunity and can help an organisation with poor recruitment practices to be far more #PeopleSmart.
In all honesty, if someone else had experienced all of this with one company, for one role, I’d have thought they’d embellished it a bit because they were dissatisfied.
One thing this experience has done for me personally, is squash that bias.
I’d love to hear about your recruitment stories. From the brilliant to the terrible, or maybe the bizarre? Let’s share, let’s educate, let’s enable improvement.
If you want to make your own recruitment processes inclusive, check out our (free!) Disability Inclusion Maturity Model. Recruitment is one of the ten business areas where it enables you to be #PeopleSmart.
I often talk about accessibility for customers; however, I don’t aim this at small or medium sized businesses often enough. This blog post is one step in the right direction for me to change that and ensure Be #PeopleSmart is supporting all companies to be inclusive and accessible.
Disability inclusion and accessibility is often either misunderstood or unheard of. When I tell people how many more people they could reach with a few changes to how they communicate, I’m met with positive surprise at least 90% of the time.
Here’s my surprise to you and a helpful way for you to grow your customer base in 2022.
By making your branding, your advertising, your social media posts and any other communications accessible, you can reach a much wide audience and increase revenue.
If people cannot see, hear or understand what products or services you are offering, then they either won’t know you exist, or the uncertainty will send them elsewhere.
It’s the same with branding, if people cannot see or understand it, even if they place a one-off order it’s unlikely you’ll stick in their mind for future needs.
In short, accessible means the vast majority of people can access and understand information.
Accessibility is often linked to disability inclusion, as many people with disabilities can only access accessible information; however, the reality is accessibility improves the experience for everyone. And we all know, if you have a positive experience, you’re far more likely to be a repeat customer and to tell your friends.
1 in 5 working age adults have a disability, that’s a lot of people.
You may have heard of the Purple Pound, which is the spending power of people with disabilities and their households.
The Purple Pound is worth $8 trillion (US Dollars) globally and £274 billion in the UK alone. Can you afford to miss out on that?
The value of accessibility goes beyond the Purple Pound too. I said accessibility helps everyone and it really does. I’ve looked at products before and the information and/or ordering process just wasn’t clear enough to give me confidence, so I clicked away and looked elsewhere. It could have been your site I looked at first, and I won’t be the only one.
The truth is there is a lot you can do, however we all have to start somewhere so here are my top 4 quick wins.
If you start implementing the simple changes I’ve mentioned above, then you will be well on your way to reaching a far wider audience and improving the experience for your current customer base.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these tips, accessibility in general or where you need more help to be inclusive. Please add a comment or get in touch.
If you would like to progress to coaching, or an audit of your channels, please contact our team.
I know many people and many organisations use the term ally, to encourage people who aren’t part of a certain demographic to show their support for diversity, equity and inclusion and I’m not suggesting that’s not the right thing to do.
However, I am not an ally. To me, “ally” suggest there’s a them and there’s a me. It doesn’t matter what makes someone who they are, I’m not their ally, I’m simply another human being who believes we’re all in this together.
I’ve never had a disability, but I’ve always felt very strongly about disability inclusion and experienced disbelief and frustration at how slowly the world is catching up. It may not impact me directly as an individual, but it does impact me directly as a human being and as a professional.
My proactive efforts to improve disability inclusion and accessibility span over a decade and I’m proud of my achievements in this space. Not because I’m supporting a minority group (who aren’t such a minority anyway), but because I want to make the world one where everyone can have access to opportunities, services, digital solutions, learning, employment, shopping, entertainment, the list could go on and on.
There’s also a selfish element to this. If my own situation were to ever change and I became disabled, right now the world isn’t set up to enable me.
Would my contributions be worth less?
Would my money, as a consumer, reduce in value?
Would my thoughts and opinions be less valuable?
Would my experience and competency no longer exist?
Of course not! But, if I couldn’t use those things then I wouldn’t be able to keep adding the same value that I can today.
So, no, I do not consider myself an ally. I consider myself a human being.
Unlike our other personas, I am a real person, although I think I prefer my digital look.
I am British, born and bred in London and still living in a London suburb with my partner Neil and our house rabbit (or the real boss) Dobby.
I am the Founder of Be #PeopleSmart and loving being part of the journey to improved disability inclusion and accessibility for our clients.
I love to travel, which has of course taken a knock due to the pandemic, however it’s given me chance to look at areas of the UK I still need to visit.
I wasn’t sure about including myself in the persona images at first, however I’m representing someone who isn’t currently disabled.
I have a personal and professional passion for disability inclusion and have been noted for my tenacity (a nice way of saying I’m very vocal) in addressing the fact that, in many organisations, diversity and inclusion (D&I) is only diverse-ish, as so often there is little or no strategy or tangible action with regards disability inclusion.
With regards personal impact, accessibility also enables me. For example, poor contrast makes it difficult for me to read information, controlling my laptop with my voice give me flexibility to move around more and non-intuitive websites make it difficult for me to find the information I need.
Well, I do deliver workshops quite regularly and it’s always interesting when you start with a blank page to decide what content adds most value. However, I’d start with an overview of disabilities, including statistics and legislation, then move into inclusive behaviours and practices and finally I’d have an immersive exercise to give an idea of how it can feel to be excluded.
I would include how legislation is of course non-negotiable, however we shouldn’t limit ourselves to legislative obligations. People aren’t clauses in a document and therefore it should be about simply doing the right thing to give everyone an equitable experience, where I’d share the difference between equality and equity.
I’d be keen to also include a discussion on labels. Why do we need to put labels on people, simply to enable them to go about their day to day lives? Inclusion should simply be giving people access to the tools and services they need, to either be productive employees or to be able to do business with us. Many organisations have a room that can be used for prayers, a space for nursing mothers and usually ramps or a lift wherever there are stairs. However, beyond that, when it comes to accessibility people often want to know why they’re accommodating someone before action is taken. Does it really matter? People aren’t labels, they are human beings with skills, abilities, likes, dislikes and needs; it’s only when we aren’t accessible that barriers are created.
I am a real believer in sharing quick wins too, as they are things we can all do from today to make a difference and it helps people identify how simple inclusion can be, even if that means doing things a little differently to how we have in the past.
As I mentioned, I don’t currently have a disability, however I still find some things difficult to access. For example, high shelves in a supermarket (I’m 5’ 3” or 160cm), non-intuitive websites, any documents, labels or websites with poor contrast and videos or podcasts with background music and audible messaging playing at one time – my attention doesn’t know where to aim.
Just the high shelves again for me, although I have solutions built in for that; I have a set of steps that store away in a low cupboard which can be pulled out to access the higher shelves.
Just 2? Wow, this is tough.
I would have to choose all organisations to have an inclusive communications policy, which not only states all documents and channels must be fully accessible, but also shows those administering the information what that means and how to achieve it.
This really is tough, as I have about 12 different things going around my head right now.
Ok, my second choice will be fully accessible public transport everywhere.
As we don’t have a magic genie to grant my wishes, I guess I’d better get back to work.
Hi, yes I’m Sky. I’m from Hong Kong, now living in LA (Los Angeles) in the United States. I’ve been in the States for 4 years now and I love it.
I’m 28 and a tattoo artist. In fact, it’s my boss who sponsored me to bring me to the States. I specialise in portrait tattoos, he saw my work on a visit to Hong Kong and although my parents weren’t happy about it, 3 weeks later I was on an airplane to LAX (LA’s International Airport).
I’m not dating anyone right now, but I’ve made some great friends and love hanging out in LA. I love the fact I can just be me. I have short purple hair right now and love to try out new looks. My friends in Hong Kong were great about my style choices too, but I love the fact people compliment me now rather than think I’m somehow rebelling against something.
In my free time I like to get to the beach, Venice is my favourite area, it just has such a great vibe. When I have more time, I love to see more of the States; this country is so much bigger than I’d even realised and there is so much to see. I’ve been to 9 states so far and my plan is to visit them all.
Up until a few years ago I would have struggled to answer this question, however now I have a diagnosis, or a label, and know I’m dyslexic and dyscalculic.
When I was still in school people always thought I wasn’t paying attention. You see, I could read aloud at the same speed as most of my friends, but just didn’t absorb anything I was reading. I couldn’t answer questions on a passage I, or someone else, had just read out in class. I couldn’t explain why I didn’t remember things so quickly, which is still the case, but after seeing a specialist here in the States it makes so much more sense. My working memory, that’s what they call it, just doesn’t work so well. Strangely though, I always found it easier to read in English than I did in Cantonese. I’m still not sure why that is, maybe it’s all linked to my memory.
Similarly, in math class, I just didn’t get equations and was always a few years behind my friends. Even now I avoid using cash, as I’m never sure how much change I should be getting.
Although, I was always talented at art. The only teacher that seemed to like me in high school was my art teacher. He always said I would go far, but my parents said I’d never get rich drawing pictures and they really wanted me to go to university and become a doctor or a lawyer. I don’t think they just wanted a daughter who had a great career, they also wanted me to be successful for myself; I just feel they and I have a different understanding of what success means.
All of this meant my grades suffered and although I graduated from high school, I didn’t get the grades my parents had hoped for and would have had to re-sit to have any hope in going to university, which wasn’t what I wanted anyway. I did however get top marks in my whole year group for art and won 2 national awards.
As an adult, with a career I love, in an amazing country, I’m really glad my brain is wired the way it is. I believe my love of art and my ability to recreate some amazing images as body art, are because of my wiring and not despite it.
For me I’d have to say not making assumptions. If someone can’t read or take in information as quickly as you can that doesn’t make them stupid or uneducated, it simply means we process information differently. It’s the same with numbers. I may not know how much change is due to me in a store, but could you recreate a replica of a deceased relative over someone’s heart? Because I can.
Oh, and I’ve joined some forums and I now understand neurodivergent people, those of us with non-typical wiring, are often asked whether they can be ‘fixed’. Dyslexia, Autism, Down Syndrome and so many other neurodiversity traits aren’t something that needs to be fixed, simply accepted and embraced. I have a few friends now who have shared the fact they’re autistic with their employers and they have all been asked to see occupational health or to provide a doctor’s note. It’s important people understand why these traits shouldn’t be medicalised, as it’s simply who we are and not a medical condition. I’d also really like to do more to show people the added value neurodiversity brings. Some of my autistic friends are just so great at not getting bogged down with unnecessary details, can just get the job done and they’re very analytical; I guess that’s why most of them work in engineering and data type jobs, as they play to their strengths.
There are three things I can think of. The first is moving words on websites, they’re always too fast for me and even when I can read them, I have to concentrate too hard and don’t actually compute what I’m reading. I don’t even bother trying now.
The next is how information or instructional videos are made. Most of the time I can pause, replay and navigate to specific sections to make sure I’m following, but sometimes I can’t and watching a whole video again doesn’t work for me. Oh and what is it with videos that have music playing and someone speaking at the same time? It’s really hard to take information in like that. I’ve found some videos that have the content also written out in a separate document, some of these have been great as they’re really structured so I can just search for the part I need and take in the information in my own time. Although if it’s all just plain text, these still don’t help me.
Finally, I’d say signs in airports. You know the ones, where you find your gate? Because the information flicks over every few seconds and the lines for each flight aren’t always clear, it takes me far too long to work out if I need to go to the gate and which one. Plus, if I ask a member of staff they tend to just point to the screen and politely tell me “the information is on the screen”; I don’t like to go into details with them, so I just go back to the screen and try to work it out for myself. I know they can’t see I’m dyslexic, but there is a reason I’m asking.
So, I guess I’m not just talking about screens in airports, it’s about service. Is your information accessible and do your staff understand one size doesn’t fit all?
The only thing that ever bothers me at home is labelling. Some bottles have some really cool letter styles on them, which I think look pretty good, but I can’t read a lot of them. I don’t see these funky styles used in so many other places, which is good for me, but it stops me buying some things as I’m not really sure what I’m getting.
That’s a really tough question. These may not be things that help me directly but are close to my heart.
My first would be people being respected and recognised for their experience and capabilities. So many companies prioritise university degrees and grade, when the best people for their jobs and their teams may not thrive in those environments and so both miss out. It’s the same with interviews and pre-employment tests, people aren’t check boxes and there has to be a better way.
For my second choice I’d say keeping written information to a minimum, or at least structuring documents for clarity. I often receive emails from companies I have an account with, and they are just full of so much text. There aren’t always any sub-headings to help with context either, having these in bold really helps me compartmentalise information. Also, images really help some of us take in information, just streams of text doesn’t do the same and even my neuro-typical friends tell me they tend not to read lengthy emails. Why is it we understand the need to include pictures for children to absorb information, but then it’s widely accepted that adults don’t need the same and a whole heap of plain text is fine?
Absolutely. My name is Luci, I’m from South Africa but have been living in The Hague, in the Netherlands, for 7 years now.
I’m 42 years old and I’m married to Martijn, who I met in the Netherlands. We are expecting our first child, which will probably be our biggest life challenge.
I am a Senior Programme Developer for a global technology company. It was my company who gave me the opportunity to relocate to the Netherlands, so I guess they also enabled me to meet my husband.
I love the freedom in Europe and I now really enjoy walking. We’re very lucky to live so close to the sea and I love walking along just listening to the waves, people chattering and the bird call. I’m trying to convince Martijn to move to a nice seafront apartment, but he likes the very short cycle to the office and he does make a good point about the schools we have close by.
Yes, I guess my disability is usually quite visible. I have no useable sight, although I can see light and dark and so find good lighting extremely helpful.
I am also lucky to have my faithful sidekick, Bruce. Bruce is my first guide dog and has been with me for 5 years. In South Africa I hadn’t even considered getting a guide dog, however when I moved to the Netherlands and got a taste of outdoor life it seemed like a logical thing to do and so I started doing my research and after another 2.5 years I met my furry little friend. I had to have some training of my own to understand Bruce and make sure we are both safe and well, I hadn’t even thought of the human side to a guide dog partnership until then.
Bruce doesn’t feel like my seeing dog anymore, he’s more like my first child but with fur and four legs.
People often assume I can read braille, but I lost my sight due to an illness as a teenager so I’ve never learned how and just don’t feel the need to thanks to technology.
I use a screen reader on my laptop and voice over on my mobile telephone. I prefer a small laptop, as it’s so much easier to carry one handed and I don’t use the screen anyway. People are often curious how I’m working with my screen switched off, as I use a headset to stop the screen reader distracting anyone else. I don’t use a mouse either, as screen readers are very intuitive and work with keyboard shortcuts. Although, I can only access documents, websites and applications that are accessible.
The first thing that comes to mind is mindset. I have lost count of the number of people who have told me I’m “an inspiration”. Not because I have found a cure for a disease or because I’ve sailed solo around the world, no, simply because I go about my day-to-day life as most of us do. Since I’ve been pregnant, it’s been even more so, it’s like my eyesight is somehow connected to my ability to reproduce. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to inspire people for the right reasons, and I hope to inspire my child to work hard and be a good human being; but being disabled does not make me somehow inspirational by default.
If there was time, I’d also like to include some education on guide dogs. You may or may not be surprised by the number of adults who pet Bruce when he’s harnessed and working. Sometimes they ask and I have to politely ask them not to, other times they just go directly to Bruce. He’s a beautiful dog, with a beautiful nature, but distracting him could put one or both of us in danger.
Technology advances are really helping with accessibility for the blind, although I do often feel the world is still built for the sighted.
There are many websites that I can’t access and others that I technically can, but they just aren’t usable. No one wants a painful user experience accessing information or buying a new bathmat.
Similarly, there are still companies who send me hard copy documents or invoices even though I’ve told them I’m blind. Some people I speak to think they are helpful and suggest they can provide a larger font, getting them to understand it could be the size of my apartment block and I still couldn’t see it is quite a challenge.
At work, there are often communications I miss because they haven’t been created with accessibility in mind. Things like “refer to the above image”, with no alternative text on the image so I have no idea what I’m referring to. Not all images will be contextual, but it can be frustrating knowing there’s an image in use and not knowing what it is or why.
Many buildings aren’t what I would call blind friendly. Lighting levels are often quite low, particularly in lower use areas. Handrails on staircases don’t always start and end at the top and bottom, sometimes they stop too soon and others continue when there’s a landing space. Bruce is good, but he can’t tell me there’s a very wide step that I’m not expecting. And when it comes to accessible toilets I’ve seen it all, needing to ask for a key, having a very embarrassed employee tell me it’s being used as a storage cupboard, being lead about 150 metres around back of house corridors and being told the nearest ‘accessible’ facilities are on another floor of a large building.
Banks have really progressed though. I can use an ATM (cash machine) to do my banking without any assistance now, as my bank offers an audio option by just plugging in my headset.
Since living with Martijn I find I have far fewer challenges at home, as I can check with him. Although when he’s not around I do sometimes use an app to connect to a sighted community, for example if I need to check the colour of a scarf to make sure it matches my dress.
My main challenges at home would be packaging on food. So many bottles are remarkably similar and the packaging for readymade meals, Martijn and I don’t cook often, are often identical to touch. Some companies are becoming more accessible though, I can now tell the difference between shampoo and conditioner, as they have different tactile dots on the bottles.
Money can also be a challenge, but I don’t often carry cash so not something I personally have an issue with.
Right now, my main priority is finding a pushchair for my baby that I can pull along easily with one hand. I have tried at least a dozen so far and steering whilst pulling them just doesn’t work very well. We’ll still need Bruce with us and so I need to find the solution that lets us have some lovely walks around the city and along the coast without always relying on a carrier.
As I can only pick 2, I will say accessible communication. At work, as a customer and as a friend, with a bit of forethought it’s not difficult to include everyone.
Yep, hello there. My name’s Brian, I’m 58 and I’m from London in England. I live in Kent now, to be near the family, but I’ll always be a Londoner at heart.
I’m divorced, with 2 grown up sons of 26 and 21 and a granddaughter of 6 months, Millie. She’s a little cracker and loves her grandad.
I’m a Builder. I started out as a brick layer as a young man and then moved into multiple trades before I started running sites.
I don’t really have any hobbies, but I do like a beer in my local (pub) with my boys and sometimes a game of pool.
It feels a bit strange to be honest because I’m not disabled. But I agreed to share my story because I was diagnosed with depression a while ago now. I’m not really sure what I feel about that, because I don’t really know much about all this mental health stuff and it’s not really something us blokes talk about. It makes you feel a bit daft too, because my life’s really not so bad.
I haven’t told my boys or any of my other family about it yet, I’m not really sure how you even start or if they’d understand. Although, if they were struggling, I really hope they’d tell me.
I have told 1 bloke at work, although he kind of guessed to be honest. He asked me how I was, as you do you know, and I told him I was alright. But then, I was a bit surprised, he said to me “you just don’t seem yourself Brian, are you sure you’re ok?”. I didn’t really know what to say then, so I told him the truth, although I did kind of say it was what the doctor reckoned and I don’t really have a reason to be so fed up.
Give Winston his due, he wasn’t having any of it. He told me that even us fellas have bad times and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s just what makes up part of the human race. He did give me something to think about that’s for sure. Since then, Winston has been a rock really and dare say turned from workmate to just mate. Winston even says I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, although he’s tough on me when it comes to my football team losing.
On the upside, I’ve got another good mate now to have a pint with. He loves to give us a bit of Kingston Town on the karaoke as well which is always a good laugh.
Oh yeah and I do wear glasses. I didn’t need them in my 20s, but as I got older my eyes just got worse. I don’t think that’s a disability though, because as long as my glasses are on my face I’m sorted.
Well it’s not really something I’d know a lot about, but if I think of it a bit like a safety talk then I guess I’d go with something on mental health. I mean, I didn’t really understand that your mind can get ill just like the rest of your body and I still don’t really understand it but I’m learning.
I’d also do something about men and mental health. Not to say women don’t suffer of course, but my doctor told me some scary numbers about men suffering and also that we (men) aren’t so good at telling anyone. I suppose I am one of those numbers.
I knew a fella at work once who took his own life and none of us could understand it, you see, he had a lovely wife and 2 little kiddies. But that word, suicide, just isn’t something you talk about is it? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not been in that place myself, but I guess now I just think about how other people feel a bit more.
Not really. I guess my story’s a bit different to some people’s. Mind you, I do tell some porkies (lies) when people are having parties and all that. It’s not really that I can’t go, just that sometimes I really don’t want to and that’s something that people really don’t get; you end up being pegged as Boring Brian, which is what my sister calls me now, because all them people in one place are just too much sometimes.
Oh yeah, and some of these prints you find on packaging and that are so small that I can’t even read them with my glasses on.
I don’t really have any issues at home, except trying to read some of the labels on food so I know how to cook them. It’s not even just small writing, sometimes they use weird colours, so I can’t work out what it says.
Oh and all these new phones give too much away about you. If I’m just not feeling like talking and someone sends me a message, they can always tell I’ve read it even if I don’t reply. Then they end up getting the hump, thinking you’re ignoring them. I’m not really up with technology, but what is it with people all needing a reply within 5 minutes?
I think we need to educate young people, particularly boys, about things like depression. I know in my own head now that it’s not about being weak, although I do sometimes have to remind myself, but we still see all these expectations put on our kids. You know, boys should be tough and play with cars and girls should be sweet and play with dolls. I am a bit of an old dinosaur, but I’ve got with the programme here. My Millie can play with all the cars and dinosaurs she likes, mind you at the moment she only really likes her blanket and that horrible panda of hers that plays an annoying song, and if I’m blessed with a little grandson then he can come crying to grandad whenever he needs to.
My second thing would probably be for the building sites. I know we’re getting more women on there now, but it’s still a bit of a boy’s club most of the time. So, I reckon if we could somehow get people who know about depression and stuff to talk to the whole site then it just might help some people. It’s never easy, because we’ve got so many deadlines to meet and people breathing down our necks, but I still think it’d be a good one to target.
I’m also sharing a photo of me with my mate Winston at work, so you can see who I’ve been talking about.
Hi, I’m Jacob. I’m 21 and currently studying Political Science at Toronto University. I am Canadian, although I consider myself Can-Asian, as my mother is Canadian but my father is from India.
I grew up in Vancouver, where my parents still live and love getting home whenever I can.
I love athletics and am currently training for a place in the Canadian Paralympic team, I’ve won 100m gold and silver twice in national competitions and so I’m hopeful I can represent my home country.
I have a partner, Luis, who I met at university. I’m very lucky because he’s great about the amount of my non-study time I spend training. When we do get time together, we like to get out exploring; Niagara is one of our favourite places for a day trip. It’s not all work and no play in Toronto either, I’m not much of a drinker, but I still enjoy a good party and so I tend to stick to soda and be the taxi for my friends.
No problem. I lost my right leg above the knee and some of my hearing when I was 13 years old. I wasn’t paying attention and walked out in front of a car. I didn’t appreciate how lucky I was at the time, in fact I really struggled to come to terms with some of the changes to start with, but when I look back now, I really do feel lucky to be alive and I’m determined to make the most of it.
To be honest, I don’t really think of myself as disabled, although I know I kind of tick the boxes to say I am. There aren’t many times I feel any different to my friends, in fact I often say my running leg performs much better than my left one.
The only difference I guess is the controls on my car. I drive with just my left foot and so I have my gas and brake pedals the opposite way round to most people. It’s cool though, as I have another gas pedal on the other side which means they can easily be swapped, you just flip one up and the other comes down, so we can share the driving on road trips.
The main thing that comes to my mind is making people aware of the assumptions they make and how patronising some comments can feel. I still get people approaching me from nowhere asking “what happened?” and saying things like “oh my god, I feel so sorry for you”. There’s nothing to feel sorry for, you didn’t push me in front of the car and actually my life’s really good. Ironically, I didn’t even get in to running until after my rehabilitation and I love it. I think people mean to be supportive, so I guess it’s a case of giving them some help on how to have the conversation.
It’s even worse when people try to avoid looking at my prosthetic or mentioning it at all. I mean, I don’t expect someone to say “Hi my name is, what happened to your leg?”, but I’m really cool once I get to know someone a little if they have any questions around what happened or the types of prosthetics I have. I’m really proud of my latest running leg, thanks to my sponsors, and I’m sure my mom and dad are also grateful that it wasn’t their credit card this time.
I’d also like to include something on not having everyone speak at the same time. My hearing isn’t so bad, but if more than one person is speaking close to me, I sometimes find it hard to follow a conversation. I have sometimes pretended I was following just to make life easier, which isn’t so great and can come back to bite you on the butt.
It’d be great if I could buy just one shoe from a store. Not just because of dollars wasted, but it’s not great for the environment just throwing out a shoe from each pair. I have seen some stories of people sharing shoes, but I’m yet to find someone with only a right foot who is the same size as me. Recently I had some single running shoes made for me, also thanks to my sponsor, which made me feel like a real pro (professional).
It would also be great to be able to hire an adapted car when travelling. I don’t think my controls are so unusual, yet when I took a trip to Europe in the summer I couldn’t find a hire car I could drive. I was offered hand controls by more than one company, but I have no idea how to use them.
I don’t really have any issues because of mobility at home. In fact, I tend to wear my leg a lot less when I’m just chilling in my room and I still do what I need to just fine.
It would probably be more difficult if I didn’t have a separate shower, I know some friends who have to climb into a bathtub to shower, but I don’t even have a bathtub so it works for me.
I’m not really a gamer, but Luis is, so if we play together online I use noise cancelling headphones as I find they help me hear everything going on. That’s it really.
I would love to make good prosthetics far more affordable. I know from some forums there are people who either can’t get a prosthetic at all or have one that gives them pain, just because they don’t have the money to buy what they need. It also limits sports and things, as you need specific types of legs to compete.
My second choice would have to be more global equality. In Canada we’re very lucky with the equipment we can buy and the specialists we have. I know from my family in India that it’s not so easy there and in some areas really restricted. I’m sure there are a lot of countries where equipment, specialist doctors and companies who support different needs are hard to find and accessibility shouldn’t be based on your zip code or your bank balance.
