About show|me|the|access

This website is about making information about accessibility of goods, services, activities and venues much more immediate.

Why?

Currently the search is not only frustrating and time-consuming, and therefore costly, but proves to be a barrier to inclusion in the workplace, education, and any other aspect of life you can imagine.

How?

The idea is simple. A site hosting web links to video. The aim is a resource for not only people with impairments, and people who provide the services to them, such as hotels, airports, enterprise herbs, dentists, etc, but also facilitators such as occupational therapist, support workers, teachers, hard-pressed family members, and others. Links to video on sites such as YouTube or Vimeo or myhotelvideo will be uploaded by the experts, i.e. the people who know about access, who are the people with impairments themselves; or by the professionals e.g. occupational therapists and social workers; or by the providers, e.g. manufacturers, retailers, theatres. There would be a requirement of the written word too, making it accessible to screen readers and search engines. Ideally, an audio commentary would give a higher ranking on the page, as would reviews.

It will save

• > the continual effort of having to closely research products, services and venues for accessibility
• > the waste of time, resources and unwanted products that do not do the job we thought
• > the disappointment at not finding (for example) the wedding venue that would enable the bride’s disabled relative to attend her special day.
• > the heartache, anxiety and exhaustion involved in having to turn around and go back home when the holiday destination didn’t have the promised, needed accessibility.

Perhaps you think this isn’t necessary, surely it’s nearly 20 years since the Disability Discrimination Act? Think again.

We have begun to have the availability, for some, of personal budgets, but we lack the ready availability of products and services with which to manage anything approaching a ‘normal‘ life. Please feel free to comment, offer ideas, enquire about placing an advert, show support, offer time (or sponsorship or other resources!), submit links to suitable video The latter is probably the most urgent need at the moment; people need information in order to enable their lives to work more effectively.