Hello Jude, you did indeed strike a very strong cord with me and in
reply to this particular E mail I would like to take up and expand a
point.
I note your In message
>design solutions while also researching other impairment access needs, such
>as visual, hearing, epilepsy, learning difficulties, language barriers,
>dwarfism, arthritis, wheelchair use, age concern, etc.... Yet I am open
>minded, in that I know I still have many things to learn, and that the design
>process is never done, design can always be improved upon.
and my particular bugbear is the lack of understanding how debilitating
it is to have arm and leg impairments. To explain, I am small due to
jeuvenile rheumatiod arthritis, and have severe impairments of all
limbs. Although there is a great deal of understanding with regard to
wheelchair access, thank God for that too, there is little understanding
of the impact that impaired dexterity has. Let me give some concrete
examples. I live totally independently and manage very well in my own
home, however when it comes to getting out and about in the sense that I
want to be independent out of doors too, now I get into real bother.
Please note I am only scratching the surface here...driving my car is
one of the greatest freedoms I have, parking it is another issue.
Barrier controlled parking is a nightmare...not only can I not
physically pull out a ticket to raise the barrier, but I cannot reach
the button, (on the same console) to summon help! What a wonderful
design of machinery that is!!!! Now we come to staying in a hotel
enjoying the company of friends...unitl it comes to negotiating doors,
keys, light switches, taps, most are problematic for me some being
overcome more easily than others, but I cannot for the life of me
understand why so many doors in hotels have such a strong automatic
spring on them. And before someone shouts health and safety and 'fire'
why are the doors in the corridors easy to open but the doors into and
out of the bedrooms so hard. In the event of a fire I would be lucky to
get out BUT I am damned if I will stop going to places becasue of this
problem...Where is the sense in all this?? Design needs to be
accompanied by a real understanding of the problem.
How about this for a gem, the lifts where I work, have braille on the
buttons (to open and close the doors of course), however there is no
indication whatsoever to where the phone is to summon help. And I have
often made the point just how does a deaf person summon help if they are
stuck in the lift when the message on the telephone asks them to speak
into the telephone to let them know which lift they are stuck in!
I really wonder if there was a study into the effectiveness of 'design
in public buildings' would this really pass the acid test for people
with disabilities who have the right to live and enjoy all the fruits
that others are able to without negotiating so many barriers? Or would
the so called 'health and safety' excuse be used as it often has been to
restrict the movement of disabled people in public.
<[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] writes
>Good morning all,
>
>I'm glad to see so many responded to my 'disabled expert' e-mail. (Yes I'm
>the same person as on [log in to unmask])
>
>It's great to see that I'm not the only one with this strong notion that
>having an impairment does not make you a 'disabled expert,' but that you are
>only an expert on your own experiences.
>
>Not only am a PhD student working in the realms of access to the built
>environment, but I also run my own business, freelance architectural &
>disability access consultancy. I am often called out to 'clean up an access
>mess', which was created by a disabled person who viewed themselves as an
>expert in access issue soully on the fact that they too were impaired.
>People tend to look at their own situation and focus on that issue, and in
>societies eyes the disabled person is usually a wheelchair user, therefore
>this is the main access criteria. Wheelchair access is but one access need
>and there needs to be more research on other access solutions. Part M of the
>building regulations has proven to only be a start on access needs and it
>touches mainly on wheelchair access an a bit on visual access. I do have the
>advantage of having an architectural degree and can think creatively on
>design solutions while also researching other impairment access needs, such
>as visual, hearing, epilepsy, learning difficulties, language barriers,
>dwarfism, arthritis, wheelchair use, age concern, etc.... Yet I am open
>minded, in that I know I still have many things to learn, and that the design
>process is never done, design can always be improved upon.
>
>I know that most people on this list realise this situation and I just want
>to see further how other people feel on this subject.
>
>Regards,
>Jude
>Judith M. Irving (PhD student)
>LSA design director
>'Layering Systems of Access in Design to Create Atmospheres of Equality.'
--
Denise Webber
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