This guide emphasizes the importance of proactively sharing accessibility information and offers actionable strategies to help organizations begin or strengthen their communication around accessibility.
Importance
- Being transparent about the accessibility in your space reduces last-minute cancellations, no-shows, and frustrated clients. Individuals are able to plan ahead for a successful experience.
- Many people may find accessibility information more important as they enter older adulthood or acquire a short-term injury. Caregivers with children may have strollers and other individuals may have difficulty with stairs.
- Providing accessibility information shows a commitment to the disability community and strengthens relationships with clients and community members.
- Offering a space for organizations to list their accessibility information increases awareness of the accessibility of one’s space.
Strategies
- Start somewhere.
- Accessibility is a journey and it is not “one size fits all.” There will never be a perfect system to communicate this information but we need to start somewhere.
- Having a space for accessibility information may inspire organizations to think about their space and the various accommodations someone might need.
- Seek input from individuals with disabilities.
- Understand diverse perspectives to learn what information is useful.
- Provide specifics.
- Describe specific criteria for the accessibility categories provided in the checklist.
- Offer a space for narrative descriptions.
- Offering this space may allow organizations to describe the environment and accommodations that they offer in more specific detail.
- List contact information for people who have accessibility questions.
- This may encourage organizations to assign an individual to handle accessibility questions and make accommodations for clients.
This work was developed by the NH Disability and Health Program's (DHP) 2024-2025 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) student, Lauren Reid, with guidance from the DHP team and the Disability and Health Advisory Work Group (DHAWG).
