Celebrate GAAD and Be an Access Activist

Every year since 2012, Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) has reminded web designers and the general public about the importance of digital accessibility. GAAD invites us to think about the ways our digital environment looks, sounds, and is accessed. Even though GAAD is officially one day (the third Thursday in May), events and activities are held year-round. Access is vital every day - after all, try to imagine using your phone or computer only once a year.

While GAAD focuses on digital accessibility, the technical environment is only a single piece of a comprehensive inclusion ethos. We’re probably all familiar with adjustments that make the built landscape more accessible, such as ramps, elevators, large print and Braille signage, and handrails.

DSI believes in one more crucial element: a mindset of access and inclusion. Our partners tell us that as they work to improve the lives of disabled people in their communities, these efforts include changing prevalent attitudes about disability and restoring dignity and respect.

Perhaps the most important step toward fostering an inclusive mindset is changing some of our assumptions. Rather than a list of what not to assume, here are some positive approaches:

1. Assume that other people might move, think, see, or hear differently from the ways you do.

   It’s very difficult to imagine inhabiting a different body, so we generally default to assuming everyone is like us. Yet this can be limiting - what if there was only one flavor of pie or one style of music? Humans are just as variable. If we start by recognizing the possibility of difference, we’re already thinking outside our own bodies and experiences. We’re more open to the adjustments other people might require, and we might start implementing changes before we’re asked.
   

2. Assume you can trust someone else’s experience with their disability, even if you have the same condition. Some access requirements are universal - ramps will always be necessary. But many disabilities are not fixed and are better thought of as a spectrum. One person’s needs today might be different from someone else’s needs, and maybe even different from their own needs on a different day or in a different location.

   
   

   It’s always a good idea to be informed about disability and to learn access and assistance techniques. We should also include disabled people in the conversation. They are usually the ones who understand their own access needs the best. We can offer options, but we should be open to suggestions from the people living with the disability.
   

3. Assume there is more than one way to do a task, and that disabled people might do it differently. We are creatures of habit. Even the most impulsive and impetuous of us want our coffee or tea to be prepared just so. If we’ve done something a million times in one way, we might need convincing that there is another way to do it. This is one of the most damaging assumptions disabled people and their allies have to fight against. Whether it’s sports, crafts, cooking, learning, thinking, communicating, moving, to name only a few, people with disabilities might do things differently. This is, after all, how every convenient invention we enjoy today got started - someone looked at the way something had always been done and thought there could be a new way of doing it. If we accept that attitude from inventors, we should also accept it from disabled people.
   

4. Assume competency, and treat everyone with dignity and respect. We all get frustrated when we need help and do not receive it. We’re also annoyed when we don’t need assistance and someone insists on providing it. Imagine trying to learn to paint but your instructor won’t let you hold the brush. In the same way, it can be deeply limiting when people with disabilities are treated as though they are incapable.

   
   

   Unless there is clear and imminent danger, assume that the disabled person has the knowledge and skill to accomplish their goals. If we start from a negative position and assume that people with disabilities can’t complete a task and it must be done for them, we’ve slammed the door to learning, growth, and participation. Our limiting misconception is disabling and continues the infinity loop of forced incompetency. Frequently, the greatest barrier is not the disability itself, but the assumption that some things are impossible simply because we have not seen them done before. But if we do give disabled people the opportunity and the appropriate support, we break the loop and see things differently.

   
   

   Of course, the disabled person might already know how to do things we didn’t know were possible, and we just need to get out of the way. So instead, start by assuming that people with disabilities are competent and deserve the same respect as everyone else. If you think someone might need help, ask, and if they say no, believe them. If they say yes, ask how you can help. Assume they know their own needs and abilities better than you do. Be prepared to provide less help than you might think is necessary. Pay attention. Be ready to learn.

Around the world, there are systemic and institutional barriers to access and inclusion. Change starts with each of us. We must consciously and consistently practice an inclusive mindset so that we can put into action our commitment to improving the lives of disabled people.

GAAD stands for Global Accessibility Awareness Day. But we invite you to go even further and make it your Global Accessibility Action Day. What can you do today to contribute to expanding access and inclusion?