Accessibility Project : The Montreal Courthouse

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) assists Ontarians by “developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities…”. This act creates a standard that must be met through all facets of society. Whether it be in an in-store customer experience, in the workplace or online, AODA lays a framework that will assist in the day-to-day lives of Ontarians with disabilities. This act greatly impacts the IT field, in that it changes the way IT professionals utilize technology, in order to assist and accommodate disabled citizens. Disabled Ontarians occupy a significant population within all of Ontario, “15.5% of Ontario’s population has a disability and this

The researched proposal by Manasi Deshpande entitled “A Call to Improve Campus Accessibility for the Mobility Impaired,” is a reasonable argument, by this student, to improve campus accessibility at the University of Texas. I believe this student supports her argument very well by using interviews and campus observations. The proposal emphasizes the challenges students with mobility impairments encounter while attending classes on campus. Ms. Deshpande includes her personal experiences, as well as the experiences of fellow students as supporting evidence. Frankly, it was a bit shocking to learn this student changed her major due to accessibility issues. This fact alone should be a strong argument for change. The proposal details the benefits for improving campus accessibility not only for students, but also faculty. Moreover, Ms. Deshpande adds to her argument by including statistics regarding the

The amount of people who live with disabilities is a controversial number. Depending on what law and diagnostic tools used, a person may have a visible disability, or one that may lie beneath the surface of his or her appearance. Some people believe that the term “disability” is merely a label use to hold back, or prescribe helplessness. Meanwhile, individuals who have been properly diagnosed with disabilities struggle to maintain respect and acceptance every day. In plain language, there is a lot of misunderstanding between people with disabilities and those without. It is firstly important to get everyone on the same page regarding the definition of disability.

It is however not an easy feat. For accessibility to the fullest capacity to be to be established, organizational systems require funds to be pumped in. these funds will go towards making infrastructural and operational modifications to the system so that it caters to all needs. Also, application/recruitment and selection processes will need to be brought up to standard as well. These cannot only be planned; it has to be implemented to be function. Afterwards which the organization will have to regulate, monitor and make improvements to the system as required by the results they get. For example, for an organization to high a qualified blind candidate to join their team, the must first ensure accessibility by providing funding for a Braille machine, afford the candidate the opportunity of receiving correspondence or documents in Braille, ensure all other members of staff pass documents to him/her in Braille, maintain or improve on the process of communication

Many places now have adapted well for those with disabilities and have for example opened up corridors and made slops for those using physical aids such as sticks, frames and wheelchairs enabling those with disabilities able to join in with social events with others.

The area immediately separates into two distinct sections. A sign instructs employees of the courthouse to keep right along a ramp that fast tracks them past security. The rest of the crowd is left to climb a couple of steps then proceed to sneak their way back and forth until they reach the guards at the security section. A recent addition, guards had to scan the personal belongings of individuals to ensure no weapon was being smuggled in. As you make your way past the security screening and towards the atrium, it makes an impression of grandeur as if the building and the machinery at work are supposed to make its own statement. The size, scope and design of the building point represent and is meant to impart the importance and seriousness of the law on our lives. The authority of the courts is ever present (Demers,

They have poor doors accommodations for students with wheelchairs. They tolerate, them but they do not welcome people with disabilities. Many colleges and universities have old buildings, which do not have easy access to the doors of some classes. Because of this, some students

At the dawn of the Disability Rights Movement in 1980, Canadian legislators were willing and prepared to ignore the rights of Canadians with disabilities. However, throughout the decade, Canadian citizens with disabilities and their supporters fought back and proved to the world that the voices of the disenfranchised could make a difference (Peters, 2004). Five briefs submitted to the Special Joint Committee of the House of Commons and the Senate in 1980 and 1981 regarding disability rights, reflected and supported the efforts of the Disability Rights Movement and significantly contributed to its evolution.

The Deaf President Now movement and Gallaudet University protest did not only achieve its aims, this revolution brought unity to the Deaf Community and awareness to the general public. This revolution grew into a civil rights movement, consequently enacting legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and The Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act of 1988, to benefit deaf and hard of hearing citizens as well as many other disabled Americans. The events of February and March 1988 are still a great source of pride and enlightenment that are still nostalgically looked back on by this generation of deaf citizens. The Deaf community can be described as being a relatively private community, consisting of many people with various ranges of hearing loss. Like any culture, the deaf have their own community, culture, language, and essentially a separate world from the hearing majority. However, it has only been in the last few decades that there has been awareness and acceptance of this culture, nevertheless there is not full acceptance and understanding of this community and deafness in general. Prior to this revelation, deaf people had been oppressed and ostracised throughout history. Dating back to Ancient Greece, deaf people were seen as a subordinate minority. Aristotle theorised that people could only learn through spoken language, therefore deaf people were seen as being unable to learn and were not given an education. This was a common

Every person in the organization with a disability has a different need. Organizations work around the clock in many occasions to comply with the accommodations of each individual in the organization. Educating staff in how to comply with the requirements of ADA can be quite challenging. Organizations are afraid to hire, retain or accommodate workers with disabilities because of lack of awareness of disability and accommodations issues, concern over costs, and legal liability (Kaye et al., 2011). It is therefore the responsibility of the organization to educate management about the law and train on disabilities and accommodations. The guidelines, regulations, and building codes should be implemented to make the facility more welcoming and inviting to workers with disabilities (Stryker, R. (2013).

State and local governments, which include a long list of agencies and services, need to provide qualified interpreters when requested by the deaf, along with assistive listening devices when applicable. Deaf persons should be able to participate in these services. While the consumer is

L’Arche provides homes and workplaces where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together as peers. Her expectionations had been forged by Henri Nouwen who participated for ten years in the L’Arche community. Henri’s

This was an eye-opener for us to advocate for public transportation especially the bus to be modified to accommodate persons with physical disability using a wheelchair. A lift or a ramp could be provided for easy boarding of the bus. Additional space

This report serves to review the research completed by Eric Lipp and the Open Doors Organization (ODO). Through familiarity with the issue, analysis, and sound recommendations, we conclude that the research was sound and beneficial to a very large demographic of people with disabilities.

    A person with a disability, or handicap, can be defined as someone with a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial or long-term adverse affect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities (Employment 2). Handicap workers face many challenges in the work place that the average person overlooks. Also, many special arrangements and alterations have been made to the workplace for people with handicaps. Accessibility, transportation, workload, and salary are just some of the many issues that must be considered with the prospect of employing the handicap.