Common Mistakes of Equal Access Audits

Equal access audits are aimed to provide organizations with a snapshot of the provision and accommodations with respect to the overall accessibility of your premises. As a business owner, it is important to remain cognizant of the potential physical and digital barriers your customers with disabilities may face. You should always strive to offer accommodations that can alleviate any barriers and make your services and offerings accessible to all. In this blog, we offer you some of the common mistakes with respect to equal access audits. Let’s begin.

Choosing the wrong Access Auditor – One of the most common mistakes done is choosing the wrong auditor for the process of auditing the accessibility of your physical and digital space. If you are investing time and money in an equal access audit, you must be sure that the professional doing the audits is competent, can access your premises and will provide you with actionable recommendations that are affordable, executable and reasonable. Its best to choose professionals with specific experience in assessing the accessibility of your business. We recommend using separate services for auditing physical accessibility of your premises and the digital accessibility of your website, mobile app and other digital assets.

Failure to inform your Access Auditor of a refurbishment – If you are planning to refurbish and renovate your facility, it is very important to inform your Access Auditor of your plans ahead of time. In most cases, it can be beneficial to have an access audit carried out before any renovations takes place so that you can address any accessibility issues as part of a scope of work that you were going to perform anyway. In many cases you can accomplish your renovation goals while improving accessibility with little to no additional cost, all it requires is planning and precision. Why not strive for equal access and aesthetic improvements.

Not providing your Access Auditor with enough information – The professional conducting the equal access audit of your facility or digital presence should be equipped with all the information required, such as whether there are employees, visitors or contractors who have disabilities and are regularly on site. Make sure to ask your Access Auditor to review all disability policies and procedures you currently have in place and any recent changes to accessibility legislature provided by the ADA and other governing bodies.

Not making enough use of the access audit – If you are investing time and money in an equal access audit, it is very important that you make the most of the audit report and do the relevant changes suggested by the experts within reason and budget. Some organizations perform an access audit purely to check a box but never act on the recommendations of the audit. This can be a big mistake as it may lead to future litigation if patrons with disabilities can’t access your facility and choose to sue your business for discriminatory practices.

So, if you are planning to get an equal access audit done, it is recommended to keep the above-mentioned common mistakes in mind and to always strive for accessibility.

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Questions To Ask Yourself When Looking For The Right Adaptive Clothing

Adaptive clothing is a unique type of clothing that is specifically designed with the goal of helping those who are disabled maintain a comfortable ye stylish lifestyle. There are different types of adaptive clothing available on the market and therefore many aspects to consider when choosing the right clothing that meets your needs based on the limitations your disability may pose. In this article, we will discuss the top things you should consider when searching for the best adaptive clothing brands, feature and styles.

Does the clothing meet all the needs of the wearer?

When buying adaptive clothing, it is important to know that the clothing should benefit the wearer both physically and psychologically. Top brands make adaptive clothing that makes the user feel good about themselves, promoting a sense of well being.

Does the clothing assist caregivers to dress and undress?

Since ease of dressing and undressing is a huge factor of adaptive clothing design, it is important that the clothing is extremely easy to put on and take off for the user as well as the caregivers. If a caregiver typically helps you or a loved one get dressed regularly, we suggest that you keep in mind the ease of putting on and taking off the garment when buying adaptive clothing online or offline. It is important to keep in mind the types of physical or cognitive disabilities the wearer may have and how that mat effect their ability to use the garment in question.

Are the materials used to make the garment kind to sensitive skin?

Often times, those with physical disabilities may have different types of skin sensitivity issues, particularly elderly patients. This makes it important that the materials used are not going to be abrasive on their skin. Try to pick garments that are designed with soft and non-abrasive materials.

Will the clothing withstand rigorous laundering?

Another important thing that you must want to know about adaptive clothing when buying online or offline is if the material can withstand rigorous laundering or not. The reason is that the clothing for the disabled may be cleaned and washed more than the normal, because of the nature of some illnesses. This is why the clothing should be of very good quality and be very durable.

Learn How Coronavirus is Impacting the Disabled Community

The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be one of the deadliest threats of the modern global population. It has reached people across the world, in every country, city, and county. The entire world is taking pre-cautions in one form or another to minimize their exposure to the outside world in an effort to slow down and avoid transmission of this deadly virus. However, as the numbers of COVID-19 patients increase, many people with disabilities worry that their immunocompromised status makes them more susceptible to contracting the virus.

Of course, you should always seek immediate medical attention when necessary, but it is important and smart to minimize your exposure to this deadly virus by following some of the best coronavirus recommendations for the disabled.

If you are someone with limited mobility or who cannot avoid coming into close contact with others who may be infected, such as a caretaker or care giving family member, we recommend you take these steps to prevent contracting or transmitting the coronavirus. In addition to practicing everyday preventive actions like social distancing, wearing masks, and washing your hands any time you come into contact with common surfaces, people with disabilities who have caretakers can help protect themselves from respiratory illness by following these Coronavirus recommendations for the disabled.

• It is well within your right to ask your caretaker if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 or if they have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19 prior to visiting your home.
• It is also well within your rights to ask your caretaker to do the following precautionary activities.
  • Wash and sanitize their hands after entering your home and before and after touching you (i.e. feeding, dressing, bathing/showering, changing linens and transferring).
  • Disinfect frequently touched surfaces and objects (i.e. cell-phones, keys, counters, door knobs, bathroom fixtures, keyboards, tablets, and equipment such as wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, and canes.

Most Wheelchair Accessible Travel Destinations in the World

If you believe in ‘breaking boundaries’ and traveling around the world regardless of your physical disabilities, we have good news, the world is filled with accessible travel destinations. These accessible travel destinations are located all over the world from the United States to Austria and Hong Kong to the United Kingdom. So, pack your bag and begin your journey.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney is the perfect mix of culture, nature, technology and a lot more. Australia is a great place to begin your journey to the top accessible travel destinations with Sydney being a perfect starting point. In Sydney you can enjoy visiting different places like Coogee Beach’s accessible walkway where you can experience the awesome views of the ocean vista. Don’t forget to catch the whales as they jump out of the water!Other accessible travel destination in Sydney include:

• Royal Botanical Gardens
• Sydney Opera House

London, England, U.K

London is another notable wheelchair accessible travel destination that can accommodate the needs of most wheelchair travelers. Here you have options to hire Black Taxi Cabs, the most accessible taxis in the world. London has some of the best public transportation in the world and you can find ramps at most public transports. When in London, don’t forget to visit the following accessible travel destinations:

• Buckingham Palace
• Royal Mews
• Big Ben

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is not just a great pick for lovers of nightlife, it is also a great choice for wheelchair travelers. One of the most magnificent attractions in Hong Kong is the multimedia show, A Symphony of Lights. This is the largest light and music show in the world that you can experience from the comfort of your wheelchair. The busses and subway systems in Hong Kong are highly accessible. Here are some good accessible travel destinations.

• Victoria Peak
• Kowloon

Washington, D.C.

United States is one of the best countries for wheelchair travelers with endless options available to move around the country from your wheelchair. Most historic attractions and museums are free to visit, and many of them are accessible. The Washington D.C. Metro is renowned as one of the most accessible in the world.

Top Awesome Travel Apps for Disabled People

As a disabled person, you are likely to look for tricks and tips to make life with limited mobility easier, especially when it comes to traveling. For example, if you need to use the restroom while at a tourist attraction, you will obviously want the nearest one that is accessible and designed to accommodate wheelchair users. The good news is that there are mobile applications available to help with useful information like finding accessible restrooms, lodging and restaurants.

To make things easier for you, we’ve collected a list of the best apps for disabilities to help make life more enjoyable and accessible.

iAccess Life

This is one of the best apps for disabilities as it was designed to arm wheelchair users and those with other physical disabilities with a wealth of knowledge around the accessibility of establishments around the world. iAccess Life gives those users a platform for their voice to be heard where they can share their experiences with accessibility in public places. With this mobile app, users can instantlyfind as well as share accessibility information regarding places like restaurants, hotels, sporting arenas, concert venues and a lot more. With iAccess Life you can easily research places and feel confident before making plans with your friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Explore places via list view or map view, check ratings & reviews and favourite places you visit so that you can easily return.

Wheelmap

If you are a disabled traveller and are looking forward to explore a new place on your own, Wheelmap is a convenient choice to make transport and finding wheelchair accessible locations easier. With this mobile app or web app, you can easily point out wheelchair accessible hotels, landmarks, and other locations. The Wheelmap mobile application is available in the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play. This mobile app is designed to change the future for disabled people from all over the world.

Wheelmate

This mobile app is also specifically designed for the wheelchair tourists to easily track down the handicap parking space available near you. Additionally, you can also find the accessible restrooms, restaurants and a lot more. When in an unfamiliar place, finding accessible facilities can be difficult and this mobile app makes it easier.

So, when you are planning to explore new places, try the best apps for disabilities to make the most of your time so you can focus on making great memories instead of worrying about access.

Benefits of Smart Devices for People with Spinal Cord Injuries

Living with a disability may be a difficult experience for many. If you have a physical disability or spinal cord injury, there are things you can do to make your everyday life a little easier. By keeping a positive attitude and taking advantage of the resources available to you, there are ways to live a happy and carefree life.

One of the best ways to make life more comfortable is to use smart devices for people with spinal cord injuries. Many of these apps are designed to make everyday tasks easier for everyone, not just those with spinal cord injuries.Modern technology devices have been designed to allow people to accomplish every tasks easily through simple voice commands. You can do things like lock your doors, open your blinds, check the weather, turn on the lights or TV and much more by simply speaking with your smart home hub. Installing devices like this will allow you to live independently regardless of your limited mobility.

How Can Smart Devices for People with Spinal Cord Injuries Help?

• The benefits of using these ultra-modern and advanced devices are endless, from making things easier to eliminating the stress of living with a disability or spinal cord injury. Here are a few of them.
• When disability makes it difficult to complete regular tasks around the home, these smart devices can get the job done for you, resulting in elimination of frustration and dependence on others.
• These devices are smartly designed to make it possible for the physically disabled to live full, productive lives while improving their quality of life.
• There is no need to rely on the help of others to perform everyday tasks for you as these devices can be used to perform even the simplest task with the push of a button from your phone or a simple voice command.
• Healthcare smart devices for people with spinal cord injuries can be beneficial when you need immediate medical assistance.

The smart devices for the physically disabled are very helpful to make living independently in your own home a stress-free living experience. Even when you travel, these devices can be your support away from home for many tasks like moving, communication, transportation and a lot more.

Best Wheelchair Travel Tips to Follow For Peace of Mind

Traveling is fun, but if you are planning to travel with a wheelchair then it is important that you plan everything in advance so you can enjoy a fun and peaceful traveling experience.

To help make things easier, we bring to you the best wheelchair travel tips that are aimed to let you enjoy your vacations to the fullest.

Consider hiring a travel agent

Traveling to a new place may give you headache if you are not introduced to the location or have no experience for booking your flights, hotel and rental car. These professionals will take care of your special needs while booking everything because they know the local hotels, taxi services and everything else so you enjoy your traveling with wheelchair.

Get a wheelchair checkup

When you are planning to travel with a wheelchair, it is important that your wheelchair is in the optimal health. So, it is important to get your wheelchair checked to ensure that all the parts like batteries, wheels, brakes, etc. are in tip-top shape. Make sure to let your service provider to know about your plans for better and detailed checkup.

Get useful mobile apps

This is one of the best wheelchair travel tips to enjoy your time in the foreign land without any stress at all. There are many mobile apps that are designed for the disabled travelers to help them enjoy their time while traveling as they offer all the details about the hotels, public places and more so you can enjoy easy access to your favorite destination.

Know your rights

Traveling with wheelchair is not always easy as you can face various problems. This is what makes it important to know everything about your rights on the flights, hotels, and everywhere else when traveling. This will ensure that you get the best benefits for your investments because government authorities do care for the happiness of travelers.

Whether you are traveling alone or in a group, the above-mentioned wheelchair travel tips are sure to give you complete peace of mind while you are in a foreign land. Just be prepared for the endless fun.

How to Find Wheelchair Accessible Restaurants?

Are you on a mission to explore the world and looking for the best solutions to your query “How to find wheelchair accessible restaurants?” Well frankly speaking, this can be quite tough, especially if you are not prepared with all the relevant details about the location you are exploring.

The reason here is that almost all the restaurants around the world are not accessible, which makes it difficult for the wheelchair users to settle with eating inside their hotel rooms. This is the reason celebrations sometimes end up not including those with special needs.

In order to find the best wheelchair accessible restaurants in the areas, you must ensure checking everything about the available options through the internet as you can have all the details online about the restaurants in the surrounding areas.

And if you are not in the mood to spend time on researching about the best options available in the local areas, you’d find using the mobile apps much friendly and easier option.

iAccess Life

This is one of the best mobile apps available that is not just a mobile app, but your partner to make the traveling a great experience. iAccess Life is your ideal partner to get best solutions on “How to find wheelchair accessible restaurants?” as this brings to you the widest range of options where you can enjoy eating with your loved ones or alone, regardless to your physical disabilities as you can read the details about the listed options and also read reviews from past users so you can be double sure that you’re going to have a comfortable eating experience in the local restaurants.

Conclusion

Whether you, or someone you know, are looking for the best ways to enjoy eating at the local restaurants in the foreign lands, using the iAccess Life mobile application serves as the ideal way to enjoy living to the fullest without any additional stress as this mobile app is specifically designed to not just let you find the best accessible restaurants, but also to let you find the best ways to reach your destination.

Best Accessible Travel Tips for the Mobility Impaired and Physically Disabled

Travelling is fun and we all love it. But it’s not the same experience for everyone out there. When traveling, many aspects of your journey may not be so friendly considering most forms of travel are not optimized for travel with a wheelchair or another mobility aid but we have put together some travel tips and gathered some useful videos that we hope will help you plan your trips so that you can focus on making great memories.

For those who have feared traveling due to limitations in accessibility, it has become easier these days as global authorities have worked to provide the same facilities to everyone, including the mobility impaired. However, there are still many large disparities for the mobility impaired so we have a taken it upon ourselves to gather a collection of accessible travel tips that we feel would be very useful for you.

Here’s a collection of best accessible travel tips:

Informed Airlines – If you are travelling via airlines and need assistance, you have the option to ask for ‘crew assistance’ when you book your ticket. Almost every airlines company offers assistance at the airport so that you can get help finding the wheelchair inspection center, carrying your luggage, and boarding the plane.

Describe Disability Clearly – For better and comfortable travelling experience, it is important that you inform the hotel and airlines of your disability ahead of time. Not all services are the same for everyone, which is why it is important to describe your physical condition clearly. The more information you provide to your service provider, the better they will be able to accommodate you.

Take a Doctor’s Contact Information – When travelling out of town or country, make sure that you have your doctor’s phone number and prescription on letterhead, covering your condition, medications, potential complications, etc. This will ensure that you have medical assistance anytime you need. It might also be worthwhile to identify a medical provider in the area you are traveling to in case you need medical assistance for your condition while you are abroad.

Bring Extra Medication – This is one of the best accessible travel tips that everyone should follow. Make sure to carry extra medicine with you, especially if you aren’t sure you can get the same necessary medication wherever you are traveling. Make sure to store all medications in a single carry-on bag, you don’t want to check your medication in case the airline was to lose was luggage.

While travelling, make sure to follow the above-mentioned accessible travel tips so you are always safe while you are travelling across an unknown place.

Enjoy travelling safely!