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Important
Issues
Making It Accessible Without Taking Away The
Experience!
Great times and memorable
experiences occur indoors AND outdoors. They occur at the lakeside as well
as in the dining room. They occur in the recreation room and when trying
to cook something over an open fire.
The buildings offer one part of
the camping experience but the outdoors and activities offer another very
important and exciting part. The reason many people go camping is because
of the opportunity for excitement and new experiences in the outdoors
So how can we offer the same diverse experiences to
people with disabilities?
Certainly buildings need to be as accessible as possible
(wide doors, ramps, non-slip surfaces, well-designed toilets and showers).
But activities also need to be as accessible as possible-around the lake
and in the canoes, around the BBQ and at the ropes course.
As a venue manager, you need to think about:
- How accessible are your
buildings?
- How accessible are your
activities?
- How can they be adapted or
improved?
- What should be the long-term
targets?
This checklist will give detailed and objective answers
to the first two questions, offer some guidance and ideas for adaptation
and help formulate some general long-term goals.
The Technical
Bits
Building Code of
Australia
The technical aspects of
building access are governed by the Building Code of Australia (BCA). This
is a 'uniform set of technical provisions for design and construction of
buildings and other structures throughout Australia'. The BCA is given
legal effect by State legislation.
See Australian Building Codes Board
(ABCB) http://www.abcb.gov.au/
Disability Discrimination Act
(DDA)
The DDA is a general law about
eliminating discrimination against people with disabilities. It deals with
employment, education, access to premises and a range of other subjects.
It focuses on outcomes rather than specifications.
People who design,
build, own, lease, operate or manage premises already have
responsibilities under the DDA not to discriminate against people with
disabilities in relation to access. They also have to comply with State
and Territory building regulations which reference the Building Code of
Australia (BCA).
The BCA currently applies only to new buildings or
those buildings undergoing significant refurbishment or alteration. Find
out more on the DDA at Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/
Standards
Standards Australia produces standards for design relating
to access and mobility (see 'Resources' later in this document). Some of
these are currently incorporated in to the Building Code of Australia and
so are mandatory, while other standards are advisory. However the
implementation of the DDA in relation to buildings is being reviewed. See
'Changing
Building Requirements to Match Disability Discrimination Laws' later
in this document.
For more on Standards Australia visit http://www.standards.com.au/
This
Checklist Is Not the Standard
This
checklist looks at selected key parts that can improve accessibility of a
building or an activity. To make a building truly accessible the details
of the Standard need to be followed, not this checklist. There are many
areas not even touched on by this checklist-tactile indicators for
instance -that should be incorporated in to well-designed buildings that
offer good accessibility.
Staff Training
If you and your staff are pleasant, polite and welcoming
then you've set the atmosphere for your venue. Staff will often benefit
from training in dealing with diversity and different issues that arise in
dealing with the public-older adults, people with different cultural
backgrounds, people with disabilities, people with little
English.
Training may have some awareness of specific
disabilities and should also include the importance of:
- Attentive listening
- Making eye contact
- Using clear and natural
speech
- Waiting for a response to a
question
- Seeing the person not the
disability
When you're assisting a person with a disability
- Ask if they need assistance if
they appear to be having difficulties
- Communicate at a comfortable
distance
- Be aware of the tone you
use
- Be honest and realistic in your
response
- Don't feel guilty about refusing
unrealistic requests but explain why something may not be
possible
- Be prepared to negotiate
- Treat them as you would any
other member of the community.
Conducting
Activities
Some disabilities may mean
people are restricted in their ability to handle chilling winds, heat or
sun so protection from the weather can be important.
- Minimizing waiting time can
reduce unnecessary exposure
- Extra time may be required to
move to the next activity or to complete the task
- Highly stimulating activities
should be spread out and mix with passive times
- Reinforce explanations by using
cues, demonstrations, modelling tasks and activities
- A time-out space can be
useful
- Have alternative methods for
doing the activities and plan them beforehand
- Safety issues need to be handled
with proper planning and equipment, and competent staff
- Help other campers understand
and be aware of disabilities.
What Kind Of Language Do You
Use?
If the
words we use to describe people with disabilities are negative they both
reflect and reinforce negative attitudes.
Those attitudes are often the most difficult barriers
that people with disabilities face. You can help foster an inclusive
attitude toward people with disabilities by applying the following
suggestions.
Good practice
- Put the person not the
disability first, for example 'people with disabilities', 'a person with
a hearing impairment'
- When necessary, refer to a
person as having a (specified) disability, for example 'has cerebral
palsy'. Phrases such as 'suffers from', 'stricken with' or 'victim of'
should not be used. People with disabilities do not necessarily suffer,
nor do they wish to be seen as victims
- Refer to 'people without
disabilities' rather than 'normal' or 'able-bodied' people.
Positive communication
- Speak directly to the person,
not to their interpreter or support person
- Don't make the person's
disability an exclusive topic of conversation, but don't be afraid to
refer to it if it is necessary.
- Ask the person if they have any
specific requirements, such as 'can you hear clearly here?' or 'is the
table low enough to write on?' Most people are prepared to explain their
requirements
- Avoid phrases that imply a
stereotyped view of people with disabilities such as 'it must be
terrible for you' (the person may not regard their disability as a great
tragedy) or 'aren't you wonderful' if the person performs some everyday
activity
- Speak naturally and use words
like 'look' and 'see' for example to a person who is blind. Blind people
understand the concepts and use the words themselves.
Some words and phrases to avoid
- Avoid referring to people by
categories: 'the blind', 'the disabled'. People may have similar
disabilities, but they are all unique individuals
- Avoid negative words and phrases
that demean people with disabilities, such as unfit, defective,
incapacitated or handicapped
- Avoid expressions that imply
restriction, such as 'wheelchair-bound'. A wheelchair is an aid to
mobility. It is better to say 'uses a wheelchair' or 'is a wheelchair
user'
- Avoid silly euphemisms such as
'intellectually challenged' or 'differently abled'. Most people with
disabilities do not like them. It is better to say 'person with a
disability'.
Changing Building
Requirements to Match Disability Discrimination Laws
Important changes to the Building Code of Australia (BCA)
are being proposed to align building regulation with Australian Government
disability discrimination laws. The proposed changes will significantly
improve access to buildings and provide certainty for building owners
about how to provide access for all members of the community.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes it
unlawful to discriminate against a person on the ground of disability in a
number of areas, many of which are building-related. The DDA, however,
does not provide prescriptive details about what someone has to do to
comply.
The current situation means that people with a
disability have to use the complaints mechanism in the DDA to enforce
their rights; while those responsible for buildings cannot be certain
about fulfilling their responsibilities.
In order to align building
requirements with the DDA, the Australian Government has asked the
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to assist in the development of the
Disability Standards for Access to Premises (Premises Standard) which
essentially uses a revised BCA as the compliance code. This will mean
that, when completed, those responsible for buildings will be certain that
if they comply with the revised BCA, they are complying with the DDA in
relation to the built environment.
In broad terms, the proposals are an attempt to meet the
objectives of the DDA to ensure buildings are as accessible as possible,
without imposing what the legislation describes as an unjustifiable
hardship on building owners and occupiers. The proposals include:
- Access to most levels in
publicly accessible buildings
- Wider circulation space
requirements in corridors, through doorways and in accessible
toilets
- Additional accessible entrances
to buildings
- Accessible toilets wherever a
bank of toilets is provided
- Increased numbers of accessible
rooms in hotels and motels
- Hearing augmentation in more
rooms with a public address system
- Access to and from swimming
pools
- Additional information and
accessible features in lifts.
More information
Australian Building Codes Board
(ABCB) http://www.abcb.gov.au/ or
HREOC Disability Rights Unit at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/
Action Plans
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (the
Commonwealth body responsible for implementing aspects of the Disability
Discrimination Act) encourages businesses to develop Action plans. It says
"in implementing DDA Action Plan, your business and the community as a
whole will benefit from the additional economic participation of people
with a disability' More information on developing and lodging Action Plans
can be found at http://www.hreoc/disability_rights/action_plans/
Universal Design
Most facilities will need to be adapted to improve access.
A better approach is that of creating facilities and services that are
designed to cater for diverse needs. 'Universal design' incorporates
features that allow usage by the greatest number of people with wide
variation in abilities and within the widest possible range of
settings.
If you're starting buildings or programs from scratch you
should use the opportunity to design the best possible options for
everybody.
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