Access Linky: April 2018

a rusty key with #accesslinky written below

Happy Easter all!

Welcome to my blog link-up for sharing posts with ideas and experiences (good and bad!) of physical or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces, products and/or activities!

Access Linky social media graphic

I don’t know where this year is going!? A whole school term gone and it’s April Already!

Linky Round Up:

In the round up from last time, Cerys writes about her fun day out Visiting Birmingham Art Gallery on Life and Other Stories Blog! Love the idea of the rainbow show!

Rainbow’s Are Too Beautiful shared a couple of her posts.  The first was a great summary of options for Moving up in Education for autistic young adults.  The next, particularly apt with it being World Autism Awareness Day tomorrow, she explains why she considers even just A few Autism Friendly Events very welcome!

Ordinary Hopes says Be Like Bob and support the Changing Places Toilet campaign! The campaign that many of us wonder why it has to exist at all? Shouldn’t equality legislation mean that everyone should have reasonable access to a suitable toilet in buildings that have toilets?

The Long Chain explains how It Ain’t Easy Being Green and that, despite all the best intentions in the world, there are many reasons some people can’t just ‘go plastic free’ as easily as others.

Inclusive Home

The linky will be open for 3 weeks!

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image above and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences (use the hashtag #AccessLinky in your comment)!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessLinky) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.

….and don’t forget to check in again next month (1st of the month) to read the round up, and link up again!


Access Linky: March 2018

a rusty key with #accesslinky written below

Welcome to the March 2018 #AccessLinky!

A blog link-up for sharing posts with ideas and experiences (good and bad!) about physical or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces, products and/or activities!

Access Linky social media graphic

I hope everyone is managing in this cold snap!

Hoping the ‘Beast from the East’ will soon be off back to it’s lair until next winter!

Linky Round Up:

The first in the round up is very appropriate for this week’s snow (and the inevitable springtime showers yet to come!), Rainbow’s Are Too Beautiful linked up these top tips for autistic kids in wet weather!

It was great to hear from some new linker uppers, and still on the theme of getting out and about, Sensational Learning with Penguin wrote about their visit to a National Trust property and gardens at Scotney Castle in Kent.  The NT is a big favourite of our family too, especially those with large grounds to explore and somewhere to buy cake! (The old houses are not usually so wheelchair accessible!).

Another great set of tips for families was Starlight and Stories’ ideas to help autistic kids to navigate the sea of homework.

Perhaps seemingly a bit off-piste for this linky, is an issue that’s been a big focus in the news, is the rising momentum to reduce plastic waste.  Great! I’m all for reducing our environmental impact, but it seems the poor plastic straw is getting the brunt of the blame for this!  Wheelscapades wrote this great piece, The Last Straw, explaining the wider context of the calls to #banthestraw and it’s impact on disabled people, which inspired me also to write don’t vilify all the plastic.

World of Gorgeous Grace joined the linky highlighting the current Blue Badge scheme government consultation, with some examples of her own families experiences, and urges anyone with experience of the need for greater access to parking to take part!

Also on the theme of government services, The Long Chain writes of the Postcode Lottery that seems to exist when it comes to accessing appropriate advice, services and equipment.  Is a more effective centralised code of practice required to make sure all children receive what they need regardless of location within the UK?

Finally, Life and Other Stories Blog, writes To Know Me is to Understand Me in surprise at some statistics about how many people don’t believe they know someone with a disability! How is disability to be accepted, and access and inclusion become the standard, if people don’t even see it!?

Inclusive Home

The linky will be open for 3 weeks!

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image above and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences (use the hashtag #AccessLinky in your comment)!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessLinky) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.

….and don’t forget to check in again next month (1st of the month) to read the round up, and link up again!


Access Linky Nov 2017

a rusty key with #accesslinky written below

Hello and welcome to the November Access Linky!

Only 1 day late this time!…. Sorry everyone… excuses, excuses but it’s been a hectic couple of weeks between half term, several important birthdays, anniversaries (including the blog!) and halloween!

Access Linky social media graphic

Thank you so much to all the joiner uppers last time, there was a fab variety of posts and from a great range of bloggers too!

Too many to highlight individually in the round up this time (which is amazing!), but you can see all the posts that have been  linked up previously here on my #AccessLinky Pinterest Board – Do hop over and take a look!

Round Up:

To start the round up is a fantastic post by A Blog About Raising My Autistic Son about accessibility in general terms, and how good strategies can impact much more than just the intended user group, as she looks back at the phenomenon of the curb cut effect in Accessibility – It’s Good For Everyone

The fab Wheelchair Chic Home linked a couple of posts, and I’ve picked out this one about How to make your home more accessible for your guests (since being about home design it’s right up my street!)! Some great tips here if you have any elderly or disabled friends or family coming to visit, especially over the festive period (it is November now, it is ok to mention Christmas, isn’t it!?)!

Also on the theme of home, I found this post by The Sun Will Come Up really moving. Home is Where the Heart Is and moving home can be stressful and emotional at any time, particularly from a family home, but even more so with the added restriction that your new home needs to be more accessible.  Finding an accessible home is not easy anyway, and family sized ones are the hardest to come by! We need more choice in inclusive housing! Have I mentioned this before? 😉

Ordinary Hopes discusses a topic that I’ve been wondering a lot about myself recently, about the narrow perception of what a wheelchair user can and can’t do.  In the context of legislation for example, I really wonder how much consideration is given to the fact that Some Wheelchair Users Do and Some Don’t self transfer!?

And to finish my summary, a super heartwarming post by The Long Chain about What a Difference a Drug Makes.  Not on the face of it a blog about accessibility perhaps, but actually embodying very fundamentals of access! Access to the right treatment and medication is access to living life you your fullest! Loving that gorgeous photo of Benjamin smiley and wide awake!

Please do check in again next month to catch up with the blog posts in the round up, and bloggers I hope to see lots of you again this month and *meet* some new people too!

Linky Info:

The linky will be open for 3 weeks! Share your posts about ideas and experiences (good and bad!) around physical and/or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces, products and/or activities below…. and don’t forget to check in again next month to read the round up and link up again!

Inclusive Home


Guidelines:

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image above and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences (use the hashtag #AccessLinky in your comment)!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessLinky) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.


Access Linky Oct 2017

a rusty key with #accesslinky written below

Huge apologies for the lack of linky last month!

Those pesky school holidays messed up my schedule so I decided I would wait and have a relaunch today on the 1st anniversary of the linky and to change the linky date to the (much easier to remember!) 1st of the month!

Share your accessibility stories on Access Linky. Open from 1st of the month for 3 weeks

Thank you so much to everyone for joining in last time, there was a fab variety of posts!

Round Up:

A number of the posts linked last time addressed the wider aspects of inclusion, and what that means for their families. The Long Chain picked out the Five Things I’d Change to enable greater inclusion for her family and Ordinary Hopes gives a heartfelt picture of how the environment & society impacts her son’s life in  Children Should Not be Scared to go Out.

Things are changing and businesses are beginning to show greater awareness of access issues but this can sometimes feel like tokenism as Mum on a Mission points out in her post Are Physically Disabled Children Invisible?

Little Mama Murphy shared a lovely post about How to Talk to A Disabled Child! Yes! This is all it takes!

As part of her #SEND30DayChallenge (which I am attempting to complete too… albeit VERY slowly!), Mum on a Mission highlighted 10 Things You Don’t Know about Changing Places Toilets – although many readers of this series will know some of these as Changing Places Toilets is one of my regular topics!

It was brilliant to see a number of reviews focussing on the accessibility of places and venues! Wheelescapades reviewed on of our own family favourite places Wimpole Estate – Down on the Farm. Really interesting to read someone else’s perspective on somewhere we know so well!

A Wheelie Great Adventure reviews their experiences of a family trip to the coast in Tales of Birds, A Beach and A Bomber and Life and Other Stories’ shared a fab post written by her daughter, My Day Out by Cerys Giles.  Great to hear from the next generation of access advocates!

Finally Rainbows are Too Beautiful gives some really helpful tips for those who find it a challenge to eat out with younger children and/or people with neurodivergent conditions in  Tips to Take our Autistic Kids to Dinner

Please do check in again next month to catch up with the blog posts in the round up, and bloggers I hope to see lots of you again this month and *meet* some new people too!

Linky Info:

The linky will be open for 3 weeks! Share your posts about ideas and experiences (good and bad!) around physical and/or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces, products and/or activities below…. and don’t forget to check in again next month to read the round up and link up again!

Inclusive Home

Guidelines:

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image above and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences (use the hashtag #AccessLinky in your comment)!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessLinky) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.

Accessibility Stories 04.17

a rusty key with #accesslinky written below

What a fantastic range of blog posts linked up last month!

Picture of a rusty key saying: Share your accessibility stories #AccessLinky

 Round Up from last Month

There were a number of posts on one of my regular (and favourite!) themes, changing places toilets. Ordinary Hopes linked this very powerful post “When this is the best option you have“, i.e. the toilet floor or don’t go out at all.  Clos-o-Mat and Ordinary Hopes also commented on the lack of understanding of the need for assisted toilet provision until it’s something you need yourself, in “I’d never even thought about it” a key reason many are campaigning that it’s “Time for change” for the building standards, to be made clearer and more comprehensive!

I’m very excited to *meet* a new blogger friend, Wheelchair Chic Home, joining in this month with her fab “5 tips for styling your house to accommodate a disability” and with some more specific ideas on “Storage Ideas to hold crutches or walking sticks” in a stylish way!  I love this blog, it’s totally up my street and I’ll definitely be following for more inclusive design ideas!

My daughter EJ has sensory processing issues which affect her in all different ways (touch, vision, hearing that we know about).  Sensory processing seems to be being more and more widely acknowledged as a challenge in accessing our world for set up for the ‘average person’ and of course can vary greatly from individual to individual and vary in intensity. Rainbows are too Beautiful linked this post about how something as seemingly simple as a particular welly boot (considered a staple in every child’s wardrobe!) can enable inclusion in outdoor family activities in “We’ve got to get our kids outside!

Access isn’t all about ramps and grab rails, and I had two posts this month, telling of the frustrations faced trying to access childcare and education for their children with very different needs. Rainbows are too Beautiful’s “30 hours free childcare” and The Long Chain’s “Benjamin doesn’t tick boxes” illustrating the catch 22 of local authority juggling of services and funding between education, social care and health care.

I hope you’ll check in again next month to catch up with the blog posts in the round up, and bloggers I hope to see lots of you again this month and *meet* some new people too!  
Info on how to join in below:

Linky Info

This linky will be open for 2 weeks, please do share your posts about ideas and experiences (good and bad!) around physical and/or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces and products below…. And do check in again next month to read the round up!

Guidelines:

    1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image below and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
    2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences!
    3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessibilityStories and/or the shorter #AccessStories) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
    4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.
Our Inclusive Home



100 best disability blogs

Thank you so much to Stairlifts Reviews for including my blog in their 100 Best Blogs for Disabled People and Carers!

I’m in great company in this selection, with many of my own favourites, including: Down’s Side Up, Steph’s Two Girls, Special Needs Jungle, JBOT and Words I wheel By!

Some of the more well known charities & disability organisations (like Scope & Disabled Go) are also listed, as they have great blog posts, often by guest writers with personal stories or professional advice.

And many more (new to me) blogs to follow too!

Stairlifts Reviews 100 Best Disability Blogs

Mother’s Day Interview

On the run up to Mother’s Day, the fab Mum on a Mission has organised an interview exchange among a group of  fellow SEND bloggers!

So, I would love to give a warm welcome to Beth of Little Lydia, whose interview is posted below…..

Plum tree blossom

Introduce yourself

Hi I’m Beth, I’m the wife of David. I’m also the mother of 2 crazy girls.

My eldest (I’m not allowed to call little any more) is called Caitlin, she’s 8 and is AWESOME! She is into anything and everything. Last weeks favorites were trampolining, painting and coding games. This week its Lego and crochet (did I mention it’s only Monday).

My youngest is little Lydia, she’s now 16 months but I think this is forever going to be her name. Lydia was born with a condition called Dandy Walker syndrome, apparently its extremely rare.

A couple of Neurosurgeons from Cardiff felt that they could play God with Lydia’s life and she had surgery at 10 days old, as a result she developed meningitis and sepsis. This then led to hydrocephalus which couldn’t be managed for months. She was airlifted to Liverpool after making the front page of our local newspaper to have corrective life saving surgery and in one operation had a huge cardiac arrest which in turn has caused significant cerebral palsy. We have since been told the first operation was probably not the right thing for her.

This last 16 months has been a complete whirlwind of highs and lows, life and nearly death. HOWEVER Lydia is at home as I type this she is grunting at her Dad because he’s watching football and he has ignored her for more than a few minutes – how rude! She’s definitely communicating and is full of life. We LOVE having her home and being together. She’s our miracle, a gift from God and we wouldn’t have her any other way (apart from being free of all the medical issues).

What piece of advice would you give to another Mum in the same circumstances as you?

If I had to give one piece of advice it would be to never give up, don’t let anyone feel that they know your child better than you. If anyone wants to do tests in any shape or form don’t be afraid to ask what they are doing and for what reason. You are your child’s biggest and only advocate. No one will stand up for them like you and if you know something isn’t right don’t ever feel like you are being bossy or an inconvenience.

Doctors and nurses have a duty of care but that doesn’t mean they DO CARE for your child. I’m not being disrespectful but for so long I was made to feel that because Lydia had complex needs and they were experts in their field that they knew what was best for her when in fact they didn’t, I did.

It took me a long time to get my head around all the medical terms, it felt really intimidating and isolating. I read loads especially about Dandy walker syndrome, I still read loads but I also know Lydia really well now. I know her patterns and behaviors and when we go into hospital its me giving instruction about what I think is wrong.

If you aren’t being listened to ask for a second opinion. It is illegal to refuse a second or a thousandth opinion.

What’s the best piece of advice another Mum has given you?

The best piece of advice another mum has given to me, has to be from a good friend of mine. She is an amazing mother. Her kids are some of the kindest and best behaved children I’ve met and she has 5 of them! She said never be afraid of saying no, either to your children or other parents or even grandparents. Providing its done out of love and for the best reasons. If you think something isn’t right for your child say no and stick to it. Also don’t be afraid of what others think if you do say no, they are your children.

I saw her saying no to one of her children once. I cant even remember what it was over but she said it very calmly but directly. He shrugged and walked off. NO FUSS… NO TANTRUM!!! I was like…. How did you get him to do that…? Gob-smacked! She replied so calmly and graciously – he knows when I say no, I stick to it. Fair enough it works, it took some doing and sticking by. Accompanied by a ton of guilt and crocodile tears. It’s not always a tantrum free zone because, lets face it kids are kids. But Caitlin now accepts (generally tantrum free) if we say no its no, regardless of who is present. #winning!

What one thing did your mum always used to say to you which you have found yourself repeating since becoming a Mum?

My mum always used to say and still does, just take one day at a time. I say this A LOT now.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?

I would love to say Rachel McAdams, I love her.

What are your plans for Mother’s Day this year?

My plans and prayers for mothers day this year are to be hospital free and the whole family to be in good health. Anything outside of that is a huge blessing to us.

If you could go back to the beginning, what would you tell yourself as a new Mum or as a Mum of a newly diagnosed child?

If I could go back to the beginning of my journey as a mum, I would tell myself to stop worrying so much on what others think about anything. That their opinion doesn’t count for anything.

I would tell myself to give me a break, it’s ok to have a nap and not be dressed and made up all day every day, its ok for the kids not to have a room FULL of toys and stuff because all they want is time. Precious time.

I would tell myself that a fancy house, a fancy job and fancy clothes don’t count for anything when your child’s health is at risk. Enjoy the little things.

What is the biggest battle you’ve faced as a Mum?

The biggest battle I’ve faced as a mother is getting others to listen and respect my daughter Lydia.

She is a person not a neurological condition. Not a mistake. Not a regret. She’s a person in her own right, with her own mind and her own personality which we are to respect and accept.

zzI have had to see her on life support more times than one should. I’ve also seen her have a cardiac arrest, which no mother should ever have to witness. She has been through way more than the average child or human has ever been through and she deserves the right to be acknowledged, appreciated and loved as Lydia. Perfect the way she is.

If you were PM for the day what would you change to make life easier for Mums of disabled children?

If I was PM for the day, I would scrap the age limit on DLA mobility. You either need a car for mobility purposes or you don’t. There shouldn’t be an age limit.

We currently don’t own a car, we have to borrow my parents to get back and forth to appointments, which is at least three times a week. I have to push Lydia to the car, take her out of her wheelchair still attached to oxygen wires on the wheelchair and a feeding pump, again wires attached to her face that lead into a bag that feeds her. Then position her properly – she cant support her head properly by herself yet. Then take the suction machine from the wheelchair and place it into the car followed by her feeding backpack and oxygen backpack. Clip her in her seat, before taking the wheelchair to the back of the car and having a full on fight to take it into 3 parts which is not only complicated but extremely heavy, especially in the pouring rain! After all that I then have the delight of a free but frequent game of tetris to fit it in the boot in a certain order or the boot wont close. All because Lydia is small enough to carry without needing mobility!

I would also like to see changing places pretty much every where!

I would make it legal for specialist doctors and consultants to perform surgeries on children privately in the UK without all the red tape. Some children need expertise from world specialized consultants but are too poorly or vulnerable to travel to the needed care. Therefore provided said consultant has all the right certification and the parents were willing to pay privately then that consultant should be able to perform or treat the child as needed within the UK.

What’s the best thing about being a Mum?

The best thing about being a mum is witnessing all the firsts.

The first bath, the first time leaving hospital, the first smile.

Caitlin’s 8 now and it still doesn’t get old. She managed to skate the length of our garden all by herself a few weeks ago. It was amazing, she was so chuffed with herself and I was so happy that we stuck it out with her.

It really is a great day whenever one of the girls get a first. It makes all the hard work worth it by a million times.

Funniest moment as a mum?

My funniest moment as a mum… that is impossible to say I live with a comedian of a husband and the kids follow suit. They are very much Daddy’s girls. Caitlin has great one liners, which are hilarious. Even listening to her laughing makes me howl with laughter. Lydia pulls the funniest of faces and pretends to sleep if she doesn’t want to partake in conversation with you.  A particularly funny time was at Christmas when I let Caitlin decorate the tree and found Lydia covered in silver tinsel and a big bow on her head happy as Larry!

Who are your favourite Mum bloggers?

I don’t have a particular favorite mummy blogger. I read a range of blogs depending on my mood and where the kids are at.

I do have a keen interest in reading blogs about accessible places and what works for both of my girls.

Also if I’m struggling with a particular thing I might go to pinterest and see what other mums have to say about it. I find that others mums and their experiences (especially medical ones) have a much deeper understanding and better handle on giving great advise compared to a person in a paid role with no real hands on experience.

What is your life motto?

“The Lord is in control. This is exactly where he wants me to be right now”

Finally, if you won the lottery today, what’s the first think you would buy?

I would buy a car and adaptations for my home.

After that I would spend the rest of the money on research into a cure for Hydrocephalus. It’s a very complex condition with no research in the UK. 400,000 neurosurgeries a year are for shunts to manage hydrocephalus. Shunts only have a 50% success rate and many people have to keep having repeat neurosurgery because there is currently no cure.

I would like to change that, not just for Lydia but for all people.

You can find Beth’s blog, and follow her on social media, here: 

Blog URL: www.littlelydiablog.wordpress.com
Facebook: littlelydia.co.uk
Instagram: Bethsworld101
Pinterest: bethsworld101

Accessibility Stories 02.17

A rusty key with title "Accessibility Stories 2017 Linky"

Thank you so much to all those who linked up last month!

Round Up from last Month

At this time of year many of us are thinking about booking our summer holidays, however for families with physical and sensory access needs, staying away from  home can be stressful! It was lovely to read this positive holiday experience by Rainbows Are Too Beautiful.  Particularly interesting for us as both my kids love being outside, especially EJ who thrives on the immersive sensory experience nature provides (the light and shade, the feel of wind and rain, the differences in sounds, smells and even tastes) so a forest holiday would be ideal for us, and a holiday home with a safe outside space would be perfect!

A rusty key with title "Accessibility Stories 2017 Linky"A few of the posts last month were about how just getting out of the house can be a mission, never mind going on holiday!  In this aptly named post, Project Get Out of the House, Orange This Way determines to start a new #wheelygood resource for Devon and Cornwall to help visitors and locals alike to find wheel friendly places & activities!  In Where Were the Good People, Ordinary Hopes asks why people stand by and allow others to struggle, and even become victims of bullying behaviour, sometimes in circumstances where a little thoughtfulness or a kind gesture could easily make all the difference.  While on the other hand, Raising a Superhero tells of a lovely Christmas outing where inclusion was at the heart of the experience and is definitely an Afternoon Tea with Father Christmas I’ll be looking up next festive season!

Accessible toilets is a favourite theme, well, when I say favourite theme I agree with Ordinary hopes in her post Petitioning for What?, in that we shouldn’t even need it to be a theme for discussion (…please do sign the petition though!)!  However on reading this update by Mum on a Mission about her an ongoing correspondence with Cineworld it’s pretty clear that we do need to continue to lobby for greater clarity of standards, as the big service providers still seem to believe the guidance doesn’t apply to them!

On the positive side for loos, it was great to read this fantastic guest post by Brody, Me and GDD about changing places toilets on Mumsnet, with loads of fantastic comments, many from people who hadn’t heard of the campaign before – it’s always brilliant to reach and gain support from people not directly affected by the issues!

Linky Info

This linky will be open for 2 weeks, please do share your posts about ideas and experiences (good and bad!) around physical and/or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces and products below…. And do check in again next month to read the round up! Guidelines:

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box under the badge image below and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or add a text link back to my site so that people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessibilityStories and/or the shorter #AccessStories) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.
AccessibilityStories

Not enough space?

Hand sketch of a changing places toilet in the proportions of a car parking space, overlaid on a photo of a car park

Quite often, when discussing changing places toilets with new people, the size of the room comes up, and often becomes a bit of a sticking point!

To be fair, in isolation, at 12 sqm a changing places toilet does sound quite large, particularly if you are comparing it to an individual toilet cubicle, or even a standard accessible toilet.  But then that’s one of the main reasons many people need a changing places toilet rather than one of the other type of toilets, simply because they can’t get in to the smaller rooms!

(Follow this link to a post I wrote previously about how accessible the average accessible toilet is).

When people get stuck talking about the floor area a changing places takes up, it sometimes feels as though they forget that all toilets take up floor area (and cost money to install!) – even the inaccessible ones!  But they do take up space, and quite a lot of it!  If you visualise a standard women’s toilets for example, the cubicle is just one element, there’s also the space needed for the vanity unit, with bank of wash hand basins, and the circulation space in between the two.  And then you’ll also have the mens loos, at least one standard accessible toilet (hopefully!) and perhaps (depending on the building type and location) a baby change or family room too, which is often a similar size to a changing places toilet!

All those other toilets have limited access, whereas a changing places toilet, is very accessible!  Changing places toilets are generally considered the add on, taking up extra space, but I think we are looking at things the wrong way round.

If there’s only space for a few toilets in a venue, why not start with the most accessible and add the least accessible rather than the other way around?

I’m a bit of a numbers geek, so I decided to try and think of spaces that people know really well, to help visualise the area required by a changing places in context with something familiar, and, do you know, one of the simplest of things many of us use everyday is, give or take 0.5 sqm, exactly the same area as a changing places toilet!?

A car park parking space.

Hand sketch of a changing places toilet in the proportions of a car parking space, overlaid on a photo of a car park

Not a blue badge space, or an on street parking space (which are actually a bit longer) or even the slightly more generous kind that some car parks now provide to accommodate bigger modern cars…. nope!…. a totally bog standard (excuse the pun!) minimum size car parking space is 2.4 m x 4.8 m, which is 11.5 sqm in area!

A space most of us take for granted.

Car parks occupy massive amounts of space (sometimes in multi-storey structures or excavated basements underneath buildings which involve reinforced structures, car ramps and all sorts of expensive engineering just to enable us to leave our cars occupying a space while we’re not even there!)!  …. so when the reason given for not installing a toilet in a building or venue (a toilet that most people could use!), is lack of space, I really have to wonder…!

P.s. The above graphic isn’t about adding changing places toilets into car parks, its a comparison of the size of a changing places toilet in context with the size of a space we are all very familiar with!  However it does bring to mind the image of those mobile toilets provided in trailers for temporary events!   So if you are organising an event, please do take note that a changing places toilet does fit in a trailer too, and there are a couple of suppliers who can provide mobile options that you can hire to make your event truly accessible!

 

Accessibility Stories 01.17

A rusty key with title "Accessibility Stories 2017 Linky"

Happy New Year!

A rusty key with title "Accessibility Stories 2017 Linky"

Welcome to the first #AccessibilityStories of 2017!

Apologies for the lack of linky last month, too much going on at Christmas I’m afraid!

My lovely campaigner friend at Ordinary Hopes linked up a couple of posts to my last linky, in November, which are particularly topical as this year has begun with quite a flurry of media interest in accessible toilets!

The first is a Christmas post, The C Word, highlighting how the lack of suitable toilet facilities, meant that her family couldn’t participate in many of the festive activities that many others take for granted.

The second, Struggling to Care, a poignant post setting out what really makes caring for a loved one difficult.

This linky will be open for 2 weeks, please do share your posts about ideas and experiences (good and bad!) around physical and/or sensory accessibility of buildings, places, spaces and products below….

And do check in again next month to read the round up!

Guidelines:

  1. Link up to 2 posts each month (old or new)! It would be lovely if you could add my badge (cut and paste the code in the box below and add it into your blog post while in ‘text’ mode of your blog editor) or a text link back to my site so people can find the linky and read the other blog entries;
  2. Please comment on this post to introduce yourself if you’re new to the linky, and comment on some of the other linked posts to help share ideas and experiences!
  3. It would also be amazing if you could share your post (using the hashtag #AccessibilityStories) on social media to help spread awareness of the issues around accessibility!  I’ll also try to retweet as many posts as I can!
  4. I welcome input from anyone that is affected by accessible design – users, carers, friends and family as well as designers, developers, managers and legislators (so pretty much everyone then!). I welome blogs from professionals and suppliers as well as individual bloggers as long as they keep within the spirit of idea exchange and are not sales posts for products or services.
AccessibilityStories