People often avoid going out because they fear venues may not cater to their needs. Now, they can use an app to find out how disability friendly a venue is and post their own reviews. Hannah McCreesh talks to the team who want to get rid of access anxiety.
It is not only sad but also an incredible injustice that, in 2020, leaving the house can still be a source of fear and anxiety for people with learning disabilities and autism. Places not being accessible is the primary reason for this. Countless venues describe themselves as being disability friendly yet, upon arrival, you find out that they have completely mis-sold themselves. Just like that, an enjoyable day or sometimes even holidays are tainted by feelings of stress and anxiety.Unfortunately, accessibility for disabled people is often just a tick-box exercise for venue owners. Without proper feedback from people with learning and physical disabilities, venues will continue to come up short when it comes to providing a space where disabled people can feel relaxed and are catered for.It is a catch 22 situation. Without people with disabilities giving venues both positive and negative feedback, they will continue to do the bare minimum they can do to get by or remain unaware of access issues.
“Without people giving venues positive and negative feedback, they will continue to do the bare minimum”
If this is to change, people with learning disabilities and their families, friends and carers need to be active and speak up to challenge venues that are simply not accessible enough. That is the only way accessibility will become a priority for these businesses. It can be difficult to know where to start, but three disabled entrepreneurs think they have the answer. Discouraged by their collective experiences of poor venue accessibility, Mark Esho, Richard Copson and Jignesh Vaidya have brought out an accessibility app called Access Rating. The founders were fed up with spending time researching venues before visiting only to find that, upon arrival, the disabled toilet was being used as a cloakroom or other shocking situations.
First app made by users
While some disability accessibility apps are already out there, none are user led. As Access Rating is made by and for people with disabilities, its founders hope it will make a difference to the lives of people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and autism. In 30 seconds, users are able to search through more than 100,000 venues and restaurants throughout the UK to find a venue and submit their disability access review. Users can rate each venue from 1 (poor) to 5 (good). They can comment on physical issues, such as accessible toilets, and a free comment section allows people to criticise or praise aspects of venues and tip off other visitors about them. For people with learning disabilities and autism, this could be a valuable opportunity to say whether a venue has flashing lights or lots of noise – anything that could cause a meltdown or sensory overload. Visitors could also include information about sensory rooms or places where people can go to calm down should they be feeling anxious or
overwhelmed. The app is not intended to be used only by people with disabilities – it gives carers, friends and families a valuable opportunity become access champions and submit reviews and share their experiences of disability access at different venues.
Access audits
Venues that receive consistently poor ratings and feedback can contact Access Rating for help to improve the experience for disabled and non-disabled visitors. The team combine their knowledge of disabled access regulations with personal experience to make getting around easier. As part of their services, they offer access audits and a disability access consultancy for people managing venues and other buildings used by the public. Venue owners and managers can ensure their building complies with disabled access regulations and meets best practice standards. Esho says: “As a disabled person, I have grown used to visiting venues and being let down by their accessibility. I am tired of having days out and plans ruined by their simple inability to adhere to proper accessibility standards. “By developing Access Rating, we hope to eliminate ‘access anxiety’ for people with physical and learning disabilities – that’s the anxiety faced at the thought of leaving the house and running into troubles caused by accessibility. “No disabled person should have to deal with that. Together, I believe, we can make a real, tangible difference to the lives of the everyone living with a disability in the UK.”
