www.diverseabilitymagazine.com DIVERSEability Magazine 37
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
W
hen most people think about accessibil- ity at work, their minds naturally go to things like wheelchair-accessible bathrooms and ramps. However, there are way more dis- ability types than just mobility problems, and there are vastly more important things that employers can do beyond one-time construc- tion access.
Make sure anything communicated verbally has captions
Hearing loss is the most common congen- ital disability, and it can also be acquired as a person ages. Having video captions and real-time captioning built into live events ensures this group does not get excluded. Furthermore, captioning benefits many other groups beyond individuals with hearing loss, including English Language Learners, people in noisy environments and people who learn visually.
Consider the needs of people with invisible disabilities
Visible disabilities such as wheelchair use and vision loss only represent about 30 per- cent of total disabilities. Invisible disabilities, including dyslexia, autism, ADHD, chronic medical conditions, disability mental health conditions and epilepsy, just to name a few, represent the majority of disabilities but are frequently left out of the conversation.
Think about lighting, open office layouts and quiet spaces
Open office layouts can be problematic for people with disabilities. Some disabilities can impact people in ways where they wont be able to work to their full capacity in noisy, poorly lit or very brightly lit environments. Hoteling spaces where people dont have a dedicated space to work can create barriers for people with disabilities who need dedicat- ed equipment, dont do well with continuous change or have mobility challenges.
Make your environment friendly for service/emotional support animals
Weve come a long way from the days when guide dogs had to be one of two breeds and were only for individuals who were blind. Seizure dogs can help limit harm to people with epilepsy and diabetes. Hearing dogs can notify people with hearing loss of environmental sounds like a phone ringing or a fire alarm. Mobility animals can help people walk or carry/retrieve dropped items. Dogs can be a calming influence on people with autism or PTSD. You can help your employees with dis- abilities by showing your commitment to the presence of service animals by having a well- thought-through policy and process on service animals in the workplace.
Train your emergency response team on disabilities
Make sure your emergency response team is trained on evacuating people with disabili- ties in an emergency. This includes a plan for supporting people with physical disabilities who may not be able to get out if the elevators are shut down and people who might hide as a response to chaos and noise.
Make the reasonable accommodation process simple
When choices are made that dont con- sider disability inclusion, employees might be forced to ask for an accommodation. The accommodations process can, but shouldnt be, onerous involving getting letters from doctors, disclosing private health details and arguing for help in an environment that isnt always supportive. However, employers can do things like say, anything that costs under $250 will automatically be granted or create a catalog of items like Grammarly that can be automatically ordered without approval. Em- ployees with disabilities wont be as engaged if they feel like they have to fight a battle ev- ery time they need an item to achieve equality.
Buy, build and use accessible products and services
If your tools arent accessible, you will force more employees with disabilities to en- gage in the accommodations process. By cre- ating a process where you prioritize buying, building and using accessible products and services, you are sending a message to your employees with disabilities that you are in- cluding them and sending a message to your vendors that this is an important issue to you.
Have a disability employee resource group
The employers who are leaders at disabil- ity inclusion almost always have a group of employees with disabilities who make recom- mendations to staff about how to improve the company environment and processes for em- ployees with disabilities.
How Employers Can Make Their Spaces More Accessible
By Sheri Byrne
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