Barriers

I was taking my Mum for a haircut and some grocery shopping at a local shopping mall. I have a Mobility Parking Permit and we managed to find an empty accessible carpark.

However, it was very difficult to get out of the car because only the passenger side had wide enough access space to safely exit. The driver's side was right next to a kerbed garden, so it wasn't easy for me to get out of the car, and an extra hazard to negotiate once I did. Also the carpark was on a slope, so it was difficult to prevent my mobility scooter and my Mum's walker from rolling back into the path of traffic, and to get everything into the car after shopping.

I was in training at a new job and, because I have a neurodiverse disability, I couldn't learn properly in the employer's neurotypical environment.

Prior to a recent procedure at Wellington Hospital, I was given small print text paperwork stating all the important things that I should observe when I go into the hospital for my operation. I am blind, so it was impossible for me to read this information!

I love films. I wanted to watch a film with a friend at the Lighthouse Cinema.

19 May 2022 is the 11th Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). The purpose of GAAD is to get everyone talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion.

To mark GAAD 2022 we are asking you to report the access barriers you experience in different areas of life, starting with the digital space, and now focusing on the built environment and transport. The Access Matters Campaign is calling for access barrier ‘incident reports’ - for example, if you have been unable to enter a building, safely cross the road, take your guide dog on public transport, or access mobility car parking - to add to our collection of #AccessDeniedDiaries.

Guide Dog Handlers empowered by new tool to report access barriers within their community!

While some are criticising the vaccine pass system because it restricts unvaccinated people from dining in restaurants, one group has always faced hurdles when grabbing a bite to eat – those with disabilities.

Originally published at https://thespinoff.co.nz/food/25-12-2021/some-of-us-have-always-been-excluded-from-dining-out, December 25, 2021.

Story by Charlotte Muru-Lanning, staff writer at The Spinoff.

Kiwis who are deaf, blind or low vision are missing out on a myriad of rich broadcasting as a law that would help them makes little progress.

Legislation around captioning and audio descriptions in media would bring Aotearoa in line with other Western countries, like the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Canada.

Story by André Chumko, 13 October 2021, Stuff

Usually there's no stopping Dorothy Dawson. But Invercargill City Council has managed to do just that.

Despite appearing to meet legal requirements Invercargill’s Dorothy can’t understand why getting her scooter on a bus is such a problem.

Story by Gill Higgins, Fair Go reporter, 6 September 2021, TVNZ

Access matters when you’re running a small business with 101 errands to do.