2022/07/08 (Friday) - Elisa Claire Alemán Carreón, PhD
Hello everyone! Today I wanted to talk about accessibility both digitally and physically in the workplace. Have you stopped to wonder about how other people navigate the world?
First of all I want to explain in case this is new to anybody, accessibility is the degree to which a thing or a place is available to as many people to use as possible. This is usually mentioned in case of disability, but it’s not necessarily the only case where it applies.
For an easy to grasp example of accessibility, picture a ramp for people who can’t use the stairs. Notice how I didn’t say “people who use a wheelchair”, accessibility isn’t exclusive to just one case. Let’s say somebody has a leg injury but can still walk with some extra support. Let’s say there’s someone with complete ability in their legs, but happens to be exhausted. They would also benefit from a ramp. Lots of people can benefit from accessible spaces, but the people who are hurt the most are those who can’t access that space without the appropriate accommodation. Now, think of how many places you have been in with no such accommodations, and how it could affect people.
There’s all kinds of accessibility. Specifically, it could be in physical spaces such as ramps, elevators, floor markings for the blind, rails for support. It could be communicative, such as multi-language support, universal signage, or subtitles on a video. With that last one, I also want to say that digital accessibility is important, and in ways that not many think about.
In general, it’s usually the case that people don’t consider disabilities they can’t see. Within the disabled community I’ve seen cases where even when someone is using a wheelchair, if they stand up and display the ability to use their legs, are accused of being lazy or fake. We have to understand that different people have their reasons and people can have different needs. It could be that they can only stand up for short periods of time, or that they are not fully recovered from a debilitating injury, and we will never know. People who have hearing issues or chronic fatigue are often not discernible at first sight either. People who are color blind, also, are usually invisible to others.
Personally, I also suffer from invisible disadvantages that make me need accommodations. Because of my ADHD, it’s hard for me to focus on sounds or people’s voices and fully understand something without fail. I don’t have any hearing loss, but rather have audio processing issues. So I still need subtitles in videos even in my own language and prefer quiet places when having conversations so that I can fully concentrate on what people say. I also have knee problems from an injury I had when I was in high school, but when I complain about stairs, people often seem to think I just need more exercise. Meanwhile, I exercise daily, strength train and am very adept at several martial arts. I often get by without issue but it doesn’t diminish the fact that these things are not always accessible in spaces that I visit, or the videos that I watch. I am also sensitive to loud noises and bright lights, so I often am uncomfortable in places with too many stimuli.
Now, you might be thinking, “well this doesn’t have anything to do with me, I’m fully able!”. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that you’re able, although not caring about others is probably not good. You might also not have been thinking that at all. However, something many people fail to realize is that we are all aging creatures. Time, inevitably, will leave us with some sort of disability or other. It could be pain, disease, or perhaps even an accident. Everyone can become disabled from one day to the next, and it’s our responsibility to make the world accessible to all of us, or we will suffer next.
Have you considered the digital world also needs accessibility accommodations? Blind people can’t see images or menus online, and rely on alt-text, and people with hearing or audio processing issues need subtitles for audio-visual media. Color blind people often struggle with bad color design.
By the way, check out this website: Paletton where you can choose a color scheme with accessibility in mind.
However, much like how there’s not elevators everywhere, a lot of the digital world is inaccessible too.
One other disadvantage that I and many other people struggle with is having difficulty reading. While it is not the same as dyslexia, I often find myself reading the same sections again and again, or struggle with finding the motivation to keep reading something that isn’t engaging.
Now you’re probably wondering about the title of today’s entry. What is bionic reading? Well, it is a method designed for neurodivergent people, people with difficulty reading, people with dyslexia, etc.
The method consists of bolding or highlighting the beginnings of words.
Before
Bionic Reading is a new method facilitating the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. As a result, the reader is only focusing on the highlighted initial letters and lets the brain center complete the word. In a digital world dominated by shallow forms of reading, Bionic Reading aims to encourage a more in-depth reading and understanding of written content.
After
Bionic Reading is a new method facilitating the reading process by guiding the eyes through text with artificial fixation points. As a result, the reader is only focusing on the highlighted initial letters and lets the brain center complete the word. In a digital world dominated by shallow forms of reading, Bionic Reading aims to encourage a more in-depth reading and understanding of written content.
Like so. It doesn’t work the same for everyone, but for some, it’s reported that people read twice as fast, or have less difficulties processing the information that they’re reading. Some, on the other hand, are distracted by this and report feeling better reading unhighlighted text. I do wonder what this would look like in other language, specifically Japanese since it doesn’t use any spaces.
Personally, it felt like I could glide through words without much effort, so I’ll definitely will be using this tool in the future.
However… the original creators of Bionic Reading have made the access to their tool so expensive that it’s prohibitive and of course… not accessible.
So let me introduce you to… “Not Bionic Reading”, which is a completely unrelated open-source endeavor to make a similar method available to everyone.
Go ahead and test it and see if it makes it easier for you to read long documents!
Is your workplace accessible to everyone? Can you think of something that isn’t really usable by some people?
Specifically for engineering and desk jobs, a lot of the time we make ourselves suffer without thinking.
One thing that I personally can’t stand is … sitting down! Or standing up. In my previous jobs or time in my school, I often had issues with standing for long periods of time, or with sitting for long periods of time. I have these issues both because of my knee and lower back problems, but also because my ADHD means I need to be engaged to be able to focus.
I think changing between standing and sitting, perhaps with a convertible standing desk, is better at least for me. Of course, it’s always better to have an option available. Ergonomic keyboards or mice, perhaps could also be part of accessibility.
Other kinds of workplace accessibility could also include the height of chairs. Lots of meeting rooms, restaurants or waiting rooms I’ve been in have this problem. All the chairs are incredibly low, and as someone with hip and knee problems, it usually hurts to sit on them. Now, who would want to go to a restaurant where the sitting is uncomfortable? It could lose them customers. When I’m in waiting rooms at hospitals or so I usually feel like I have no other option. I’ve been in meetings where I am so uncomfortable that it’s near impossible to pay attention.
We should also think outside of the office. Is the commute accessible? I’ve certainly seen too many metro stations without elevators, so even if the workplace would be accessible, how would someone with mobility issues get there?
I don’t have all the answers of course, but I definitely think it’s worth it to think about making the world a better place to live. Is your workplace physically accessible? Is the company website accessible? We need to start thinking more about these things.
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