# Access — Who is it for?



## mark handler (Jan 28, 2019)

Access — Who is it for?
Time and again, I find that there is often confusion about what Access means and who it is for. There is this overlying presumption that it is only, or let us say mostly, for people who use wheelchairs. Just the other night someone was telling me how silly it was that a project they were altering was required to have an accessible restroom on the second floor even though the building does not have an elevator. So the real question is – what are we doing and for who is it for.
https://steppingthruaccessibility.com/access-who-is-it-for/?utm_campaign=blog&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_pOYAixyZbvU518TzOsAomHDL7K1ILhFyCl6sK2vV4hAGc6pDjqQTHIX84QnAVW8y-65tm-et7at5zAHDEX0NQKZhi-Q&_hsmi=69319549&utm_content=69319549&utm_source=hs_email&hsCtaTracking=9a102d75-e1b6-431a-8699-c3c318ed9bb2|6d3bb411-abe7-4ce0-83d4-35b5221e41a7
*Mobility*
About half of the people who are considered disabled do have issues with mobility. This is not only someone who uses a wheelchair but also someone who uses a cane, or crutches, or walker, or someone who has a balance issue where walking is difficult without support, or someone who has difficulty breathing who just can not walk distances. And be aware that just because one uses a wheelchair does not mean that person is paralyzed and can not walk. There are indeed some people who have to always use a wheelchair and may not even be able to get in and out of it by themself. But the wheelchair or any other mobility aid, are items that allow people independence rather than limiting them.
*Communication Disabilities*
This grouping of disabilities has to do with vision and hearing. In the younger segments of our population, hearing and vision disabilities are about the same percentage, and as one ages, the percentage does increase. By the time we hit retirement age, hearing disability is almost double that of vision.
For those who are hearing impaired, whether deaf or hard of hearing, we tend to think of technical or mechanical solutions since this is the manner the ADA Standards provide in the requirements. But there are many design considerations for this type of disability beyond just audio/visual-type of electronics. And rather than thinking of this segment of our population as someone who can not hear, rather think of it as someone who has a heavy reliance on Seeing or Sight.
For those with vision disabilities, whether partially sighted or blind, we generally think of tactile signs or tactile flooring solutions such as detectable warnings. Those who are blind tend to statistically be less independently mobile in the community. More of a reliance is placed on sound, smell, and touch and that is not how our environment is purposefully designed.
*Cognitive & Memory Disorders*
We generally do not think of cognitive disabilities when designing our facilities, particularly since there are no designated requirements. But these types of disorders can be mild to severe and affects a large portion of our population. This can affect our ability to learn, our memory, our perceptions, and our ability for problem solving. It is a broad category and can include those on the spectrum (previously referred to as autism), or those with other cognitive dysfunctions whether dementia, or retardation, or schizophrenia, or anxiety.
*Miscellaneous*
There are other disabilities that do not fit in the above groupings. One notable is the inability or difficulty of lifting and grasping. This affects a percentage of our population that is actually greater than those with communication disabilities. This difficulty can stem from arthritis, or paralysis, or not having usable hands. And there are people who can not speak or vocalize.
So going back to that 2-story non-elevatored building with an accessible bathroom on the second floor, the question is, what does it do for us. I might be in a wheelchair but can be mobile. I can very carefully walk up the stairs, have someone carry my chair for me, then get back into my chair and move independently. Same goes for a walker. If I have balance issues or am elderly I can use handrails to guide myself up the stairs and can make use of grab bars in a toilet room. And the same goes if I can not see well or at all.
While looking at what can go wrong with the human body can be quite distressing, there is another way of viewing this. What we are doing is building and maintaining our environment with an understanding of Access overall that allows us to be as independent as possible for as long as possible, and to continue to do what we love whether it is a disability caused by birth, or accident, or disease, or just plain aging. This includes riding a bike with hand peddles attached to a wheelchair, or a ramp down to a dance floor, or textured flooring to assist with wayfinding. It can also include transparent/translucent doors or corners in corridors so people are visible if they can not be heard. Or it can be a calming space, a place to orient yourself outside of the crowd.
The answer to the initial question is, it is about all of us, and it will indeed affect all of us at some point in our life, whether us personally, or a spouse, or parent, or friend, or child. So the more we do now, the better off all of us are, and this is about going two steps beyond codes and regulations.
Be aware that your local City or County may have additional requirements that are more restrictive than the State or Federal requirements. Also, this article is an interpretation and opinion of the writer. It is meant as a summary – current original regulations should always be reviewed when making any decisions.
Janis Kent, FAIA Architect, CASp © January 2019


----------



## mark handler (Jan 28, 2019)

2017Disability Statistics Annual Report
https://disabilitycompendium.org/sites/default/files/user-uploads/2017_AnnualReport_2017_FINAL.pdf

The American Community Survey (ACS) estimates the overall rate of people with disabilities in the US population in 2016 was 12.8%.

The percent of people with disabilities varies greatly by state, as do levels of people with disabilities in employment, poverty, earnings, and health behaviors.

The percentage of those with a disability in the US civilian population slowly increased from 11.9% in 2010 to 12.8% in 2016. 

In 2016, the state with the lowest percentage of its population having a disability was Utah (9.9%). The state with the highest percentage of disability, West Virginia, was more than twice as high with a percentage of 20.1%.

As the US population ages, the percentage of people with disabilities increases. In the US in 2016, less than 1.0% of the under 5 years old population had a disability. For those ages 5-17, the rate was 5.6%. For ages 18-64, the rate was 10.6%. For people ages 65 and older, 35.2% had a disability.

In 2016, of the US population with disabilities, over half (51.0%) were people in the workingages of 18- 64, while 41.4% were 65 and older. Disability in children and youth accounted for only 7.3% (ages 5-17) and 0.4% (under 5 years old).

From 2008 to 2016, the percentages of people with each type of disability have remained relatively unchanged. The percentage of people with ambulatory disabilities, cognitive disabilities, and independent living disabilities rose by 0.2 to 0.3 points over the period, while people with hearing, vision, and self-care disabilities rose 0.1 point or less.

In the US in 2016, 35.9% of people with disabilities ages 18-64 living in the community were employed. The employment percentage was more than double for people without disabilities, 76.6%. 

The employment gap, difference between the employment percentage for people with disabilities (35.9%) and people without disabilities (76.6%), was 40.7 percentage points.

For people with disabilities, employment rates ranged from a high of 54.0% (North Dakota) to a low of 27.4% (West Virginia). For those without disabilities, the employment ranged from 70.8% (West Virginia) to 84.2% (North Dakota).

In thirty four states, the employment percentage gap between those with a disability and those without was 40 percentage points or greater; only three states showed an employment percentage gap less than 23 percentage points.

Employment rates vary by type of disability. Employment percentages were highest for people with hearing disabilities (51.7%) and vision disabilities (43.5%) and lowest for independent living (17.0%) and self-care (15.5%) disabilities.

In 2016, the median earnings of people with disabilities ages 16 and over in the US was $22,047, about two-thirds of the median earnings of people without disabilities, $32,479.

An earnings disparity of over $10,000 in median earnings between those with and without disabilities continues a trend, which has existed since at least 2008 and has increased in magnitude since 2013.

States varied widely in earnings gap (the difference between the median earnings for those with and without disabilities) – from a low of $5,242 in Idaho to a high of $23,144 in the District of Columbia.

The poverty percentage gap, or the difference between the percentages of those with and without disabilities, has been between 7.4 and 8.3 percentage points over the past 8 years.

Over the past 8 years, the highest percentage of people with disabilities who smoke was 27.0% in 2009.  This has been in annual decline since 2012 (from 26.0% to 23.4%). But in 2016, the percentage moved back up to 24.6%. Over the same period, the highest percentage of people without disabilities smoking was 18.2% in 2011 and it has been in annual decline thereafter to 13.6% in 2016. The gap between the percentages for smokers with and without disabilities rose in 2016 to 11 percentage points.

In 2016, 38.9% of people ages 18 and over with disabilities were obese. In comparison, only 26.4% of those without disabilities were obese.

At 12.6 percentage points, 2016 had the lowest obesity gap (the difference in the percentages of obesity for people with and without disabilities) since 2009. It was also the second straight year-to-year drop. 

For states, gaps in binge drinking for those ages 18 and over ranged from 11.7 points less (thus more people without disabilities binge drinking than those with disabilities) in District of Columbia to 1.6 points less in Utah.


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 28, 2019)

As usual MH, you provide the "facts" and nothing but the facts, thank you


----------



## mark handler (Jan 28, 2019)

ADAguy said:


> As usual MH, you provide the "facts" and nothing but the facts, thank you


Subject, Too charged, to give opinions. Just the facts, man.


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 28, 2019)

Keep them coming.


----------



## conarb (Jan 28, 2019)

mark handler said:


> Subject, Too charged, to give opinions. Just the facts, man.



That's because it's all radical left-wing redistribution of wealth.


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 28, 2019)

You know this to be so how?


----------



## mark handler (Jan 29, 2019)

Those dammmmmm radical left-wing socialists that pushed it through Congress and signed it into law:
Sen. Robert Dole *(R-. Kan.)*, President George H. W. Bush *(R)*, Rep. Newt Gingrich *(R.-Ga.)*,


----------



## Paul Sweet (Jan 29, 2019)

The requirements aren't the problem.  It's the means of enforcement. 

Encouraging lawyers to sue seems to be shirking the government's responsibility to enforce the laws it enacts.  It also creates a wide disparity in how strictly this law is enforced, and in many cases leads to penalties that are far in excess of the damages that might actually be suffered.


----------



## tmurray (Jan 29, 2019)

conarb said:


> That's because it's all radical left-wing redistribution of wealth.



Yes. Take it from those rich people owning businesses and give it to poor contractors fixing violations...


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 30, 2019)

your insensitivity is showing! Never had a family member benefiting from access?


----------



## conarb (Jan 30, 2019)

mark handler said:


> Those dammmmmm radical left-wing socialists that pushed it through Congress and signed it into law:
> Sen. Robert Dole *(R-. Kan.)*, President George H. W. Bush *(R)*, Rep. Newt Gingrich *(R.-Ga.)*,


Yeah, financed by George Soros' Open Society and other NGOs, the constitution says everyone shall be treated equally, that means no special privileges for some groups. 

From above:



> *Cognitive & Memory Disorders*
> We generally do not think of cognitive disabilities when designing our facilities, particularly since there are no designated requirements. But these types of disorders can be mild to severe and affects a large portion of our population. This can affect our ability to learn, our memory, our perceptions, and our ability for problem solving. It is a broad category and can include those on the spectrum (previously referred to as autism), or those with other cognitive dysfunctions whether dementia, or retardation, or schizophrenia, or anxiety.



So why are giving special treatment to the stupid people?  This has destroyed our schools, since "separate is not equal" we have imbeciles in the classrooms, add "no child left behind" and you have a failed country.


----------



## tmurray (Jan 30, 2019)

conarb said:


> Yeah, financed by George Soros' Open Society and other NGOs, the constitution says everyone shall be treated equally, that means no special privileges for some groups.



Who is being treated differently?
Businesses are all treated the same.
The law provides for all people to be treated the same as they can now all enter the building and use facilities regardless of a mobility impairment.


----------



## jar546 (Jan 30, 2019)

conarb said:


> So why are giving special treatment to the stupid people?  This has destroyed our schools, since "separate is not equal" we have imbeciles in the classrooms, add "no child left behind" and you have a failed country.



Since you have crossed the line, so will I so maybe you will understand.  After this last comment
from you and several warnings, this is the last straw, so to put it in your terms:

You ignorantly asked "so why are giving special treatment to the stupid people?"  Probably the same reason I am putting up with an old, senile, angry, ignorant person like you.  Your arrogance is your disability and you are about to get kicked off here.  I have been putting up with your arrogant attitude way too long.  I've had enough.


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 31, 2019)

Jar, Jar, Jar; to each his own.

Consider that his may be a Cognitive disability brought on by long exposure to laws,
rules and regulations that (in his opinion) limit his ability to earn a profit.
Hammurabi saw this a long time ago, instituting an eye for an eye for those who fail
their duty to perform in an appropriate manner. Who determines this, today it is the
courts.
Conarb does it to keep us on our toes (smiling).


----------



## mtlogcabin (Jan 31, 2019)

I hear about all these young people that have "triggers" that set them off like certain hats that people wear or certain things that people say like he or she. Conarbs is no different than theirs.


----------



## ADAguy (Jan 31, 2019)

And "his" point is: he is "old" (smiling).


----------

