Happy WBW! And happy disability pride month! How disability-friendly is your world? ADA (or world-equivalent) approved or in need of major reform/revolution?
Happy WBW (ignore that it’s Friday) and happy disability pride month!!
Continuing in the answering-Tori’s-asks-with-science-writing fashion, most modern science buildings are more ADA compliant than many others. I’d even go so far to say that some of them are disability-friendly (especially for wheelchair users). Because a lot of them are built to be able to maneuver huge equipment through spaces, doorways are often spacious and there are very few tight corners. Most have large elevators which imo work way more often than in other buildings. My new lab has work benches that are adjustable to fit the height of a wheelchair!! I’m so excited to start working there this fall. I’ve found that many lecture halls and even smaller classrooms have sound systems to connect to computers, hearing aids, or generating captions. So many things already have to be labeled that as long as someone has braille in their mind then it’s not too hard to properly label everything. Of course, there are many disabilities that are not properly accommodated. Most science buildings I’ve been in have very bright lights, which would suck if you’re very light sensitive. Not all lab spaces have ppm sensors, requiring you to see/smell/hear something going wrong which can prevent independence. And a lot of labs don’t want you to use technology while working which can make things like using an aac in need of an exception. It’s not perfect, but it’s way better than many other fields I’ve found!
