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Over the summer, I got a message from a nondisabled parent about creating accessible childcare (with the hope that disabled adults could also work there.) This parent wanted to know what access things they had possibly overlooked.
This list in no way covers every single access need, but it is a place to start. So, if you are curious about making a space accessible for a disabled people in your life, read on...and know that providing thoughtful access goes a long way toward letting us know we belong and are loved and welcomed in your space (whether it's a childcare facility or your house.)
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Install Thin Carpet and Eliminate Decorative Rugs Altogether - These make access really tough. While Target / school style floors are great for chair users, there’s often a cleanser issue where there’s slippery film left behind which makes walking with crutches / unassisted but disabled dangerous. (Falling hazard.)
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Open Floor Plan in All Locations - Make sure there is plenty of space for kids with adaptive equipment to navigate.
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Accessible Cubbies and Coat Hooks - Make sure all kids have access to a safe place to store their belongings.
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Have Places at Tables Where Regular Chairs are Removed - This lets wheelchair users feel welcome / like we belong there / are wanted.
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Accessible Quiet Corner - (Not used for punishment.) Say a kid needs to chill for a bit. Have noise canceling headphones, lowered light etc for when kids need to decompress.
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Make Using Captions on Media Your Default - Captioning not only helps d/Deaf and HoH folx but it also benefits those with auditory processing difficulties.
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Make Sure the Room is Warm Enough - People with disabilities can have trouble maintaining temperature. We can feel too cold / too warm easily.
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Keep The Toys Low / Accessible - Believe it or not I still remember nursery school (age 2) and only being able to reach certain toys / toys on the lowest shelf. This way, every kid can reach them. Same for books, etc.
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| [Image: Tonia in nursery school in a pink shirt, looking exhausted.] |
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Accessible Seating - This goes for all the areas but especially for the babies / littles make sure they’re not in one place all the time. Those Bumbo chairs are pretty supportive and work well (as opposed to regular chairs / booster chairs. *Keep differences minimal. If you’ve got kids in Bumbo / booster seats. Have abled kids on the floor around them, not in regular chairs towering over them.
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Safe People Who Are Happy to Help Kids Play - Young kids need a lot of help, especially disabled kids. Kids, even babies, pick up if they are seen as some kind of pain in your butt.
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Remember Daycare is Not Therapy - If playing outside counts as exercise for the abled kids, it counts as exercise for the disabled kids, too. We use 3-5 times more energy to move, so we are always exerting ourselves.
Related: 2020 Summer Series: CP and Therapy
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Have Inside Play / Outside Play Options or Days - Some kids with disabilities cannot go out when it’s cold (cold varies from kid to kid) because of immune issues or temperature regulation difficulties.
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Prioritize Shoveling / Salting If You Live Where It’s Cold - People with disabilities need to be able to safely get in and out of the building no matter the weather.
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Private Accessible Changing Table (Big Enough for Adults) in Restrooms - Often, older kids and adults with disabilities don’t have access to a place to have their bathroom needs seen to, and have to be changed on the floor of restrooms. This is so dehumanizing.
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Make Sure Stalls / Bathrooms are Actually Accessible - Where possible ask wheelchair users etc to navigate it and be open to feedback. Make sure sinks are low enough (not just one) with enough open space beneath to accommodate a wheelchair.
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Realize Incontinence Is a Thing That Might Happen - Be prepared and don’t punish or shame a kid (or disabled staff member) for this.
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Rethink The Height on Those Kitchen Surfaces - If you want to be open to disabled adults working in your facility, please make sure they can 100% access food and the kitchen! Lower surfaces work for everyone. (Open space beneath counters to accommodate chairs.) If necessary you can gate the area or something so that littles can’t access where there are sharp implements / a hot stove.
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Smooth Pavement / Rubber Treated Surfaces Outdoors - Pushing a wheelchair is not the same thing as pushing a stroller or a toy. We struggle to navigate on compact crush, mulch, grass, dirt and gravel.
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It's human to miss things. If a disabled person comes to you with an having faced an access barrier in your space (or even with your content) realize this is a big deal. We are trusting you. Realize if we are coming to you at all, we have likely experienced physical or cognitive exhaustion. (Perhaps both.)
We Need You To:
1) Realize we have been harmed.
2) Ask if we are okay.
3) Apologize.
4) Be open to feedback when we are able to give it and / or research on your own a way to correct the barrier.
5) Actually correct the barrier.
These things will begin to establish you as a safe person in a disabled person's circle.
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