Accessibility Guide

Making your class or workshop accessible

General
Cultural Accessibility
Physical Accessibility
Hidden Disability (includes hidden physical disability)
Food
Advertising

General

If possible, invite your participants to share their needs and concerns ahead of time. Use positive, welcoming language. Accept and affirm differences. Remember that, by law, you can not ask a person if they have a disability.
Choose a space that is the right size for your event. This will feel more welcoming, and helps to avoid unnecessary discomfort.
Provide thorough directions to location and detailed instructions on what to do upon arrival (check in, ring bell, etc)
Ensure bathroom locations are clearly stated and facilities are ADA compliant (or meet the needs of your group).
Employ Universal Design methods when planning your class or workshop: include multiple means of engagement and a variety of representation & expressions. This will help to ensure physical, sensory and cognitive accessibility.
Do not rely on your participants owning specific devices, or their ability to access or use the internet.
Facilitate your activities.
Ensure any presentation materials are viewable / accessible from different parts of the room.
Ensure all presentation materials use high contrast colors (eg. black and white, or dark blue on pale cream) and simple, clear fonts.
You may want to consider name tags or color coded badges. If you do so, be sure to explain this at the start of your event.
You may want to include a fragrance-free policy, or a masking policy.
Be clear that participants are free to wear masks, if you don’t have a required masking policy.
Consider using microphones and providing screen readers if needed.
Consider your air conditioning or heating needs.
You may wish to provide transportation support, or guides for accessible public transportation to and from your event
Provide interpreters as needed.
Provide proper storage options for coats, bags, etc to ensure all walking paths are clear of trip hazards.
Consider using tape on floor or stanchions to mark edges of walkways for those with assistive devices
Provide instructions for service dog walking as needed.
Offer a quiet space.

Cultural accssibility

Cultural accessibility means that everyone should have access to cultural events and activities. It also means that everyone should be included, and should feel welcome, regardless of cultural background or expectations.

Do not make assumptions about participants' backgrounds, cultural knowledge, languages, religions, assumptions or other cultural practices.
Avoid language such as “obviously,” and “as we know.”
Be inclusive and varied with the examples you chose to use throughout your class or workshop.
Remember that cultural differences also include economic disparities and financial access to things like healthcare, education and food. Do not base expectations on your own life experience.
Be clear about whether or not your class or workshop is family-friendly. If your event is multi-generational be sure to include materials and activities that are suitable for all ages and levels.
Do not automatically correlate age, race, or other cultural signifiers with educational or cognitive ability.
Facilitate cultural sharing and conversation as a part of your class or workshop, but make it optional.

Physical Accessibility

Choose a room or space that is accessible by wheelchair or to those with other movement restrictions
Outdoor paths should be made of a stable surface, and should not be steeply sloped
Outdoor paths should be wide enough for standard wheelchairs (ADA requires a min of 36”)
Ensure ramp access to buildings or raised spaces
Ensure elevator access to indoor spaces above first floor level
Ensure doorways are wide enough for standard wheelchairs (ADA requires a min of 32”)
Ensure doorways have a flush threshold (no step or height difference)
Provide adjustable tables that are wheelchair accessible (a minimum of 27” clearance from the floor, 30” knee width and 19” in knee depth)
Ensure access to an accessible washroom
Provide high-backed chairs
Do not separate accessible tables & chairs. Mix them throughout the space.
Ensure any communal workshop materials are unscented, and provided in stable containers with a range of grip sizes (also applicable to the Hidden Disability section of this guide sheet)

Hidden disability

Avoid making assumptions about ability, comfort levels, backgrounds or access to education.

Remember that physical disability may also apply in hidden ways. Do not plan mandatory activities that reply heavily upon fine motor skills or other physical activities like climbing stairs, jumping or running.
Provide optional activities so participants can opt in or out without feeling singled out.
Provide facilitated activities (this avoids relying on things like a participants ability to read)
Think through the sensory experience of your class or workshop, and the space you are in. Avoid very loud or smelly spaces, and try to find a space with natural light.
Provide fidget toys, paper and pens or pencils.
Do not take it personally, or as a sign that someone isn’t listening, if participants play with the fidgets or doodle while you’re talking. For some people this significantly increases concentration.
Do not take it personally, or as a sign that someone isn’t listening, if participants chose to wear headphones. This can be a vital sensory aid.

Heading 6

structure

Provide optional activities so participants can opt in or out without feeling singled out.
Provide facilitated activities
Use an agenda or program for your workshop, and share it in both print and verbal form. This can provide a huge amount of comfort and needed predictability for some participants.
If you set timeframes for activities, stick to them. Ensure accessible time keeping device(s) are available (analog clock on wall, digital clock, verbal clock) so everyone can stay on pace.
Include content warnings if your planned class or workshop intersects with potentially triggering content (such as violence, sex, gender, disability, age, and race).
Invite your participants to take breaks, or move around, if they need to.

food & medications

Include space in your registration form for people to communicate any medication-based accessibility needs. Other accessibility considerations should be taken into consideration as a standard practice. Use positive, welcoming language.
If you are providing food or snacks, avoid major allergens (like gluten, peanuts, dairy milk, soy), and ensure that all allergens are clearly listed.
If possible, survey your participants ahead of time so that you know which allergens to avoid in your group (be sure participants can check as many boxes as apply).

Advertising

Font: use a simple Sans serif font (such as Arial or Helvetica)
ADA suggests a min 12pt font for text body and min 18pt for headings
Use high contrast colors; dark on light, or light on dark (eg, black and white, or dark blue and light cream). If you are unsure, use an online contrast checker.
Avoid high glare surfaces for printed materials.
Use alt. text in online / social media advertising to ensure no important information is hidden in your images. Be sure to adhere to character limitations for the platforms you are using to ensure alt. text is accepted.
Add descriptive text for any post that contains an image.
Do not rely on color alone to convey information (eg, a red word)
Check your materials with a text-speech function before posting or emailing. Text can be mispronounced or misunderstood by auto-read software. If this happens, clarify your text or reword it.
If you are running a public event, be sure to state that your event is accessible