Is Your Church Disability Friendly?

"Many people with disabilities never go to church. They either cannot get there or they cannot get in. Many do not feel welcome at church. Some cannot hear the message. Others cannot read the words on the screen to participate. Some cannot obey the unwritten rules. Others simply cannot sit quiet and still for an hour or more. Some cannot understand what is happening. As your church plans to develop or improve upon its worship facility, remember that people with disabilities can love, and they all have a need for God. Accommodate their presence in your church since, without exception, all belong to God regardless of ability or difference."  (Source:  http://wfxweb.com/2015/about/event-news/building-for-a-disability-friendly-church)

" Hearing Impairment — If people cannot hear the message, they will stop coming to church, so install an assistive listening system to help those who are hard-of-hearing. For those who are deaf, provide a sign language interpreter or use live captioning. Live captioning is also helpful to the hard-of-hearing."

(Source:  http://wfxweb.com/2015/about/event-news/building-for-a-disability-friendly-church)

“If we can start to understand how

 people with disabilities respond

 to the church, then we can see

 how other people who might feel

 excluded can be drawn in". - 

See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201312/ramp-it-how-parishes-can-increase-accessibility-28230#sthash.2NCKxs0O.dpuf

Who would want to use real time live captioning in churches?  

 See http://www.captionaccess.com/faq/ for further explanation of the many people

who could benefit from real time live captioning in churches.  You might be surprised

to find out just how many people can benefit if you make your churches accessible for them.

The Deaf/deaf/HOH need Universal Access:  

"When designing a space or 

planning 

an event, we need to strive for 

universal access—so that all 

members of our communities can 

attend and participate. This means 

that, in addition to ramps and 

elevators, we need assistive 

listening technology like hearing 

loops and captions, and signage 

that makes it clear that the service 

is available. This is a goal that we 

can achieve, but in order to do so, 

we need to change the way we

 think about communication and 

hearing access. "


- See more at: http://agewisekin

gcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-Out.htm#sthash.em7Uhug6.nW91Nm7I.dpuf

(Source:  http://agewisekingcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-

Out.htm#sthash.em7Uhug6.dLa2G9JJ.dpuf)

"What does it mean for communication to be “effective”? Simply put, “effective communication” means that whatever is written or spoken must be as clear and understandable to people with disabilities as it is for people who do not have disabilities."

(Source: http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap3toolkit.htm)

Examples of Effective communication:   http://www.dartmouth.edu/~accessibility/effcomm/index.html

"Accessible meeting space allows

 everyone to participate." 

(Source: http://www.ada.gov/business/accessiblemtg.htm