News articles regarding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
Under the Customer Service Standards of the AODA, organizations must serve customers with print disabilities. In this article, we first describe what print disabilities are and then outline how providers can serve customers who have them.
A print disability impacts someone’s ability to read printed material. For instance, people with print disabilities may:
Under the Customer Service Standard of the AODA, service providers’ policies must state that they welcome customers using assistive devices. In our last article, we described different types of assistive devices. In this article, we offer some best practices for serving customers with assistive devices.
Providers should speak to a customer with an assistive device directly instead of addressing a companion or support person.
The Customer Service Standards of the AODA gives service providers guidelines on making their goods, services, and facilities accessible to customers with disabilities. Some of these services will involve computer accessibility. For instance, service providers need to make their websites accessible. They can do so by ensuring that their webpages are compatible with the hardware and software people use on their personal devices, such as computers or phones. In addition, some organizations, such as libraries, schools, restaurants, or retailers, may have computers or tablets with accessible hardware or software on-site for patrons to use. In this article, we describe some ways that customers with disabilities use technology.
Under the Design of Public Spaces Standard of the AODA, cities and other organizations building or redeveloping outdoor play spaces, such as playgrounds or parks, must make those spaces accessible to children and caregivers with disabilities. Rules for accessible outdoor play spaces apply to private organizations with fifty or more workers and to all public sector organizations.
Outdoor public play spaces are areas containing:
This week is White Cane Week!
White Cane Week, celebrated across Canada in the first full week of February every year, raises awareness about how blind people travel and make a difference in their communities. In 2019, White Cane Week takes place from Sunday, February 3rd to Saturday, February 9th.
