Understanding accessibility

At dxw, our mission is to build services that fit seamlessly into user’s lives, and that make public services usable and accessible to all – especially those most in need.

To achieve that mission, we must create services that work well for people with accessibility needs.

This guide explains:

  • what we mean by concepts like accessibility needs, disability and assistive technology
  • the different conceptual models of disability
  • why it is important for us to create accessible services

What we mean by people with accessibility needs #

People with accessibility needs are people that have specific needs, at this point in their life, when accessing and using products and services.

They may be the members of the public who directly use a service, people helping others to use a service, public servants supporting and operating services, or colleagues working along side us to create those services.

Some will use assistive products to maintain or perform activities of daily living, like accessing a computer, eating or communicating.

Accessibility needs can be a result of:

  • Disability: these may be cognitive, visual, auditory and movement disabilities, like learning disabilities, blindness, deafness/Deafness or arthritis.
  • Illness/disease/condition: like long covid, Parkinson’s disease or menopause.
  • Situational restrictions/inequity: like not having a smartphone, not having an internet connection or not having sufficient digital confidence to perform some tasks.

What we mean by disability #

Disability is one word attempting to describe lots of different experiences and stories.

The World Health Organisation states that disability is an umbrella term covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions:

  • Impairments are a disruption/difference in body function and/or structure.
  • Activity limitations are difficulties faced when trying to do a task or action.
  • Participation restrictions are challenges experienced when involved in life situations.

About 15% of the human population has a disability (WeThe15). That is 1.2 billion of people in the world that have a physical, visual, hearing and/or cognitive disability. Often, people will experience more than one disability at any given time and their experience will be compounded by chronic illnesses, mental health problems and other protected characteristics, like gender.

Disability is not static, and cannot be separated from human development (disability creation process). It is individually and culturally defined and subjected to power dynamics.

Disability can be experienced short term (for example, someone that just had an eye surgery and is in recovery) or long term, and sometimes can be progressive (getting worse with time). So we must design products and services that support changing access needs.

Conceptual models of disability #

The way we think about disability determines how we define disability, how we understand the impact of disability and how we design products and services for people with disabilities.

Medical model #

This model promotes the idea that disability is caused by individual impairments and that disabled people are a collection of deficits, a minority and that they need to be diagnosed, cured, controlled and prevented. This model is flawed because it does not include non-medical aspects of disability, such as lived experiences, environment, society and intersectionality. For example, some people see disability as their identity and would not seek a cure.

Social model #

This model promotes the idea that society has a role in exacerbating or ameliorating the challenges faced by disabled people. For example, a socially hostile and discriminatory environment could be much more disabling than any individual disability. This model aims at reducing discrimination and injustice towards disabled people and it has been useful at supporting the development of public policies. This model is flawed because it does not include the individual disability (by focusing only on the disabling society) thus excluding impairments and disability identity.

Biopsychosocial model #

This model promotes the idea that disability is a combination of physical, emotional and environmental experiences. This model underpins the International Classification of Functioning, endorsed by the World Health Organisation. This model is flawed because it promotes an overly normative understanding of what is a ‘normal functioning body’.

Human rights model #

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the idea that human interactions, attitudinal barriers and environmental barriers hinder the full and effective participation in society, and this results in disability.

UNCRPD aims to ensure that people with disabilities have the same cultural, social, economic, political and civil rights as non-disabled.

UNCRPD shifts disability conceptualization from a social welfare and medical concern to a human rights issue that admits that society’s barriers and prejudices are disabling. The aim of this model is to encourage disability policy.

What we mean by assistive technology #

Assistive technologies are products, systems and services that help people with accessibility needs to successfully access and use other products and services. Helping them to maintain or perform activities of daily living, to have independent, healthy and dignified lives, and participate in their communities.

Assistive products are external devices or software used by people 3.5 billion people will need assistive technology by 2050 globally. Unfortunately, access to assistive products is not equitable and in some countries, only 3% of people have access to assistive products (assistive technology key facts).

Assistive technology is used not only by disabled people. All people with accessibility needs may use assistive technology (if they have access to it and know how to use it).

Why it is important to create services that work well for people with accessibility needs #

At dxw we want to make sure that everyone can access and use the services we create.

We do this because: