Vision Disability Ability Workshop

For this workshop, everyone was paired in twos and sent to accomplish different tasks. When we looked through the plastic bag, we found that we could not read the newspaper since the print was too small (represented 20/60 vision). When we folded that plastic bag in half and looked through it, I could not see a thing. Everything was so blurry that you couldn't tell what anything was.
When looking through the vision simulator tool that displayed different types of vision impairement, I learned that there are more than one way someone can be impaired visually.
The elevator access in the Bookie was tucked away in the back so it was difficult to find. At the ATM machine, the first machine had a barrier to block other people's vision and it was difficult to see from lack of light but the red, black, and green color codes helped a lot. The card slot also blinked with a green light making it easy to see. The second ATM machine had an easier-to-read keypad. The stairs in the atrium were easy to find with the black strips at the end of each step but I did not feel safe and comfortable because the entire room was white and I think there was no rail on one side of the stairs, which caused me to grip the rail tight! But the contrast helped a lot.

I believe, from my many observations, that the built environment should be accessible to everyone. These sort of problems that arise from a poorly built environment can cause confusion, injury, and even death. New technologies like motion-sensor and audible/visually-stimulating signs are making the world more accessible.