[OSList] Accessibility in OS

Sarah Grange via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Mon Nov 16 02:53:05 PST 2015


Hi Michael,

Thank you for sharing these thoughts. You're right of course that people in
OS work to help each other a lot, and that the sponsor - when there is one
- can be guided towards best practice. However, in the case of the events
I'm running, I am often my own client, so to speak, as I run a programme of
OS events as part of an Arts Council funded company, so the bucks stops
with me in terms of pre-planned provision.

Whilst there are many things participants do to help each other, there are
two main areas where it feels that better provision needs to be made by
facilitators/organisers. Mainly for hard-of-hearing participants and those
with learning disabilities.

Hard-of-hearing: With 1 in 5 people in the UK having some kind of hearing
loss, large scale events become really difficult, as ambient noise levels
mount. Simply asking people to speak up only causes more problems as the
room as a whole just gets louder. Hearing assistant tools, like live
captioning or hearing loops, only work for Opening and Closing, but are
impossible (at least on our small budgets) to implement across the event
for each break-out space. At our largest annual event, we often have
upwards of 20 break-out spaces. Statistically, at least someone in each
space will need some assistance but we can't afford 20 palantypists (or
equivalent). Has anyone tried any other technological support, or found
other methods to help the hard of hearing?

Learning Disability: This is trickier as every person with an LD has a
different set of needs. Primarily, we find the biggest problems are feeling
intimidated and confused on entering the space. We're trialling a buddy
system for our next large event. Has anyone got experience of similar they
can share? Has anyone found a way of presenting or explaining OS to those
with LDs in a way that makes them feel safe and supported? I'm really
talking about the larger events here. With the smaller ones, the crowd is
less alarming, and the facilitator much easier to identify and ask for
help. There certainly seems to be a limit - in my experience - in terms of
how much you can say to a person with Learning Disability that the group
will self-organise to assist them and that they shouldn't worry, ask for
support etc, because for many of them, they simply do not have the same
social understanding as everyone else, or the communication skills to do
this. Their voices are none the less important though, and I feel like OS
should really be able to support neuro-atypical participants better than I
am currently able to. Any tips, thoughts, advice most welcome! Has anyone
worked with Autistic participants, for example?

Thanks

Sarah


On Fri, Nov 13, 2015 at 12:59 PM, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpannwitz at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Dear Sarah,
>
> while structural stuff such as wheelchair-accessibility and the provision
> of Sign Language interpretation might have  to be dealt with before the
> event, I have found that the other things you mention are very well taken
> care of by that which we hope to make more space for in an OST event: the
> force of self-organization.
>
> In practice, it took me a while - and it still does - to begin to actually
> "know" of this force. In many ways, it is counterintuitive in the sense
> that I tend to act too quickly on my assumption. Participants have been a
> great help in setting me straight. And I have some stories on this...
>
> Observing folks in os-events I facilitated showed me how simply and
> elegantly and tenderly participants moved with each other in situations,
> had I perceived them beforehand, I might have thought up all kinds of
> stuff... NOT needed and in fact "closing" space for self-organization.
>
> The best way of dealing with the issue you mentioned, is to closely watch
> how the sponsor of the event and later the planning group approach that
> issue. They are not only in charge of the event but they are very likely
> exactly the right people for the specific event they are in charge of, much
> better in the know than I as external facilitator.
>
>
> Greetings from Berlin
> mmp
>
>
>
> On 13.11.2015 11:53, Sarah Grange via OSList wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> We’ve been trying hard to progress how accessible OS is to people who
>> are hard-of-hearing, or have visual impairments or learning
>> disabilities. I was just wondering what solutions other people have
>> tried and tested during their events?
>> We already provide a standard offer of Sign Language interpretation for
>> Deaf people, and have a policy of only using wheelchair-accessible
>> spaces, but these other areas need some work.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Sarah
>> (devotedanddisgruntled.com <http://devotedanddisgruntled.com> &
>> improbable.co.uk <http://improbable.co.uk>)
>>
>>
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>>
> --
> Michael M Pannwitz
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
> ++49 - 30-772 8000
>
>
>
> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 405 resident Open
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> worldwide: www.openspaceworldmap.org
>



-- 


Sarah Grange
Open Space Producer

sarah at improbable.co.uk
www.devotedanddisgruntled.com
www.improbable.co.uk
020 7240 4556

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DEVOTED & DISGRUNTLED SATELLITE: HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO KEEP REGIONAL
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November 9th, Hertford Theatre

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January 9-11, Birmingham Repertory Theatre


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