What to expect from an accessible organization

People who work in organizations can do different things to support your communication depending on:

  • The type of business and service
  • How well the people working there know you and how you communicate
  • How critical communication is within that setting

In most business or organizations, you should expect people to:

  • Be friendly and talk directly to you
  • Not underestimate your abilities
  • Ask what they can do when communicating with you
  • Give you the time you need to communicate
  • Let you use whatever communication method works best for you
  • Make a genuine effort to understand your message
  • Ask if you need assistance with reading and writing activities
  • Give you options for telephone use

If it is a committee meeting, public event, workshop or conference, you should expect the organizer to pay for a communication assistant if you need one to participate.

People who work in critical services, such as healthcare, emergency, police, legal and justice, professionals should also do these things. They should also have:

  • Staff who have extra training in communicating with people who have communication disabilities
  • Ways to get you a communication assistant or a communication intermediary if you need one
  • Emergency picture, alphabet boards and low tech communication tools that you can use