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Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

When conducting accessibility checks at public places I wondered whether my residential apartment is 100% disabled-friendly and accessible also to the visually-impaired?
 
I found it was indeed having all features except one:
 
1.  ✔️  Check the Accessible main entrance gate.
2.   ✔️  Accessible Parking.
3.   ✔️  Accessible elevator/lift entrance.
4.   ✔️  Handle and railings in the elevator/lift
5.   ✔️  Accessible flat entrances.
6.   ✔️  A ramp at every place in the premises where there is a level difference.
7.   ✔️  Tactile paths are drawn in distinct colors on the staircase for the visually-impaired.
8.   ✔️  Hand-railings for the differently-abled using the staircase.
9.    No Braille letters in the elevator.
 
Caption: Elevator buttons before and after Braille Letters, photo by local guide @Tushar_SuradkarCaption: Elevator buttons before and after Braille Letters, photo by local guide @Tushar_Suradkar
 
And here are the snapshots of the accessibility features:
 
The main entrance gate is a bit damaged due to the recent flood but still leveled off with the street to ease the entry of a wheelchair.
 
 
Accessible parking: All areas are leveled-off for ease of movement.
 
 
Accessible elevator/lift entrance where the elevator floor is leveled-off with the outer floor for ease of entrance.
Also, there are handles and railings in the elevator/lift.
Also, a ramp at every place in the premises where there is a level difference.
 
 
Accessible flat entrances for facilitating wheelchair entry.
Also, display signs are large in size to aid the visually-impaired.
 
 
Tactile paths are drawn in distinct colors on the staircase for the visually-impaired.
Hand-railings are present for the differently-abled using the staircase.
 
 
Unfortunately, there were no Braille letters on the elevator buttons for the blind and the visually-impaired.
 
 
I decided to close this gap and fulfill the requirement for the visually-impaired with little self-help and created Braille tiles in the elevator to indicate the floors.
 
Here are the simple steps to follow:
 
1. I began with cutting open a used softdrink can using ordinary scissors. 
 
Note: Do not use a heavy tin can or any other drink can that cannot be crumpled with bare hands since those would be difficult to cut and handle.
 
2. On a flattened 300 ml can mark squares of 150 mm with a sketch pen as shown below.
 
 
3. Cut the squares and round off the edges using a smaller scissor or a nail cutter.
 
 
4. Using the filer on the underside of the nail cutter handle, smooth out the rough edges just as you would do for the nails.
 
Now the tiles are ready to be embossed with Braille numbers.
 
5. Braille numbers are regular Braille alphabets A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J but when they are preceded with the reversed L symbol then they are read as numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0. 
 
 
In the image above if you ignore the dots in blue the black dots pattern are the letters A to J and I learned this when volunteering at the Capt. Chandanlal Blind School in Gurugram recently. So the job was easy.
 
6. The tiles need to be embossed so that they are raised on the front. So they need to be punched from the backside in a mirror image. To do this, print a mirror of the Braille numbers or simply draw them with a sketch pen on paper and stick it on the backside as a template.
 
7. Punch the Braille numbers using a hammer and a star-end screwdriver over the paper template. 
 
 
8. The Braille letters now appear embossed on the front or shining face.
 
9. Stick them besides the normal numbers in the elevator/lift so that the blind or visually-impaired can use them to reach your place.
 
 
With that I declare that my residential apartment is 100% welcoming and accessible to the differently-abled and the visually-impaired in every respect:
 
Here's the status update:
 
1.  ✔️  Check the Accessible main entrance gate.
2.   ✔️  Accessible Parking.
3.   ✔️  Accessible elevator/lift entrance.
4.   ✔️  Handle and railings in the elevator/lift
5.   ✔️  Accessible flat entrances.
6.   ✔️  A ramp at every place in the premises where there is a level difference.
7.   ✔️  Tactile paths are drawn in distinct colors on the staircase for the visually-impaired.
8.   ✔️  Hand-railings for the differently-abled using the staircase.
9.  ✔️  Braille letters in the elevator.
 
This exercise is part of the Accessibility for All movement.
 
Is your residential building welcoming and accessible for all?
If not, try out this simple exercise and share your photos in the comments...
Delhi, India
15 comments
Level 6

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

You are truly accessible champion @Tushar_Suradkar  It's good idea to check our resident first. Least we can do make our home accessible to all.

Connect Moderator

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Thank you for the appreciation dear @Zafermdjaved 

When searching for accessible places elsewhere, we often forgot to look inwards.

Level 8

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

You are So brilliant sir !

Your are Real Guiding star @Tushar_Suradkar 

Level 8

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Your working is really very very impressive. Kudos to you and your amazing work. Which is most attractive in this post that is the pictures of Alphabets & Numbers and the technical system.

 

Thank you @Tushar_Suradkar for posting here. Waiting for more attractive post.

================================

Accessibility Champion- Kalyan Pal 

Level 10

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Yes dear  @Tushar_Suradkar 

 

Excellent question..

As rightly mentioned by @Zafermdjaved , you are a genuine ACCESSIBILITY CHAMPION!

Appreciate from our heart..

 

 Yercaud (where I stay more days of a month) being a hilly place, ramp is not practical..

 

Whereas in Bangalore, we have a a movable wooden Ramp for our bungalow. (We have a handicapped relative who visits us)

 

Thanks for bringing this topic...

🙏

Connect Moderator

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Thank you, dear, @Nagavijay 

Hope you take inspiration and implement this idea at a place near you that needs Braille letters in the elevator or a similar facility.

Connect Moderator

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Thank you, dear, @KalyanPal 

Hope you take inspiration and implement this idea at a place near you that needs Braille letters in the elevator or a similar facility.

Connect Moderator

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Thank you @TravellerG for the appreciation.

The idea of a movable ramp is also a practical and commendable effort towards making a place friendly and accessible to the differently-abled.

Glad to know that it is already in practice in your place.

I recently saw it in a museum and will try to highlight it in an upcoming article.

Connect Moderator

Re: Accessibility for All - Is Your Residence Welcoming & Accessible

Great post, @Tushar_Suradkar! It has great quality and it's very well explained, thank you for sharing this with us and for continuing raising awareness 😊 

I do think the door of the elevator is a bit small to be accessible, don't you think? When we could first add accessibility information we were told that all sorts of doors where only accessible if two people could fit side to side, I'm worried that someone in a wheelchair wouldn't be able to enter the elevator, or at least not comfortably or without help. It could be my perception because I'm only looking at photos and not there, though!