Access Denied Diaries

#AccessDeniedDiaries by Amy

I encountered an access barrier when I tried to buy take out from a drive-through restaurant. I couldn’t place an order because I am hard of hearing and couldn't use the intercom speaker system.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Teena

I raised my three children on my own, while living with very low vision and no family or community help.

We were housebound because I had no transportation due to my sight problem. My children have suffered because I could not take them anywhere on my own. This resulted in my children not learning to swim, or playing in sport teams, or even going to friends' houses.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Timothy

I often struggle with venue inaccessibility. An envisaged social engagement with my gym community was recently thwarted as the Council-owned, Tauranga Rowing Club turned out to be inaccessible to wheelchair users.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Rhonda

I recently went to a public hot pool with a friend. We paid extra to go on the hydroslide, which is one of my most fun things to do in the whole wide world! Since I lost my sight I really enjoy activities that have a smooth and sliding sensation, like cycling, hydrosliding, ice-skating and snowboarding.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Emily

I was trying to go swimming. I have fibromyalgia, which means cold water causes a flare up of my pain. So I had gone all the way across town so I could use the warm hydrotherapy pool at QE2.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Susan

I wanted to go ice skating, so I rang a local rink in Wellington.

I am blind and would need my support worker to guide me on the ice. I enquired about free or discounted admittance for disability support workers. They said no, support workers have to pay the entrance fee too.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Pamela

I experience problems with access barriers as I'm in an electric wheelchair.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Adriana

I went to visit the Ministry of Education (MOE) head office in Wellington. I assessed the access to MOE's head office from Parliament building, from the perspective of a person using a wheelchair. Accessibility is the ability to actively participate and engage, and in this regard the MOE head office in Wellington FAILS.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Teena

I am legally blind which means I have limited vision. I have been trying to get a job for more than 15 years and I still do not have employment.

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#AccessDeniedDiaries by Vivian

In my experience working in the building industry, I have noticed an access barrier in the attitude of a developer who builds multi-story buildings and locates all the building’s accessible toilets in the one place – the ground floor. Although NZS 4121 advices that accessible toilets should be included where general toilets are located, this developer argues that he is providing more accessible toilets than are required by the Building Code and has persuaded Council that this is a desirable outcome.

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