Access Denied Diaries

The website mycovidrecord.health.nz, operated by the New Zealand Government Ministry of Health Manatū Hauora, fails to conform with the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), as interpreted by my computer screen reader JAWS for Windows.

I was trying to get off the bus at the Christchurch Bus Interchange. I got up from my seat, with my cane extended in front of me, and walked down the aisle to exit through the front door of the bus, as I usually do. The driver physically blocked me with their arm and said “No!”

Prakashni speaks out about attitudinal barriers that prevent access to employment and socialising.

I wanted to buy a bottle of milk before catching the bus home to attend an important Zoom meeting. I am blind, so I went to the service desk at Countdown to request sighted assistance. I was asked to wait, which I did. Ten minutes later I was told they had no one available to assist me.

Listen to David speak about difficulties accessing Colmar Brunton and Opinion World surveys, for blind and low vision people.

Some RSA clubs do not have enough room in their toilet facilities. Doorways and general access is okay for abled but for not for disabled people. People who need extra travel time, or an elevator to get to another level, often encounter more steps than ramps. For those who would like to enjoy a meal, seating can feel squashed in the dining area.

Our family was returning home from a dinner out one evening. My Mum uses an electric wheelchair, so we called a taxi with a lift to take us home.

The driver got us in and tied up some strops around the wheelchair. Following that, the driver drove very tightly around the corners. Every corner caused Mum's chair to tip at a 30-45 degree angle, leaving myself and another family member to catch and hold this very heavy electric wheelchair.

I encountered an access barrier when I was going around the block in my mobility scooter.

I was almost at the end of my journey, near my house, when there was an unexpected construction site. The pathway wasn't accessible!

As a person with low vision, the following are frequent barriers for me and other visually-impaired Kiwis ...

I encountered an access barrier when I tried to watch a documentary in my high school history class. The documentary was not captioned properly - it had very inaccurate autogenerated captions - and so I could not understand it as I am Deaf. I didn't do very well on the assessment.