According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 61 million adults in the United States live with a disability, be it in mobility, cognition, independence, self-care, hearing, or vision. That’s one in four people.
But how is disability defined and how do businesses meet ADA compliance standards?
A person with a disability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as anyone with a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.” That definition is more legal than medical. The ADA was signed into law in July of 1990 and serves as a federal civil rights law, enforced by the United States Department of Justice, prohibiting discrimination against the disabled.
Statistics from the CDC show that disabilities affect nearly half of all adults over 65, nearly half of all non-Hispanic indigenous people, and one in four women. Many of those with disabilities encounter a lack of accommodations on a daily basis, which increases everyday stress and is a source of discrimination.
The ADA doesn’t list all the possible impairments, leaving the definition of a disability somewhat open. However, it does offer standards for design and accommodations within five areas: Employment, Public Entities and Public Transportation, Public Accommodations and Commercial Facilities, Telecommunications, and Miscellaneous Provisions. Together, these standards provide guidance for businesses and contractors who make strides toward better accessibility.
What You Need to Know as a Business Owner About ADA Compliance
Prior to the ADA compliance regulations, building and construction standards did not include accommodations for the disabled.
For example, older buildings had no elevators or ramps for wheelchairs. As a result, employers, businesses, landlords, and so on, could not hire or cater to the disabled from, quite possibly, a practical point of view, which may have led to public discrimination against the disabled in those cases.
Today, ADA requires compliance with accessibility design standards. Bringing a building up to code can be costly, but failure to do so may mean fines or even litigation. Building contractors, architects and signs professionals like those at Lemberg are well versed in these requirements and can help businesses navigate the complexity of compliance when building new spaces or renovating existing spaces.
ADA signage is a visible and tactical way to guide the disabled community toward ADA compliance accommodations, such as wheelchair accessible elevators and entrances; or to aid the disabled in everyday functionality. Signs can use lettering, pictograms, or Braille to advertise an ADA message, but they don’t have to be boring to be functional. Signs of all kinds can be tastefully designed to complement the interior of any architecture or interior decorating scheme.
ADA Accommodations Enhance Safety and Sanitation
Sign professionals can ensure signage is mounted within the ADA height and reach standards for compliance. This may include other ADA accommodations that create safe, productive, frictionless spaces. Consider these:
- Operable Parts: ADA standards require items known as operable parts be at a depth and range that are easily accessible to those with disabilities. This includes control switches, equipment surfaces, and power outlets used in audio/visual equipment, electrical and mechanical devices.
- Building Automation Systems: The advent of voice-activated virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google, along with building automation technology, make everyday tasks even easier for the disabled.
Consider building automation systems and technology that can detect upon entry a person’s ultimate destination, such as an office. The system can turn on lights, fire up heating or cooling systems and adjust shades based on that occupancy and time of day without the person touching a switch. Accommodations like these provide convenience for the disabled as well as create more sanitary and efficient spaces.
Providing Assistance for Cognitive Disabilities
Additionally, there are ways that signs professionals and other contractors can help aid those with disabilities that are not physical but rather are cognitive. Perhaps it’s more about providing the opportunity for independence in everyday life with building automation systems.
Consider the way coordination of sound, color and images support wayfinding in large healthcare or shopping center settings and how helpful that may be for the elderly or those with memory issues.
Businesses can now make it easier for visitors to find their way back to their vehicles by marking parking areas with color or imagery and by using sounds at the elevator to distinguish different floors. Inside buildings, well-placed accessible signage and use of color can identify departments and direct patrons to them. Color and ADA complaint signage done right can provide a serene environment for memory patients or an undistracted environment for learning impaired students.
We don’t have to look far to see ways to further improve the everyday experience of someone with a disability. It’s a matter of making it easier for the next person to access seating on a plane, find their way to a classroom, or simply earn a paycheck.
ADA compliant signage and building automation systems take into consideration the importance of independence and the dignity that goes with it, regardless of the impairment.
Interested in learning more about the ADA compliant signs and building automation systems Lemberg can help you include in your next project? Contact our team today to learn more.
