The European Concept For Accessibility 2003

2 PEOPLE-CENTRED APPROACH

2.1 Human Diversity

It is unfortunate that even today many people still believe that decisions regarding an individual's welfare and his/ her integration into society can be based upon personal differences (race, gender, beliefs, age, abilities, circumstances, etc.). For, to deny that human diversity enriches culture and, consequently, each individual who develops within it, is to deny the innate ability which all of us have to learn and benefit from new situations.

To accept diversity, however, is to accept ourselves for who we are in all our facets, both those which are regarded as positive by society (for example, bravery, altruism, kindness, ingenuity) and also those which are less socially acceptable (fears, needs, different ideas, etc.).

Any mother who has had more than one child will surely agree that, irrespective of whether one pregnancy is easier than another, the behaviour of the foetus during those nine months varies: for example, in the duration and speed of its movements or in the different postures it adopts. Thus, individual differences become clear as soon as two sets of genes combine to form a genotype that is different from that of either parent.

2.1.1 Changes During the Life Cycle

Human diversity is not only a reality at a social level (we are all different), but also at an individual one: other people are different from me and I myself am not the same person throughout the successive stages of my life.

However short, monotonous, unstimulating or lacking in personal relationships someone's life might be, there are always dimensional, biological and cognitive changes which themselves produce change when we relate with our bodies and interact with our environment.

Changes during the life cycle are inevitable. Some changes may be brought forward or postponed as a result of an individual's attitude to life, for example, with respect to food, sport, or the balance achieved between work, leisure activities and rest. However, it is also the case that accidents, illnesses or those personal choices also affect our way of relating to the environment without giving us the opportunity to avoid them or choose the best moment.

Although nobody denies that babies are totally dependent upon adults -all cultures acknowledge this -we readily assume that the baby will soon grow and become independent. This is why when we create our environment we so easily forget these small users. However, problems of relating to our environment do not only affect us during the first years of life, but whenever we find ourselves in a situation which, to agreater or lesser degree, makes such interaction difficult.

If we consider somebody not affected by a disability, we will realise that this person has problems interacting with the environment during at least 40% of his/ her life because most interaction problems are not caused by the characteristics of the individual but by the non-application of Design for All criteria in the design process.

When we are babies, we live in an environment that is not designed with us in mind, and it is the adults who look after us that have to alter it, as best they can, so as to protect us from potentially dangerous situations.

The problem with these "domestic fixes" is that being a parent is not synonymous with being a safety expert and we often realise the potential danger of a design when it is already too late, that is, when an accident has already happened.

• Moving from the stage of baby to that of child implies the acquisition of a certain independence from adults. However, it should be remembered that the degree of independence will largely depend on whether the facilities available in the environment enable such development.

  Personal autonomy is the finishing line in a race full of obstacles: overcoming one obstacle enables you to tackle the next. But, this will only be possible if it includes those manageable elements that children need in order to do so (biscuit packets or juice cartons which are easy to open, tables and chairs that can be adjusted to different heights, etc.).

• Having got through childhood, we may think we have left problems of interacting with the environment behind: we have developed a good knowledge of the social reality and environment in which we live; the different elements of this environment more or less adapt to the dimensions of our bodies; we have learnt to read, write, talk, listen, and interpret the various informative signs around us. In short, even having a learning, physical or sensory disability we will have achieved quite a higher degree of personal autonomy. However, reaching adolescence brings with it other kinds of interaction problems: Relationship problems between parents and children; Visits to countries whose language and culture are different from our own; The need to develop our cultural knowledge (museums, shows, etc.) without having our own money; or the need to find urban spaces in which we can meet with friends and express our social, political and personal ideas.

• If, like in a fairy tale, when we reach adulthood we have a job that we like and which motivates us, an income that enables us to do what we want, a home that meets our needs, a friendly environment that respects us and which motivates us to be respectful, and a high cultural level. If we have all these things, and provided we do not have any learning, physical or sensory disability, then we will not have any problems in interacting with our environment until the first signs of biological ageing (loss of sight, hearing, memory or motor ability, changing physical aspect, etc.) appear.

These four points trace the life of a person (from birth to old age) who is isolated from reality, that is to say, in whose development only two variables have played a part: the ability to learn and physical and biological development.

However, it should be remembered that everyday life confronts us with a series of circumstances which can make it difficult for us to relate to our environment. These difficulties may result from changes in the environment, changes in the individual or changes chosen by people themselves and which have repercussions for their lifestyle:
a) Changes in the environment: wet or icy streets, excessive temperatures, building work being done next to our home, strong winds, power cuts or cuts in the gas or water supply, poorly-placed street furniture, muddy parks, badly-parked cars, the introduction of new technology which we do not know how to use and which makes us feel clumsy or ill-prepared, etc.

b) Changes in the individual: illnesses, allergies, a broken arm or leg, conjunctivitis, burns, swellings, etc.

c) Changes of our circmstances: pregnancy, looking after a baby, caring for an adult with mobility problems, living far from a town or city centre, etc.

Thus, by building environments with diversity in mind we actually help our own lives, irrespective of the stage or the circumstances in which we find ourselves, because we all differ with respect to ourselves.