About Access Declared

I've spent years working in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) and accessibility, including reviewing processes, advising on accessibility and inclusive practice, and helping embed accessibility considerations into organisational work. One thing stands out to me: although reasonable adjustments are required by law, there's little pressure on organisations to consider accessibility before an event or interview begins, or to communicate it in advance. The advice most often given to people with access needs is simply "ask the organiser" with almost no pressure on organisers or employers themselves to answer first.

My dad has a severe allergy. He's never had to phone or email a restaurant to find out if he can safely eat there, that information is already online, before he books. I don't see why anyone with access needs should be expected to always ask first to find out basic information.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time struggling with processes that are naturally built around neurotypical experiences, and most of that time was spent masking and doing anything rather than admit I was struggling with the setting or environment I was in. We talk about neurodiversity, disability, impairments and accessibility more openly now, and it can feel like disclosing a need should be simple, even welcomed. It isn't always that straight forward. For someone who's been called "awkward" or "difficult" for needing something different, disclosing isn't something you can just do and expect understanding in return.

That back-and-forth isn't a small inconvenience. For some people, it's the difference between attending and not, or applying and not. And even when a reply does come, having had to ask at all (sending a message into the unknown and hoping someone replies) creates uncertainty long before the event even starts.

I can't promise that any organisation using this tool will remove that need to ask entirely. But it should reduce it, and help organisers think about what to consider in advance, creating more transparency, and progress, for people with access needs. Even when the answer isn't "yes" to everything, honest information lets people decide for themselves whether an event is right for them, instead of guessing.

This is about transparency, and that means sometimes an organisation will publish a statement that honestly shows they don't have everything in place yet. That's the point, not a failure. Access needs aren't simple, and I don't have all the answers either, but starting somewhere, honestly, is better than waiting until everything is perfect. I know organisations often struggle with limited resource, capacity, or simply not knowing what they're supposed to say or do. This is meant to be that starting point: no shame, no commitment, no cost. Just support, guidance, and a way to be honest from day one.

In practice, that means a simple, free way for organisations to think about accessibility before an event or interview goes live, and share that openly (whether it's an event online, in person or hybrid, a session you're speaking at, or a job interview you're running) without needing leadership approval, funding, or a long credentialing process to get started.

How Access Declared has been shaped

Access Declared draws on several years of professional accessibility work, ongoing professional learning and research, as well as conversations with disabled and neurodivergent people and people with different access requirements about the barriers they experience and the information they would have found useful to know before attending an event or interview.

No one person's experience can represent everybody. Listening to one disabled person, one impairment group or one type of lived experience will never capture the full range of access needs, and my own experiences and perspective are no different. Access needs can vary significantly between people, environments and situations.

For that reason, Access Declared isn't intended to be a finished or fixed product. The checklists, resources and guidance will continue to be reviewed and improved as the tool is used and as more feedback is received. The feedback form exists partly for this reason: if something important is missing, unclear or could be improved, people should always have a way to say so and help shape what comes next.

Accessibility information should be as normal as publishing a venue address, a start time, or an interview format, not something that only appears once someone's had to ask.

Access Declared is free, independently built and maintained in my own time, and isn't affiliated with any employer. It sits alongside a wider history of disabled-led and accessibility-focused work already pushing for clearer access information before events and in recruitment, this is one contribution to that effort, focused specifically on making the process consistent across events, speaking engagements and interviews.

— Caris Graham (she/her)