The Access Card has, over just 12 months, developed from being nothing more than a sketch on piece of paper to a fully functioning system being integrated into more organizations than we ever thought would have been possible with in such a tight time frame.

The response from providers virtually constantly ends with ‘its a no-brainer’ when faced with a decision of whether or not to implement it into that organisations decision making / public offer. We are also making leaps and strides toward making online ticketing options a reality for disabled people.

It is however great to have those pieces of feedback from customers which remind us that what we’re doing is important and genuinely meaningful to those people being given a choice as to whether to go down the Access Card route or stay with what they currently do. We were recently offered this piece of feedback from a new customer who came across the card by chance thanks to a referral from our friends at Attitude is Everything:

 I thought I’d share with you some of my thoughts about why I think what you are doing is so important.

Firstly as someone with an invisible disability I had stopped going to most gigs.  The fear of potential confrontation, or spoiling the evening of the people I go with over-rode my life long love of live music.  In the process I had forgotten how much I had lost. I had somehow bought into the idea that having a social life, doing what I loved, was one demand too far for me to expect to be met.  The daily struggles to remain in work, keep parenting my kids, try and be a partner to my husband had taken up all of my possible resources.  Just seeing your website reminded me – that not only did I deserve a life, it was a perfectly reasonable expectation.

Secondly, and I know this isn’t the case for everybody, having something that can prove, legitimately, that I have a disability will be a real relief.  Having access to reasonable adjustments only defined by benefit rulings that are the product of political decisions by the government is a real problem.  It also breaks down the idea that the biggest issue for society raised by people with disabilities is financial.  Financial support is only one of many ‘reasonable adjustments’ that need to be made.

So on a dark day, when I felt like I’d lost too much, your site reminded me that I could have a life, and that you are providing one way of people with disability to be recognised.  That’s got to be a good thing!

 

If anybody else out there wants to share their experience of finding the Access Card let me know by mailing me at martin@ask-nimbus.com what it means to you as your feedback might be what inspires someone else to get involved.

 

Thanks

 

Martin

Managing Director of Nimbus Disability; creator of the Access Card