By Daniel Morgan-Williams, Founding Director of Visualise Training and Consultancy
Ever walked into a takeaway, absolutely starving, only to be told: “Cash only”? You fumble for coins, check your pockets, maybe even consider raiding your car seats. But no luck – all you’ve got is a card. And just like that, no dinner for you.
It’s not that you didn’t have money. It’s that the system wasn’t set up for the way you pay.
Now imagine facing that sort of experience in almost every part of your day – not just once in a blue moon. That’s what it can be like for people with visual impairments (and many other disabilities), when environments don’t meet their access needs.
Menus in tiny print, websites that ignore screen readers, offices with no high-contrast markings, documents that only come in hard copy – it’s not the eye condition that’s the problem, it’s the world forgetting that not everyone navigates it the same way.
Here’s the thing: people aren’t disabled by their eyes, legs, or ears. Stairs with no ramps, signs with no braille, and processes with no flexibility disable them.
It’s not the person – it’s the environment.
Accessibility isn’t about giving someone an advantage. It’s about removing a barrier that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Just like accepting both cash and card isn’t special treatment – it’s just good customer service.
If we build our systems, spaces, and attitudes with more people in mind, everyone benefits. And nobody has to go hungry.
To find out more or book training, visit https://visualisetrainingandconsultancy.com/training