The Sunday BlindSpot | Issue 03

Why Accessibility Is Everyone’s Business | Busting five common myths holding organisations back from truly inclusive design.

I’ve been living with the need for accessibility accommodations for over 40 years.

As someone with a degenerative vision condition, I’ve spent most of my life adapting — finding workarounds, experimenting with assistive tech, and quietly learning to navigate a world that wasn’t designed with people like me in mind.

The good news? Technology is (mostly) keeping pace with my sight.

Glass half full – I can still get by.

Throughout my legal tech career, I’ve travelled to all sorts of places: from the corners of the globe to the corners of corporate boardrooms. I’ve stayed in five-star hotels… and some that barely deserved two. I’ve navigated airports, train stations, corporate towers, and countless modern offices – often solo.

Each experience has its own set of hidden hurdles:

• Trying to spot the building number when I’m heading to a meeting

• Figuring out which lift button goes to the right floor

• Recognising the faces of people I’m meeting that day

• Reading the Wi-Fi password scribbled on a piece of paper across the room

It’s rarely one big barrier – just lots of little frictions that add up.

But every now and then, someone gets it right. And that’s when things feel different – not just easier, but more welcoming. More human.

That’s why I’m passionate about accessibility and assistive technology.

And it’s why I’ve been doing some deep research ahead of launching an awareness training offering through BlindSpot Solutions.

Doing the Research

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been diving into global accessibility expectations — from Australia to the US, UK, Canada, and beyond.

There’s a clear trend toward stronger policies, better inclusion language, and more awareness of disability rights.

But one theme keeps repeating itself:

Accessibility is still treated like a compliance checkbox.

Something you do because the legislation says you must.

Something designed for a narrow group — not everyone else.

But here’s the truth:

Accessibility isn’t just about disability.

It’s about better design, better thinking, and better outcomes for all of us.

That’s the blind spot.

In this issue, I want to challenge that thinking — by highlighting the five most persistent myths holding organisations back from seeing accessibility for what it really is:

Not a legal burden. Not a niche initiative.

But an opportunity to improve everything.

Top 5 Myths in Accessibility

Myth 1: “Accessibility is only for people with disabilities.”

Let’s start with the big one – because this myth is still everywhere. Accessibility is too often seen as something niche. A specialist add-on. Something you only need to think about if a client, colleague, or customer discloses a disability. But accessibility, when done well, doesn’t just benefit people with disabilities – it benefits everyone.

Take curb cuts, for example. Originally designed for wheelchair users, they’re now essential for parents with prams, travellers with luggage, delivery drivers wheeling trolleys, and just about anyone trying to navigate a city footpath with something on wheels. Or consider captions: critical for Deaf and hard of hearing users, but also incredibly useful for people watching videos in noisy airport lounges, on mute in open-plan offices, or while rocking a baby to sleep. Or, let’s be honest – for Gen Z teenagers scrolling through TikTok without headphones.

Accessible websites follow the same pattern. They’re structured, intuitive, and easier to use – not just for people using screen readers, but for anyone trying to get something done quickly. Including a lawyer desperately searching for a Wi-Fi password or a key clause in a 47-page PDF ten minutes before a client call.

Accessibility isn’t exclusive. It’s universally helpful. It’s good UX. It’s good business. And it’s just good design. When we design for people with disability, we nearly always end up designing something better for everyone. That’s not a legal burden – it’s a competitive advantage.

So next time someone says, “We don’t need that – we don’t have any disabled users,” ask yourself: are you sure? And even if you were, why pass up the chance to make things easier, clearer, and more usable for everyone? That’s the opportunity. That’s the mindset shift we need. And that’s exactly why this myth needs to go.

Myth 2: “We’ll do it once there’s a complaint.”

This mindset is more common than many organisations admit – and it’s quietly damaging. The assumption is that if no one has complained, everything must be fine. Accessibility becomes a reactive measure, addressed only when someone raises an issue.

But here’s the problem – most people won’t complain. They’ll simply opt out. They’ll leave your website, avoid your event, choose another provider, or disengage entirely. Not out of malice, but because it’s exhausting to constantly ask for access to things that should already be usable.

Reactive accessibility is always too late. If someone has to point out a barrier before it’s addressed, the damage – exclusion, embarrassment, lost trust – has already occurred. And more often than not, it happens quietly, without any opportunity for remediation.

Consider this: in the UK, retailers are missing out on an estimated £17.1 billion annually due to inaccessible websites. The 2019 Click-Away Pound survey revealed that nearly 70% of disabled online consumers will abandon a website they find difficult to use, taking their spending power elsewhere. This isn’t just a moral failing – it’s a significant business loss.

True inclusion means anticipating needs, not waiting for permission. It’s about thinking ahead – recognising that accessibility isn’t just a fix for problems after they arise, but a proactive design mindset that removes friction before anyone encounters it.

If your accessibility strategy hinges on user complaints, you’re not leading – you’re firefighting. And often, you’re only hearing from those willing or confident enough to speak up, which is rarely representative of the broader audience.

Accessibility should be built in – not bolted on after the fact. That’s the difference between ticking a box and building something better.

Myth 3: “It’s too expensive.”

This is one of the most persistent myths – and one of the most short-sighted. Yes, accessibility can come with costs, particularly if you’re retrofitting systems, spaces, or services that weren’t designed with inclusion in mind. But framing accessibility as an expense misses the bigger picture – it’s an investment in usability, reach, and resilience.

The reality is that many accessibility improvements are low-cost or even cost-neutral. Adding proper heading structure to documents, using high-contrast colour schemes, enabling keyboard navigation, captioning videos, writing in plain language – these are design choices, not luxury upgrades. And they benefit everyone.

The real cost comes from inaccessibility. Lost customers. Missed opportunities. Legal exposure. Reputation damage. It’s not just about consumers either – inaccessible systems frustrate employees, delay processes, and require workarounds that chip away at productivity and morale.

When you build accessibility into your foundation, you reduce future overheads, improve efficiency, and open your doors – digital or physical – to a wider group of people.

Accessibility isn’t about spending more – it’s about spending smarter. Designing with inclusion in mind from the start is always cheaper than fixing exclusion later. So rather than asking, “How much will this cost?”, a better question might be, “What’s the cost of not doing it?”

Myth 4: “We don’t have any disabled users.”

This myth is quietly dangerous – not because it’s true, but because it feels true to the people saying it. If no one has disclosed a disability, if no one has asked for adjustments, if there haven’t been any obvious issues, it’s easy to assume that accessibility isn’t needed.

But the reality is very different. Disability isn’t always visible. Not everyone identifies as having a disability. And even fewer will disclose it – especially in professional settings where stigma or awkwardness still exists. Just because no one has flagged a barrier doesn’t mean no one’s encountered one.

More importantly, this kind of thinking focuses only on who’s already here – not who’s missing. If your systems, processes, websites, or events aren’t accessible, people with disability may never make it through the front door in the first place. They’re not absent because they don’t exist – they’re absent because the environment wasn’t designed for them.

Accessibility isn’t about reacting to who shows up. It’s about creating spaces, services, and experiences that are open to everyone – including those who haven’t yet arrived. You shouldn’t need a formal diagnosis, a disclosure form, or a special request just to use something.

The assumption that “we don’t have any disabled users” is rarely accurate – and even if it were, it still wouldn’t be a reason to exclude people. Inclusion isn’t a numbers game. It’s a mindset – one that starts with designing as if someone with access needs will show up… because they often already have.

Myth 5: “It’s just about ramps and screen readers.”

This myth shrinks accessibility down to a checklist of physical accommodations – ramps, lifts, screen readers, Braille signage – all of which are important, but none of which tell the whole story.

Accessibility isn’t just about infrastructure. It’s about experience. It’s about how people navigate your physical and digital environments, how they interact with your systems, how they receive information, and how comfortable they feel doing so. That includes people with obvious access needs – and people with hidden ones.

Think about someone with sensory sensitivities in a noisy open-plan office, or an autistic employee overwhelmed by flashing alerts in a cluttered interface. Think about an older client with mild hearing loss who struggles to follow a rapid-fire Zoom call, or a neurodivergent colleague who needs structured agendas and plain language to contribute effectively. Accessibility is also about designing forms that make sense, emails that are easy to follow, processes that don’t rely on speed, and spaces that consider lighting, noise, and fatigue.

When we talk about accessibility only in terms of ramps and screen readers, we reduce it to a set of tools – instead of recognising it as a design philosophy. Accessible practice extends to how we communicate, how we structure meetings, how we train staff, and how we plan change. It’s not just about accommodation – it’s about inclusion.

The most powerful accessibility work often happens behind the scenes – in the way things are planned, structured, and communicated. When inclusion becomes a natural part of how we operate, rather than a set of bolt-on features, that’s when people stop needing to ask for adjustments. Because the environment already works with them – not against them.

So yes, keep the ramps. Support the screen readers. But don’t stop there.

Accessibility is about how things are done – not just what gets installed.

This Week’s Blind Spot

Accessibility is still too often viewed as a niche concern – something for “those people” over there. It’s treated as an exception rather than an expectation, a compliance box to tick only when someone asks for it, or when policy makes it unavoidable.

But as we’ve seen across these five myths, that mindset is not only outdated – it’s limiting. It leads to missed opportunities, unnecessary barriers, and environments that only work well for some, some of the time.

Accessibility isn’t about special treatment or fringe cases. It’s about thoughtful design, clear communication, and systems that consider the full spectrum of human experience – including needs that are visible, hidden, temporary, or situational.

Every time we make something more accessible, we make it more usable, more welcoming, and more resilient – for everyone. Whether it’s a physical space, a digital tool, a hiring process, or a Monday morning team meeting, accessible design raises the standard for all.

This isn’t just about disability. It’s about inclusion. It’s about equity. And most of all – it’s just good design.

The real BlindSpot? – Thinking accessibility is someone else’s problem, instead of everyone’s opportunity.

Want to get ahead in the world of accessibility?

I’m developing a new set of tools and services to help organisations move beyond box-ticking and into real, sustainable inclusion – designed for how workplaces actually function, not how we wish they did.

If you’re curious about what’s coming – or want to be part of the early conversations – I’d love to hear from you.

You can book a free 30-minute discovery consultation via my website. Let’s talk through where you’re at, and how to make accessibility a strength – not a struggle.

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