Waltham-based company lets people with disabilities rate accessibility of businesses

[mark handler]

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/waltham/2013/11/waltham-based_company_lets_people_with_disabilities_rate_acc.html

People with disabilities can now rate the accessibility of restaurants, shops, hotels, and other public places and venues through a new Waltham-based website and smartphone app that launched last week.

AbleRoad, a Waltham-based company, launched a website last week where -- much like the popular review site Yelp.com -- people can rate restaurants and businesses while primarily weighing factors like wheelchair accessibility and ease of access for blind and deaf people.

The company is also working with Yelp so users can see both the Yelp and AbleRoad ratings for a business on the same screen, allowing them to compare the two.

AbleRoad founder Kevin McGuire knows the usefulness of such a service firsthand: at 7 years old, McGuire was hit by a drunk driver while playing baseball in his yard, leaving him paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. His parents fought to keep him in public school instead of sending him to a special needs school, and McGuire continued on to graduate from Boston University and the Georgetown University Law Center, according to a company statement.

McGuire also heads up McGuire Associates, a consulting firm specializing in compliance with federal and state disability laws. The firm seeks to make sure public places around the country are accessible to everyone, working with stadiums and other venues to ensure they meet standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

McGuire has worked with organizations like the New England Patriots, the Green Bay Packers, Live Nation concert venues, and the White House visitor center to make them accessible to anyone with disabilities.

Citing US Census Bureau data, AbleRoad said that about 20 percent of the US population -- or 57 million people -- have some type of disability, facing problems with mobility, cognition, hearing or seeing. Company officials also said that people with disabilities represent $220 billion dollars in discretionary spending power.

The AbleRoad app is available as a free download for both iOS and Android devices at Apple's App Store and Google Play.

To see the website, visit www.ableroad.com.

 

[ICE]

cognition? Poor cognition seems like an odd thing to be considered a disability. I can understand that it would add to the difficulty of everyday life but how is that a disability that can be mitigated through federal law? I guess what I am curious about is, what part of ADA law is there to help with poor cognition.

 

[mark handler]

many on this board may apply for that disability.....

 

[MASSDRIVER]

Vastly overstated, and misleading.

Brent

 

[ICE]

many on this board may apply for that disability.....

Is there a form that I need to fill out?

 

[ADAguy]

Ice, Limits to cognition can be every bit as limiting as physical disabilities.

You may need to expand your awareness of what constitutes a disability (limits lifes functions?)

 

[ICE]

A phone app could lead to uniformed people bum-rapping businesses needlessly. In the real world, it takes a casp certified individual to interrupt ADA and evaluate a building. Anybody with a telephone now has the same power ..... with a large audience.

 

[ICE]

Ice, Limits to cognition can be every bit as limiting as physical disabilities. You may need to expand your awareness of what constitutes a disability (limits lifes functions?)

Are you saying that I have a problem with cognition? I know Mark is, but now you too?

cog·ni·tion

ˌkägˈniSHən/

noun

noun: cognition

1. The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

synonyms: perception, discernment, apprehension, learning, understanding, comprehension, insight;

Somebody should write a book about this. It could be called "ADA For Dummies"

 

[mark handler]

Are you saying that I have a problem with cognition? I know Mark is, but now you too?cog·ni·tion

ˌkägˈniSHən/

noun

noun: cognition

1. The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

synonyms: perception, discernment, apprehension, learning, understanding, comprehension, insight;

I never said, or even implied, Your cognitive abilities.

I'm saying "SOME" on this board, do have cognitive disabilities.

Heck, I sometimes have dyslexia, usually while drinking......

 

[ICE]

I'm saying "SOME" on this board, do have cognitive disabilities.

Now fatboy wonders if you are talking about him. Foghorn Leghorn too, but he knows it fits.

 

[MASSDRIVER]

Ice, Limits to cognition can be every bit as limiting as physical disabilities. You may need to expand your awareness of what constitutes a disability (limits lifes functions?)

And expand our awareness of what disabilities require any kind of special treatment.

Brent

 

[mark handler]

And expand our awareness of what disabilities require any kind of special treatment. Brent

There is no building issues with "cognition".

That is more an employee and customer service issue....

 

[MASSDRIVER]

There is no building issues with "cognition".That is more an employee and customer service issue....

I agree. My comment relates to the statistics noted above.

Brent

 

[ICE]

I agree. My comment relates to the statistics noted above.Brent

Speaking of statistics:

Citing US Census Bureau data, AbleRoad said that about 20 percent of the US population -- or 57 million people -- have some type of disability, facing problems with mobility, cognition, hearing or seeing. Company officials also said that people with disabilities represent $220 billion dollars in discretionary spending power.

So the folks with disabilities have $220 billion to spend....and they do....spend that is. So what's the point of pointing this out? The people without disabilities have trillions of dollars to spend. So what do they get that's special? And to carry this out to the logical conclusion, the money to pay for that something special needs to mirror the current apportion. Whereas we now have 90% percent of the population paying for 90% of the expense....10% should pay for 90% of the expense of the something special reserved for able bodied people. Hell, this country spent more that $220 billion on Halloween.

Dollars and sense are not a part of it.