Captional and the Importance of Normalizing Accessibility

Accessibility is of the most importance to Captional. Out Goal is not only to create more accessibility but to normalize it.

As said by Jesse Jackson, activist and former senator. “Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness. It is the key to growth.” This belief is something Captional strives for in every aspect of our business. Our purpose is to provide a tool that supplies live captions and translation for in-person events, and as such it is paramount for us to work with people from all walks of life. The importance of Captional is not just its use as an appliance but the precedent it sets in public speech environments. Captional as a tool promotes the normalization of accessibility tools in everyday spaces. 

“What does normalization of accessibility mean?” you might be asking. Normalizing accessibility tools is the process of making it so accessibility tools like ramps are used everywhere and therefore the stigma is removed. Nowadays ramps on sidewalks are everywhere and everyone is used to them. This makes it so wheelchair users don’t feel othered by the infrastructure of our society and people who don't use wheelchairs just see it as a part of everyday life. These kinds of changes not only allow people who wouldn’t have had access otherwise who have access but also makes it so people don’t think twice about the accessibility. 

Another great example of this are glasses. While it may be surprising now, wearing glasses used to be an oddity and something people had ridiculed in the 1800s. As time has gone on though, and the wearing of glasses became normalized, people began taking less and less notice of glasses users. Glasses are a medical treatment for the impairment of a body part, yet it doesn’t have the stigma around it like a wheel chair or hearing aids do. This normalization allows those who are in need of glasses the ability to wear them without the fear of ridicule or judgement. This kind of normalization needs to occur for all accessibility tools so those who use them don’t feel othered.

This belief is one that drives Captional, our main goal is to allow those with impaired hearing, those with traumatic brain injuries, those who need to read to comprehend a speech, or just anyone who is having difficulty keeping up to follow the speech. The use of this tool in public environments will normalize the need for captions during speeches and give everyone listening the same opportunity to follow along with what is being said. The more Captional is used at colleges, conventions, churches, etc., the more it will become part of everyday life and normalized.

These kinds of accessibility tools must be normalized to make public spaces as inclusive as possible. They make it so those who live with these disabilities can go wherever they want without the possibility of being omitted. It also removes the stigma around these accessibility aids and makes the world a more inclusive place.