ATU612 – Zachary Weeks – Disability Advocate and Accessibility Consultant

Hey, I’m Zachary Weeks. I’m an accessibility consultant and disability advocate, and this is your Assistive Technology Update.

Hello and welcome to your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology designed to assist individuals with disabilities and special needs. I’m your host, Josh Anderson, with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana.

Welcome to episode 612 of Assistive Technology Update. It’s scheduled to be released on February 17th, 2023. On today’s show, we’re super excited to have disability advocate and accessibility consultant, Zachary Weeks, on for a really fun conversation that I must admit I truly did enjoy, and hopefully you all enjoy listening to. We also have the folks from BridgingApps on with another app worth mentioning.

Don’t forget, listeners, you’ve got a question, a comment, something you’d like to talk about here on the show, or perhaps a product that you’d like to hear about here on the show or someone that you’d like to hear interviewed, you can give us a call on our listener line at 317-721-7124. Shoot us a line on Twitter @indataproject or send us an email at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org.

We always love hearing from you just to know that you’re out there and really to find out what you’re interested in and make sure that we tailor this show to you as much as we can. So as always, listeners, thanks for reaching out. Thanks for listening. But for now, let’s go ahead and get into our app worth mentioning. Take it away, Amy.

This is Amy Barry with BridgingApps, and this is an app worth mentioning. This week’s featured app is called Little Free Libraries. Little Free Libraries are street kiosks set up to make hard copy reading accessible to the public at no charge. If you aren’t sure where the nearest library is or want the adventure of trying a new one, the app can tell you where to go.

The libraries themselves are typically set at heights that are easily accessible to wheelchair users. However, some are difficult to get within arm’s reach of a wheelchair or other mobility device. So it is recommended to take a friend or caregiver the first time you visit your little library, if you have limited mobility. This app is the key to a great time for anyone who loves reading, adventure, and a grab-bag approach. You never know exactly what books you’ll find. It’s also the most useful tool I know of for easily passing on books you’ve finished.

If your regular library is too full for your giveaways, you can find the nearest alternate locations in just a few seconds using the Little Free Library app. Little Free Library is currently available for iOS and Android devices, and it’s free to download. For more information on this app and others like it, visit bridgingapps.org.

Listeners, today we’re doing something just a little bit different, talking accessibility and disability advocacy with our special guest, Zachary Weeks. Zachary is a disability advocate, accessibility consultant, and AT user, and he’s here to tell us about himself, his work, and hopefully how we can all make the world maybe just a little more accessible to everyone. Zachary, welcome to the show.

Thanks so much for having me, Josh.

Yeah, I’m really excited to talk about your work, your life and all those kind of things. Can you start us off by just telling us just a little bit about yourself?

For sure. So I was born with cerebral palsy as a result of some birthing complications. As a result of that, I’ve used a power wheelchair my whole life, and I essentially grew up not wanting to be associated with disability in any way or shape or form. I was about 18 or 19 and I was having a real tough day and just essentially bawling my eyes out, and then I had this epiphany that all those years I was trying to fit in when maybe I was born to stand out.

And so as soon as I essentially accepted my disability and who I was authentically, everything just switched for me and life got a lot easier. New opportunities came rushing in, and that’s when I really found my voice, so to speak, with disability advocacy. And obviously, being a disabled person, I had my first computer when I was five years old.

Wow.

To say I love tech is an understatement. I love everything about it.

Awesome. Well, I guess since we’re an assistive technology show, could you tell us maybe some of the technology that you use to assist you on a daily basis and maybe-

Oh, yeah.

… what your favorite one might be?

For sure. So I mean, I’m a big Apple and Mac guy. No shame in the Windows stuff, but I think one of the things that drew me to be on Team Apple was the fact that they had the voice dictation technology before Android back in the day. So I was able to easily text my friends and colleagues and family members with ease, and that was a game changer for me. The other thing that I use on a regular basis, daily basis is Dragon, as an alternative navigation system. And then, of course, obviously, for typing. It’s come a long way. I remember growing up as a kid. When it first came out, you had to do intense training for 68 hours before it started to really understand what you were saying. But now, thank goodness, it’s plug-and-play. So yeah.

And Zachary, it’s funny that you bring up Dragon. You don’t know how many times I work with folks, and it might be a recommendation or something we’re going to have them work with, and what they’ll basically say is like, “No, I tried that 10 years ago and never again. I threw the disc out the window or something else.” It was just terrible. And it’s like, “No, no, give it a chance. I promise it’s better. I promise it’s better.”

Yeah. No, it’s like who has time for cc eight hours or whatever it was back then, and then it wasn’t even accurate half the time. So yeah, no, I too was skeptical at first. I was like, “Oh, man. Here we go again.” But yeah, I love Dragon nowadays. It still screws up every now and again. It’s quite funny, all the bloopers that come along with it. But yeah, no, it’s been tremendous for me to get my day-to-day stuff done. I couldn’t do what I do without it.

Awesome. Awesome. Zachary, let’s talk some about the work you’ve done with accessibility. Can you tell our listeners about some of the projects that you’ve worked on?

Yeah. So I’ve had the great fortune work on a wide variety of projects. I’m based in Edmonton, Canada, so you may or not have heard of Edmonton Oilers if you’re a hockey fan, but we recently, I guess not so recent now, but we had our arena built in the mid 2015, 2016 season and had the great fortune to advise on that arena, everything from accessible seating to elevator placements, washrooms, wayfinding, color contrast on stairs, pin lighting for safety for those with low vision or just aging in general. I’ve worked on policies related to inclusion at the city council level, transits, a whole bunch of stuff.

Awesome, awesome. I’m glad you’re doing all that great work up there. And then, as I was doing some research for today’s show, I noticed that you’ve also received some awards for your work. Can you tell us about those?

Oh, boy.

I know. Nobody ever likes to brag on themselves, but I’m going to call you out and make you do it.

Yeah. No, for sure. I mean, certainly something special to get recognized along the way for what you do. So I’ve had the opportunity to receive the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal as of last month, and those medals are handed out to folks that are really diligent and exceptional in their community work and really make the world a more inclusive space, not just for people with disabilities, but I have the fortune to be nominated alongside immigration advocates, military folk. So it was a real honor. Honestly, I share with all the people with disabilities and those in the disability world that are doing just as much to make the world bit more inclusive space. So it’s certainly not just about me, but yeah, I’m really honored.

No, that’s really awesome. And you bring up a great point that inclusion really means a lot to all people. I mean, if you really want to be accessible and inclusive, it’s not just disability, but it’s people of all backgrounds, of all types of everything. And just making sure that the places you have are open to, well, to anyone who wants to access them. As an accessibility consultant, as yourself, what’s one piece of advice that you could give to folks wanting to make their spaces more accessible and inclusive?

Wow. That’s hard to do, but I’ll do my best. So the one piece of advice I would give is to include people with disabilities and lived experience from step one. The number one challenge I’ve run across is we have all these big organizations that are, bless their heart, trying to do “the right thing,” air quotes. They don’t include people with disabilities until the work is done. And they go, “So what do you think?”

That’s true.

And it’s like, “Well, I think you should have included the input of those that are going to be utilizing your building or your software or whatever the case is from the outset, and that’ll ideally make your product so much better, whether it’s physical design or assistive tech, in this situation.” Yeah, it’s amazing when you have the lived experience versus the book knowledge. Not to knock on education, but I believe that real-life experience is just as valuable, if not maybe even more.

Oh, definitely. I think it’s going to teach you more than the book really can because we only see things through our eyes and experience them through our lens. So it’s going to be a whole lot different than if someone’s just writing policy who doesn’t know what it’s like to live with a disability or with any of those other groups that you’re trying to include.

Yeah, or even, such as yourself, Josh, I know we were chatting before the show, and you have that tie-in to disability and having family members that have had disabilities. And if you don’t have that knowledge, it’s hard to develop something for someone if you don’t take that into consideration.

For sure, for sure. And you already answered this for me, Zachary, but I was going to just elaborate a little bit, where do you usually see places miss the mark on accessibility?

I think in terms of missing the mark, A, is obviously what you referred to as what we already discussed, is the consultation. But I think missing the mark on the simple things is really the biggest error in all of it because it’s often the simple things such as having a ramp or the nosing of the stairs being the right way, or that sort of thing. I think it’s really those components that may seem little, but they’re actual game changers.

For sure, for sure. Zachary, you told us your story about growing up and hiding from who you were and stuff like that. So what advice would you give to a young person with a diagnosed disability who’s maybe been told by their parents, their teachers, something like that, just exactly what they will and will not be able to do with their lives? What kind of advice would you give to them?

Yeah. I mean, obviously, there have been many, many people before you that have done tremendous things, and there’s no reason why you can’t either. I think, yes, depending on your disability, you may not be able to fly a plane or be a firefighter or this or that. I know for me, I’m a big hockey guy, so I would’ve loved to be the next Connor McDavid, but that wasn’t in the cards. But what my mom reinforced in me is that you can be the best Connor McDavid out there for what you’re good at. Yeah, there’s going to be doctors and people that are going to say, “Oh, no. You can’t do that,” but don’t listen to them because, A, they don’t know what you’re capable of, and B, a lot of times it’s just to cover their own butts in terms of doctors and whatnot. They’re trained to deliver the worst news and go from there. So yeah, don’t take no as an answer and go in there and kick some ass.

Excellent. Excellent. Zachary, along those same lines, what advice can you give to family and friends of someone maybe with a diagnosis and how they can best support their goals and really help them on their journey?

Yeah. I mean, going back to my story, not to bore anyone, but my mom was very instrumental in making sure that I was treated just like any of my other cousins. I would be grounded or put in time-out, or she would kick me in the butt when I needed it. I think for family members or friends, disabled people are just like anyone else on the grand scale of things. Each disability is different, so therefore what works for one may not work for the other. But I think really being real with them, but accepting and encouraging your loved ones to do the best and push their limits is going to make them a better person for it, both as a family member and then, obviously, in their own life.

I mean, essentially, it’s no different than if you have an able-bodied child. You’re going to love them and encourage them and be their biggest support no matter what. So it’s really not changing the script at all. It’s just loving them for who they are and knowing their skill sets and potential to be something great. And with the assistive technology nowadays, I mean, the world has opened a whole other universe in terms of what people with disabilities will be able to do in the future.

That was a great plug for the things we talk about on this show, Zachary. I promise I’m not paying him for that, listeners.

No.

Zachary, if our listeners want to find out more about you and the work that you do, can you tell us a little bit about your website?

Sure. Yeah. So if anyone wants to get in touch, my website is ZacharyWeeks.ca, so that’s Z-A-C-H-A-R-Y-W-E-E-K-S dot C-A. You can find me there, and I have a blog on a variety of different things related to advocacy, finding employment, technology, the whole gamut. And then, obviously, I’d love to connect with other people with disabilities to provide any mentorship can. That’s another big piece that we didn’t talk about already, but finding yourself a good mentor that can share the tips and tricks of the trade to be a powerhouse is always great. So yeah, and then obviously, connecting on social media, all my social information is on there as well.

Awesome. Well, we will definitely put a link to that down in the show notes. But yeah, bringing up mentorship, that’s always an important thing. Sometimes it’s nice to know that someone else has went through, of course, not the exact same thing, but some of the stuff that you’re going through and having those shared experiences and seeing them be able to come out the other side is always a little bit helpful, especially if they can share that experience and really share some ways through it and over it, I guess, to overcome those things.

When I was growing up, and I’m going to start to date myself now, but there was no social networks that I could reach out and see that, “Hey, there are other people like me that are doing great things.” It was all mythical anecdotal information. So reach out to the folks that went through something similar, and then, obviously, great organizations like Easterseals here that we’re graciously hosted by to get the support and wisdom you need to be a badass in life.

It’s funny you bring up, oh, just the mythical stuff. There’s not a running joke, but something we always talk about around here with people is why is it in Hollywood movies when you have someone with a disability at the end for it to be a happy ending, suddenly they get out of the wheelchair and walk? It’s like, “No, that’s not how that ever happens.” That’s not-

Yeah.

That’s not what you’re really working towards, and you can find almost countless examples of those things. So you bring up a great point about being able to actually see it on social media and see it in the world in the way that the disability really happens and that accessibility really happens, and that, I don’t know, the whole world just working together really happens and it’s not just everybody gets out of the wheelchair and jumps over the moon. That’s not how it really works.

Unfortunately not. Yeah.

In Hollywood, maybe. Maybe in the movies, but yeah, in real life it doesn’t always seem to mimic that. Well, Zachary, I have truly enjoyed having you on the show, and thank you so much for coming on here to talk to us today.

Yeah.

Keep up the great work. We will put a link to your site down in the show notes so folks can check it out, and I encourage them to go and definitely check it out and reach out because I’ve really enjoyed getting to speak with you today. Thank you so much.

Yeah, Josh. No worries. And I’d love to come back and chat further about assistive tech another time.

I think we will definitely have to do that. Take care of yourself. Thanks again.

All right. Bye-bye.

Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on an Assistive Technology Update? If so, call our listener line at 317-721-7124. Send us an email at tech@eastersealscrossroads.org or shoot us a note on Twitter @indataproject. Our captions and transcripts for the show are sponsored by the Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation, or Intrac. You can find out more about Intrac at relayindiana.com.

A special thanks to Nicole Prietto for scheduling our amazing guests and making a mess of my schedule. Today’s show is produced, edited, hosted, and fraught over by yours truly. The opinions expressed by our guests are their own and may or may not reflect those of the INDATA Project, Easterseals Crossroads, are supporting partners, or this host. This was your Assistive Technology Update, and I’m Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. We look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.