organization

Accessible Me

Accessible Me seeks to transform not just businesses, but the entire architecture of accessibility.

What they are building

I spoke with founder Michael Osborne about what Accessible Me does. He explained that they focus on whether a real person can use an accessible interface in real world conditions; when tired, overwhelmed, under pressure or processing the world differently. This has led them increasingly into work in cognitive load, neurodivergence, and trauma-informed design. More than just audits and training, they want to build consideration for the diversity of human function into the fabric of client businesses so more people can participate without having to ask for accommodation.

What caught our attention

First, they are moving accessibility from an accommodation to a design consideration. We build everything around assumptions of most common use case, height, width, size of hand, speed of turn (roadways). This means some people receive preferential treatment, while others are excluded. But this is the reductionist, mechanistic mindset. It treats humans as cogs in a machine rather than participants in a living system. But from an ecological perspective, it is those differences that make the system capable of withstanding change. The more diverse the interactions, the most stable the system becomes. Accessible Me recognizes the dignity and beauty in the differences amongst us. You don’t have to be disabled to appreciate that! Secondly, they offer an experience of inaccessibility in an Escape Room style activity called A11yship. This proves to me they aren’t just out to win contracts and exploit a market niche. They are making cultural change.

Michael and I discussed the emergence of a culture of perception and how that might be showing up in our various circles. He was intrigued by the idea of a people defined by their way of seeing and operating in the world. We talked of shared signals and the ways it may vary from community to community. Not in a directed and controlled approach, but organically through convergence of people who share the experience of being outliers in the dominant systems.

Lenka Kneschke: The Empowered Workplace Architect

Lenka Kneschke is one of the most Scarrae people I have ever met. Her business focuses entirely on making workplaces better for all types of perception.

What they are building

Lenka’s dream is to foster inclusive and resilient workplaces by employing her perceptual skills to identify and enhance workplaces that let workers thrive. This not only helps the employee, it helps the employer by giving greater access to the unique skillsets their employees bring. If you need help in your workplace, she is a certified peer coach. And if you are in a leadership position, like I was, she can come in, assess your situation, and build custom solutions that will be productivity focused and data driven. While embedding care and awareness of all the wonderous differences the dominant culture keeps trying to force into the same mold.

What caught our attention

I met Lenka at a conference on behavioral psychology in the conservation field. We both spoke, but as soon as I saw her, I could tell she was probably Scarrae. Her ear loops were the first clue, but her motion was another. I found her on a break and tried several times before finally butting right into her conversation. She looked at me, and we both smiled at seeing each other see the other. We talked, decided to meet, and hit it off. Collaborations were born and she helped my ‘dayjob’ immensely. But soon, she read my books entered my world, and we’ve been at it ever since.

Lenka “gang ben riss, yan”. She knows the gaps people fall in, has been in them herself, and now turns that knowledge to helping others. You can’t get more Scarrae than that! In addition to her work, she is a Sensorate Reviewer, book tester, and dear friend. When we talked about culture, she recognized it immediately, and I knew it was real when she texted me from another conference saying, “I just met another Scarrae, yeh gots talk!”