Make Your Church Accessible to People with Disabilities

C. Thomas Wright, Ph.D.

Men at Work June 2002

Reaching the entire community around the church includes providing easy access for people with disabilities. It is good to include the phrase in your publicity. "Our facilities provide easy access for people with disabilities." People with disabilities will come where it is obvious they are welcome and expected.

Here are some easy projects that help make your church friendly toward people with disabilities. Complete instructions are available from the "Americans with Disabilities Act" (ADA) at www.ada.gov.

• Provide clear signs so visitors can find the worship center, classrooms, restrooms, and other areas.
• Provide Braille and raised letter instructions where needed.
• Provide wheelchair ramps or lifts to provide at least one access route to your entire facility. Where space limitations prohibit the use of a 1:12 slope or less you may use these slopes and rises: A slope between 1:10 and 1:12 is allowed for a maximum rise of 6 inches. A slope between 1:8 and 1:10 is allowed for a maximum rise of 3 inches. A slope steeper than 1:8 is not allowed.
• Remove a pew or rearrange the chairs to provide an area for wheelchairs. Minimum passage width for a wheelchair is 36 inches.
• Make all door openings at least 32 inches wide for a wheelchair to pass through.
• Provide smooth transitions between different types of flooring and limit carpet pile thickness to one-half inch.
• Install grab bars at toilets, tubs, and showers.
• Instead of refitting every bathroom, you can add a single unisex handicap accessible bathroom on each floor. Provide a 60-inch wheelchair turnaround in a bathroom. Install a toilet that is 17 inches to 19 inches above the floor (to the top of the toilet seat).
• Train the ushers, greeters, and Bible Study teachers to be prepared for people with disabilities: Show how to lead a blind person to their seat or classroom, Teach them some words in American Sign Language (ASL): Welcome, I do not know sign language, come this way, My name is. Visit http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html for online training in ASL.
• Provide a raised platform and lighting in the worship center or classroom so Deaf people can see the interpreter and speaker clearly. Prevent back lighting or windows that can obscure being able to see the interpreters face and hands.
• Place bass speakers on the floor near the Deaf Interpretation area so the Deaf can "feel" the music.
• Provide wireless headsets to help the hearing impaired during the service and advertise their availability.
• Provide a TDD (text message) telephone at the church to communicate with Deaf members and visitors and so children with Deaf parents can call home.
• Add flashing lights in conjunction with the bells that indicate time to end class or the TDD phone is ringing
• Provide a hearing aid compatible and volume control phone too.

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