Thousands of accessible amenities throughout Ireland are detailed in a brand new app for people with disabilities.
A progressive Irish company has developed the first app in Europe to give people with disabilities information on a wide range of accessible amenities across the country.
Regarded as a major breakthrough in the promotion of accessible facilities, Able Active builds on technology designed for participation in sport, with considerable input from potential service users and advocacy groups.
Able Active, a fully integrated and comprehensive app that signposts accessible recreational facilities for people with disabilities is the fruition of a long-term project, developed with support from the European Space Agency following a successful application.
Able Active uniquely captures feedback and gradings on accessibility and inclusivity, based on real users’ experience, by distinct disability categories, ensuring that others with similar needs can trust the rating and have better confidence that their needs will be met.
Speaking at the launch of Able Active, Adrian Geissel CEO said
“Able Active is the result of 6 years of investment and software development, applying data for the benefit of people with differing types of disabilities and with deep commitment to data privacy and safeguarding”.
“I am passionate about outdoors pursuits and sport, and passionate that they are accessible for all. People living with disabilities should have access to outdoor amenities and facilities suitable for their needs and Able Active provides deeper information that aims to inform and hopefully inspire greater participation for their enjoyment, health and wellbeing. This is so important for people who have varying levels of disability, many of which are hidden. Able Active is a fully integrated and highly user-friendly guide which maps tracks, trails and amenities and allows each user to determine if these routes are suitable for their particular needs, supported by the ratings and feedback from other users with similar needs. It allows people plan their days around the various amenities from forests to beaches and gives ‘real time ‘live data on weather and pinpoints where safety equipment is located, crucial to ensure safety for users. It also allows for users to record, replay and repeat their own favourite routes which is very valuable”.
“It is interactive so will allow people with disabilities to rate on accessibility based on their experience, which is vital for both their peers and for the owners or providers of the amenities as they can use this information to further adapt the facilities in order to make them more accessible and user friendly”.
“Able Active allows for inclusivity in the fullest sense as users can record trails, save their favourite routes and research amenities to plan future outings with friends ,family or indeed for informal or formal groups”
“It allows for users to connect with family and friends through the app and for group leaders, to plan ,share and co ordinate activities for any gatherings and this helps to bolster safety and security as well as strengthen the community of people with disabilities”.
“Facilities including accessible toilets and parking, surfaces, obstacles, inclines or declines can be detailed”.
“The wonderful thing too is that people with an interest in full inclusion for those living with disabilities to get involved, to identify amenities they know to be accessible, in addition to using many available databases”.
“Able Active is a community platform for gathering new data that is important to the community. For example, disabled parking spots outside of urban areas, especially at amenity or trailhead locations can be submitted through the app”.
“This is a very important platform for amenity operators and sports organisations to connect with this community of users, highlighting the investments they’ve made to support their needs and also to understand how these supports are valued by their users.”.
“There is so much potential for collaboration and partnership across the entire range of amenities, organisations and events and this is only going to be an incredibly positive way forward for people living with a disability”.
“This only the start of a journey, where we look to present more options where people with disabilities can be active, based on the experiences of others with similar needs and in doing so, make being active a more inclusive experience, for all. “
