Access needs are the supports, adjustments, or conditions someone requires to participate fully and equally. They can be physical — like ramps, seating, lighting, or quiet spaces — or social and communication-based, such as clear instructions, flexible timing, sensory considerations, or the option to use AAC or written communication. Everyone has access needs, though they may be more visible or essential for some people than others. Recognising access needs is part of valuing human diversity rather than treating accommodation as an exception.
Accessibility means designing environments, resources, and activities so that everyone can use them, regardless of disability, neurotype, or other forms of difference. It’s not just about compliance or “fixing barriers after the fact,” but about creating systems that work for the broadest range of people from the start.
A brief history
The language of “access needs” and “accessibility grew” from the disability rights movements of the 1970s–1990s, particularly those influenced by the social model of disability, which reframed disability as something produced by social and structural barriers rather than individual impairments. Activists argued that people are disabled by inaccessible environments, discriminatory attitudes, and inflexible systems — not by their bodies or minds. This perspective has shaped inclusive design, education, and digital accessibility standards, and continues to influence wider movements for equity, neurodiversity inclusion, and universal design today.