BE PART OF THE CHANGE

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Your experiences matter. Your perspective is essential. Your voice can shape accessibility standards across Canada.

We're looking for parents and caregivers with disabilities to join this groundbreaking research project.

How To Get Involved

Express Your Interest

Contact us:

Email: familyaccess@mun.ca

QUESTIONS?

We're here to help. Contact us about:

  • Whether you're eligible to participate

  • What participation actually involves

  • Accommodations for your access needs

  • Time commitment and scheduling

  • Compensation details

  • Technical support

  • Anything else you're wondering about

Dr. Laura Pacheco, Lead Researcher
Email: lpacheco@mun.ca
Phone: (514) 402-8623

Available in English and French

What Participants Will Document

    • Airports, train stations, ferry terminals

    • Purchasing tickets and boarding processes

    • Managing luggage with children and mobility aids

    • Navigating security checkpoints

    • Accessing washrooms and family facilities

    • Dealing with last-minute cancellations or changes

    • Playground accessibility

    • Trail access with children and mobility equipment

    • Picnic and rest areas

    • Parking and facility access

    • Accessible equiment availability (adaptive strollers, etc.)

     

    • Navigating exhibits with children

    • Accessing gift shops with strollers or mobility devices

    • Family washroom facilities

    • Interactive displays designed for children

    • Staff interactions and assistance

    • Banks (opening accounts for/with children)

    • Passport offices (completing paperwork, bringing children)

    • Government buildings (accessing services as a parent)

    • Interactions with federal employees

    • Attitudinal barriers from staff

  • Participants document:

    BARRIERS: What doesn't work, what's missing, what's difficult

    FACILITATORS: What works well, helpful features, positive solutions, creative adaptations

    This balanced approach ensures we learn both what to avoid and what to replicate.

Who Can Participate?

A woman in a wheelchair riding an electric bike while a man stands beside her smiling, with a coastal scenic view in the background on a sunny day.

Photo credit: Justice Ferreira

You can participate if you are:

A parent or primary caregiver to at least one minor child (under 18)

Brown circle with a white checkmark inside.

Have at least one of the following disabilities:

  • Mobility disabilities (pain-related, flexibility, dexterity, mobility differences)

  • Hearing disabilities or identify as Deaf

  • Visual disabilities or identify as Blind

  • Cognitive disabilities (learning, memory, intellectual, or developmental)

  • Any combination of these disabilities

White check mark inside a brown circle

Live in Canada (any province or territory)

White checkmark inside a brown circle.

Visit or use federally regulated spaces with your child/children (examples: national parks, airports, museums, banks, passport offices, trains, interprovincial buses or ferries)

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We Especially Encourage Participation From:

Group of ten people, including two in wheelchairs, standing by a seaside railing on a sunny day, with the ocean in the background.

Photo credit: Justice Ferreira

Parents with intersecting marginalized identities

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Indigenous parents and caregivers

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Parents from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds

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Brown circular icon with a large white checkmark in the center.

Parents living in rural and remote communities

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Parents across all gender identities

Parents across socioeconomic backgrounds

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A white check mark inside a large brown circle.

Single parents

Parents in various family configurations

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A white check mark inside a solid brown circle.

Immigrant and newcomer parents

Spread the Word

  • Tell other parents with disabilities about this project

  • Share on social media (tag us!)

  • Display our poster in your community

  • Include in your organization's newsletter

Know someone who might want to participate? Please share!

Downloadable Recruitment Materials
Placeholder image for a PDF document poster with the text 'Place Holder Only. Your Project poster (PDF) goes here' and an icon of a PDF file with a downward arrow

Together, we can build a Canada where all families can fully participate in community life.

Your experience. Your voice. Our collective future.