Help & plain words
This page explains how Access Atlas works, in plain language. Short sentences. No jargon. If a word on the site is unclear, it is probably explained here.
What this site is
Access Atlas is a directory of two things:
- Places — businesses and spaces, and how accessible they are.
- Providers — services and health providers who serve disabled people well, or who are run by disabled people.
Real people who visit add what they found. You can browse with no account.
Words we use
- Accessible place
- A business or space, with facts about how a person can get in and use it.
- Provider
- A service or health provider — for example, a clinic or a support service.
- Disabled-owned
- A disabled person owns at least half of the business.
- Disabled-led
- A disabled person is in charge of the main decisions.
- Disability-literate
- The provider knows how to serve disabled people well.
- Self-reported / awaiting verification
- Someone said this, but no one has checked it yet. Do not rely on it.
- Community confirmations
- How many people have checked a fact from their own visit.
- Community-verified
- At least three people confirmed it from their own visits. More trustworthy.
- Sourced
- Backed by an official check, like a certificate or an audit.
- Disputed — under re-review
- Someone said this is NOT accessible. We freeze the fact until it is re-checked.
- First-person confirmation
- A report from someone about their own visit — not something they heard.
How to read a listing
- Each accessibility fact is listed on its own — like “step-free entrance”.
- Each fact has a label that says how sure we are.
- A fact can get old. We show when it was last confirmed.
- We never turn accessibility into one star rating. Each fact stands on its own.
How you can help
- Suggest a place or provider we are missing.
- Confirm a fact from your own visit, so others can trust it.
Common questions
Do I need an account to look around?
No. Browsing is free and needs no account. You only sign in to contribute.
Do you ask for my disability?
No. We never ask for or store your specific disability or diagnosis. See our privacy policy.
Can I trust what I read here?
Trust the labels. A fact marked “self-reported” is not checked yet. A fact marked “community-verified” was confirmed by at least three people from their own visits. When in doubt, call ahead.
Something here is wrong. What do I do?
If you visit and a fact is wrong — for example, a “step-free entrance” that has a step — report it from your visit. One credible report freezes the fact until it is re-checked. We treat safety carefully.
Can I make the text bigger or change the font?
Yes. Open Accessibility settings to change text size, spacing, contrast, motion, and font — including OpenDyslexic.
What do you know about me, and can I delete it?
If you only browse: nothing at all. If you have contributed, go to Your data to see everything we hold, download it, or delete it — right away, with no form to fill out and no waiting.
Still stuck? The accessibility statement and privacy policy go into more detail.