Abstract

This article aims to advance knowledge of inclusive (social) citizenship, through an empirical analysis of the access work of persons with a dementia. Drawing on the notion of cognitive accessibility and empirical data collected in Southern England using a novel methodology of go-along walking interviews with 15 people with dementia followed by a sit-down interview that included a nominated family member, this paper examines how persons with dementia access the outside world. The study found that access work entailed three spheres of activity: ‘access to location technologies’, ‘access to ordinary places’, and ‘consciously sharing the responsibility of access work’. Overall, this article contributes to the growing literature on cognitive accessibility by evidencing the mental demands of access work, as experienced by people with dementia, and need to share the responsibility of access work between humans and non-humans, and state and non-state actors.

• Points of interest

• Access to the outside world is important for disabled people, including people with dementia.

• This study examined the outdoor experiences of 15 persons with dementia living at home in southern England, to find out what access means for someone with a neurological condition.

• This study found that access work involved ‘access to location technologies’, ‘access to ordinary places’, and ‘consciously sharing the responsibility of access work’.

• The study shows how important it is to take account of cognition when promoting access rights for disabled people, including people with dementia.

摘要

本文旨在通过对痴呆症患者的无障碍工作进行实证分析，提高对包容性（社会）公民的认识。借鉴认知可及性的概念和在英格兰南部收集的经验数据，使用一种新颖的方法，对 15 名痴呆症患者进行步行访谈，然后进行包括指定家庭成员在内的静坐访谈，本文研究了痴呆症患者如何访问外部世界。研究发现，无障碍工作涉及三个活动领域：“获得定位技术”、“进入普通场所”和“有意识地分担无障碍工作的责任”。总体而言，这篇文章通过证明痴呆症患者所经历的无障碍工作的心理需求，为越来越多的关于认知无障碍的文献做出了贡献，

• 兴趣点

• 接触外部世界对于包括痴呆症在内的残疾人来说很重要。

• 这项研究调查了居住在英格兰南部家中的 15 名痴呆症患者的户外体验，以了解访问对患有神经系统疾病的人意味着什么。

• 本研究发现，无障碍工作涉及“对位置技术的访问”、“对普通场所的访问”和“有意识地分担访问工作的责任”。

• 该研究表明，在促进包括痴呆症在内的残疾人的使用权时，考虑认知是多么重要。