Our Aim
Familiarisation Videos aim to reduce anxiety and help people with impairments, disabilities or hidden illnesses, overcome any barriers they may face when going somewhere new or unfamiliar in the UK.
Familiarisation Videos will help open up the world and allow people to live their best lives and will be nationally recognised as the go to organisation for improving accessibility through detailed tour videos.
Our Story
Myself (Karen) and many others struggle when going to new places for various reasons, but the main reason is fear of the unknown. I would spend days, even weeks fretting and preparing for days out, meetings and appointments, and family meals, sometimes resulting in often cancelling last minute and avoiding the situation entirely.
At its best, I spend hours trawling through websites, google images, street maps, social media photos etc., trying to find out where the closest parking or drop off point is, what seating they have, if any, the distance from the entrance to reception, if it is wheelchair accessible, if they have accessible toilet facilities, the list is endless. Sometimes I find enough information to ease my anxiety, but more often than not, I ask my husband to go in and scope out the place, sometimes even video calling me when he is inside.
However, the reality is that I have arrived at venues with my children to find they aren’t suitable. I have been distressed, embarrassed, angry, upset, anxious, and many times I have chosen to sit in my car whilst my husband and children carry on with their day.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, we all struggled with the imposed changes, some more than others. As lockdowns lifted and the world opened up, the world that I once knew was no more. The places I usually went to had now imposed restrictions one way systems and changes to seating and layout. This tipped my world upside down. The small world I once knew was now as unfamiliar to me as the rest of the world, only this time, there were no google images, street maps, or social media photos to help me navigate these new changes.
Monday 12th July 2021, a friend and I went to a coffee shop we often went to pre-pandemic, only to find that the only seating I could use was off-limits because it infringed on the 2m social distancing with the queue. I decided that day that I wasn’t taking anymore of this inaccessible world that was disabling me at every opportunity. I decided it would be our goal to change the Equality Act (2010) to include Familiarisation Videos under reasonable adjustments.
After all how would you know what reasonable adjustments you needed, without knowing what barriers you would be faced with.
We knew this would not be enough, and we would need to lead the way with this initiative, so Familiarisation Videos was born. Aiming to reduce anxiety, and help people overcome barriers by making unfamiliar places more familiar.
Money Raised
The money raised will go towards creating more familiarisation videos for venues that serve the community but perhaps can't afford to create a familiarisation video.
The Videos
Each video is unique to the venue, and tailored to the needs of their clients. We do not pick holes in the venues accessibility, we promote what accessibility they do have. Our belief is that by showing what a venue has to offer in a positive way, the viewer can also see what barriers they may face, and what reasonable adjustments they may require.
This is a video of Wrexham based Autism charity - Your Space.
To find out more information visit - Familiarisation Videos