Accessibility Awareness 2026

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Accessibility Awareness Q&A

Read the full interview with Ryan at healthinsight.ca.

The Power of Participation After a life-changing injury, Ryan Straschnitzki has become a leading advocate for accessibility and inclusion in Canada. Through sport and his work with the Straz Strong Foundation, he is helping create a society where everyone has the opportunity to fully participate.

How has your definition of accessibility changed over the years?

How the Accessibility Institute Turns Research Into Real-World Impact Carleton University’s Accessibility Institute is helping build a more accessible Canada through innovation, collaboration, and capacity building.

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arleton University’s Accessibility Institute advances accessibility through applied research, national collaboration, and professional training. Alongside disabled people, communities, governments, industry, and academic partners in Canada and internationally, the Institute develops practical solutions across a diverse portfolio: AI for accessibility services, neurodiversity policy, accessible housing, emergency management, youth employability, accessible transportation, acoustics in the built environment, standards, strategic planning, and inclusive design.

As the National Office of the Canadian Accessibility Network, the Institute supports over 150 organizations and hundreds of members, connecting lived experience, research expertise, and sector leadership to drive coordinated action across Canada.

The Institute also builds capacity through Professional Education for Accessibility Competence and Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification training, equipping professionals to identify barriers and embed accessibility into everyday decisions.

Join us in advancing accessibility together. Visit carleton.ca/cuai to learn more, collaborate with us, or explore our programs.

This article was sponsored by Carleton University, Accessibility Institute.

My definition of accessibility has changed from simply being able to get into a space, to being able to fully participate in life. It’s about independence, inclusion, opportunity, and being considered from the beginning.

Why is access to sport and recreation such an important part of accessibility and quality of life?

Sport and recreation are a huge part of quality of life. Wheelchair basketball helped me feel like an athlete again and gave me community, goals, and purpose. That’s a big reason why I started the Straz Strong Foundation.

Written by

Boris Vukovic PhD, Director, Accessibility Institute

What changes would you most like to see in Canada to help create a more accessible and inclusive society?

I’d like to see accessibility treated as a standard in Canada, not a special request. That means better infrastructure, more inclusive programs, greater access to adaptive equipment, and more people with lived experience involved in decision-making.

What message would you share with young Canadians living with disabilities who may be facing barriers or uncertainty about their future?

To young Canadians living with disabilities, I’d say your life can still be full of possibility, even if it looks different than you expected. You may have to adapt and advocate for yourself, but different does not mean less.

Publisher: William Stone Business Development Manager: Luca Bidini Content & Client Success Manager: Nicole Kansakar Country Manager: Samantha Taylor Creative Director: Kylie Armishaw Digital Traffic Manager: Vansh Chandwaney All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited.

This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve Maclean’s Magazine or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

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How KBH+ Is Connecting Neurodisability Research to Family Support Kids Brain Health connects children and youth with neurodisabilities and their families to innovative solutions that help them reach their fullest potential.

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Learn more at kidsbrainhealth.ca.

This article was sponsored

by Kids Brain Health+.

very child deserves the chance to grow, learn, and thrive. Yet for 1 in 10 children and youth living with a neurodisability, that chance is too often out of reach. Thousands are still waiting for timely diagnosis, effective interventions, and meaningful family support.

Many families face years-long waitlists, gaps in essential services, and out-of-pocket costs of up to $80,000 a year. While there have been significant advances in research for children and youth living with neurodisabilities, these discoveries often don’t reach the families who need them most.

Kids Brain Health (KBH+) believes Canada can do better. As a national platform connecting research, philanthropy, and innovation, KBH+ bridges this gap by helping to spread and scale proven supports for families and to build a better future for children and youth.

makers, currently funding 24 transformative projects across all 10 provinces and one territory. Together, the KBH+ ecosystem is working to improve early identification, deliver effective interventions, and expand access to family supports — no matter where families live.

This work doesn’t happen on its own — it happens when the right people come together.

That’s what the KBH+ Conference 2026 is all about. Join us in Calgary, Alta., from October 18 to 21, as researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, innovators, and changemakers gather to share breakthroughs, create new partnerships, and accelerate the solutions children, youth, and families are counting on.

Whether you’re advancing research, shaping policy, investing in life-changing solutions, or supporting families, this is where the future of pediatric disability takes shape. We invite you to be part of the change.

Building better futures From coast to coast to coast, KBH+ brings together researchers, clinicians, families, and policy-

Written by Katie O’Connor, Communications Manager, Kids Brain Health

How Autism Canada Helps Foster Communities Where Everyone Participates Creating accessible schools, workplaces, and communities starts with recognizing and removing barriers to inclusion.

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wareness can change minds, but accessibility changes lives. For many Autistic people across Canada and their families, barriers still exist in schools, workplaces, health care systems, and community spaces — even as public understanding of autism continues to grow.

Accessibility plays a critical role in changing that. Individual accommodations matter, but access should never be treated as an afterthought. By building accessibility into planning, communication, workplaces, public spaces, and sensory inclusive environments from the beginning, communities can reduce barriers and support fuller participation for Autistic and neurodivergent people.

Moving from awareness to accessibility This year, Autism Canada is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of advocacy, education, and support for Autistic people, their families, and caregivers across the country.

Throughout its history, the organization has worked to advance understanding while helping people across Canada move beyond awareness and toward meaningful action and tangible change.

Beyond direct support and navigation, Autism Canada also advances accessibility through Inclusion by Design, its accredited training program for schools, workplaces, community organizations, and public spaces.

Grounded in lived experience and

accessibility principles, the program offers practical tools to help identify and remove ba rriers, creat ing environments where Autistic and neurodivergent people feel valued, understood, and included.

As conversations around accessibility continue to evolve, Autism Canada is calling for greater national recognition of unmet access needs and a shared commitment to building communities where everyone can participate fully and belong.

Written by Emily Hellam

Learn more about how Autism Canada is helping to build a more accessible and inclusive Canada at autismcanada.org.

This article was sponsored by Austism Canada.

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Why Understanding Hidden Disabilities Can Build a Stronger Workforce August is Episodic Disability Awareness Month and Realize is encouraging workplaces to better understand how to accommodate employees with these conditions.

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isabilities are often associated with visual indicators. For the over two million Canadians who live with episodic disabilities, this simply isn’t the case. Episodic disabilities are chronic and invisible, yet their impacts fluctuate, characterized by periods of relief and illness, both inconsistent in their length and severity. Those living with these conditions may seem completely fi ne one week and require significant support the next. Living with an episodic disability means the natural human urge for predictability is never met. Each day can feel like a gamble. These challenges can be especially difficult to navigate in the workplace.

“Employers often assume that disability is consistent, expecting accommodation planning to be a simple one-time conversation,”

explains Melissa Egan, Co-Director of National Programs for Realize.

Supporting people with episodic conditions Realize is Canada’s leading nonprof it work ing to improve t he well-being of people with episodic conditions. The organization is dedicated to broadening awareness and encouraging workplaces to better adapt to the changing needs of these employees.

To mark August as Episodic Disability Awareness Month, Realize is hosting two online workshops. On August 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET, it will shine a light on women specifically with “Creating Workplaces for Women with Episodic Disabilities at Work.” The second will highlight the topic more broadly with “Episodic Disabilities at

Work” on August 26 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The hope is that through broadened awareness, workplaces can think beyond assumptions, proactively adjusting their environments to meet the changing needs of Canadians with these unpredictable conditions, offering support and understanding when they need it most.

Melissa Egan Co-Director, National Programs, Realize

Written by Sonya Friesen

To learn more about Realize or to sign up for one of the organization’s upcoming workshops, visit realizecanada.org.

This article was sponsored

by Realize.

How AI Could Improve Accessibility for Autistic People and Families AI could help families navigate autism supports if Autistic people and families help shape what comes next.

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ccessibility is often discussed through physical spaces, broad disability inclusion, or research innovation. Autism brings a different systems challenge: fragmented services, long waits, inconsistent pathways, sensory and communication barriers, and lifelong supports across health care, education, employment, housing, and community life.

For many in the autism community, the issue isn’t whether services exist. It’s whether they can be found, understood, accessed, and sustained.

As Canada moves from the release of the Autism Strategy to implementation, national leadership matters. At the Canadian Autism Leadership Summit 2026, Autism Alliance of Canada convened Canada’s first AI and Autism Symposium, bringing together Autistic people, families, researchers, technology experts, clinical leaders, policymakers, service providers, and sector leaders.

From innovation to navigation The message was clear: AI should not be built for communities without communities. Families

need tools that reduce burden. Governments and providers need better safeguards and accountability.

The Alliance provides national leadership to connect issues and bring the right people together.

It's helping Canada turn innovation solutions into practical systems change, grounded in lived experience.

With the right investment, Canada can build AI-enabled supports that are inclusive, navigable, and accountable.

WRITTEN BY Tania Amardeil

Donate at autismalliance.ca and help turn innovation into meaningful change for Autistic people and their families.

This article was sponsored by Austism Alliance of Canada.

AUTISM ACCESSIBILITY REQUIRES: 1. Easier navigation across services 2. Supports that reflect real family needs 3. Autistic leadership and caregiver insight 4. Inclusion across the lifespan 5. Investment in lasting systems change systems