Collective access

A disability justice concept that frames accessibility as a shared, relational practice created by a group rather than an individual accommodation delivered to one person. In contrast to traditional models where a disabled person requests and receives access (such as captioning or sign language interpretation), collective access holds that all participants in an interaction share responsibility for making communication and participation work. In practice, this means hearing people adapting their speech patterns and managing background noise, meeting facilitators building in communication breaks, and organisations designing environments where access is default rather than requested. The concept challenges the assumption that accessibility is solely about technical solutions and instead positions it as a social and relational achievement.