A very interesting question. It can be answered in a single sentence, which goes like this: it helps blind and visually impaired people cross at crosswalks safely. In fact, the answer could end here, yet let us take a closer look.

Accessibility also on the street

Accessibility must not only be ensured inside buildings, but it is just as necessary in street traffic. One of the important elements of safe and independent street navigation for blind and visually impaired people is that where there are traffic lights at crosswalks, there should be some kind of audible signal.

In Hungary, since the 1980s we have been encountering traffic lights equipped with sound signaling devices. At first, they indicated the possibility of safe crossing with beeping, later with speech, and when the light turned green, the signal sounded continuously.
In the 2000s, devices appeared that could be activated by a remote control held by the visually impaired person. Thus, the traffic light only sounded when it was truly necessary. This solution is not only good for us visually impaired people, but also for city residents living near the lights, since a continuously sounding device can be disturbing in situations where no visually impaired person is crossing, yet the signal keeps making noise.

Although more and more places are installing talking lights that can be activated by remote control, due to public complaints, in many big cities the sound signal is turned off after 6:00 p.m., or in the better case after 10:00 p.m. However, this exposes us to increased danger of accidents during the lower traffic of evening or early morning, because the lights go silent. Where they are not switched off, it is still common that, upon residents’ request, they are turned down so much that in rush hour traffic noise, the sound of the lights is almost inaudible to us.

There also exist sound-signaling traffic lights that can be turned on with a button located on the pole. However, finding this pole is a serious challenge and inconvenience for us, and from a hygiene perspective it is not advantageous either.

Breakdowns of the lights are another difficulty, not only for us but also for the organizations representing our interests. In most places there is no well-established, widely known platform, email address, or phone number for reporting malfunctions, so it easily happens that sound signaling devices remain silent for a long time. Even after reporting, repairs often take weeks, or in worse cases, months. Fortunately, in several major Hungarian cities, including Pécs, the service http://jarokelo.hu/pecs is already in operation, specialized exactly in reporting and solving such problems.

What is directional hearing?

How does a visually impaired person distinguish, when there are two green signals at the same time, which sound belongs to which crosswalk?
To answer this question, it is worth thinking for a moment about what we pay attention to when we travel alone.

We, visually impaired people, besides relying on fixed reference points detectable with the white cane, also rely on our directional hearing. This means, for example, that if we are walking on a sidewalk directly next to the road, with the roadway on one side and a fence on the other, not only does the fixed fence provide security, but the sound of traffic also helps us.
When crossing at crosswalks, we mostly need to use our directional hearing, because it provides the most help in aligning ourselves correctly and then crossing safely. With its help, we can determine from which direction we hear the sound of the signaling traffic light, as well as the noise of traffic.

If the crosswalk is short, with less car traffic, and the sound signaling device is working properly (meaning it is audible from both sides of the crosswalk and not turned down too much), then both the starting and arrival side lights will be clearly heard at the same time.

If the crosswalk is too long, traffic too heavy, and the device not functioning properly, all these factors make safe crossing more difficult.

If there are two crosswalks next to each other and both show green at the same time, the usual practice is that the beeping lights sound at different pitches. In such cases, we must be able to clearly distinguish which beeping frequency is meant for us.
If both zebra crossing signal sounds come from the same direction, we should focus on the one that’s closer to us.

Some zebra crossing signals don’t just beep, they actually announce aloud which street we can cross.

Written by Evelin Almádi

Let’s start with the People First Association’s credo:
In an inclusive society, there is no definition of “normal” that all members of society must strive for and achieve. The only thing that is normal is the fact that there are differences. These differences are seen as enriching society and do not affect individuals’ fundamental right to participate. Societiy has a responsibility to create structures in all areas of life that allow its members to move freely within it.

The above statement essentially sums up what we mean by an inclusive society. However, in most European societies, this is not a widely recognized expectation among members of society. Many people do not understand or agree with why everyone should be the same when they are not. But that is not what this is about, just read on…

Let’s start with the term inclusion.
Even understanding the word itself may cause problems. In some countries, inclusion is a clear term, but in others it is not. A good example of this is Hungary, where inclusion is a term that exists but is not widely used in society. Instead, people use descriptive words such as social acceptance, social inclusion, diverse society…
This is definitely an avoidance of clearly stating something and calling it by its name. The reason for this is that the acceptance of “otherness” is still a relatively new social phenomenon, so many people are afraid of it.

Since integration also aims at unified social acceptance, many people confuse it with inclusion.
So what is the difference between integration and inclusion?

These two terms are often difficult to distinguish, so let’s compare them side by side.

The most noticeable difference between inclusion and integration is that while integration only means acceptance in numerical terms (for example, the presence of a disabled child among non-disabled children in a kindergarten group), inclusion is also reflected in the group’s common attitude and the inner feelings of individuals.

Integration tends to focus on unification and assimilation, and is most noticeable in education.
Meanwhile, the inclusive approach ensures equal access to opportunities and resources for everyone.

With inclusion, the emphasis is on interaction. It means ensuring that disadvantaged individuals participate in social processes. In other words, inclusion is not just about being together, but also about shared activities (e.g., playing, learning, working together). This requires adaptation on the part of both the person who is including someone and the person who is being included in a group.

Here we are actually talking about a process. Inclusion means a higher level of integration.

A term or an attitude?
The basic prerequisite for inclusion is knowledge about certain groups of people.
But! We must distinguish between knowledge and assumptions, i.e., what people believe about people with disabilities and what they know about them.

Successful inclusion is primarily a question of attitude.
This requires social sensitivity, empathy, acceptance of differences, and the ability to manage differences. It is important that these skills can be developed! The primary place for this should be kindergarten and school.

Written by Veronika Pataki

Where the king can only sometimes enter through barriers

(In fact, in Hungarian we even jokingly refer to the toilet as ‘the place even the king goes to on foot.)

A handicapped WC, a wheelchair accessible toilet, and sometimes – increasingly – a barrier-free toilet. This is what the signs say. How does a disabled toilet become a disabled, how should this be imagined? – my autistic mind jokes with me every time I see or hear this term, and it already lists the most absurd images, ticking off the generative artificial intelligences.
Actually, the correct name for these rooms is accessible toilets. In fact, there are places in the world where they are called available, emergency toilets.
Here in Hungary, this is usually where the changing room is located, and the same room is often offered for breastfeeding, as a baby-mother room.

Its inappropriate alternative uses: warehouse, small office, staff lounge, changing room… I’m doubly angry about these. Why double?
Who wants to store their belongings, have lunch, coffee and administration in a toilet when they have other options?
And likewise: who wants to go to the toilet in an office/changing room/dining room, after a long wait to unload the obstructing swivel chair, cardboard boxes, cleaning equipment, huge cleaning machine, anything else that could be an accident hazard…?
Even so, such grotesque situations occur countless times!

But even if everything is fine inside, there may be other obstacles to entry. These toilets are usually locked with a key, which means that you can’t just walk in, but have to call for outside help, either by ringing a bell, or by phone, or in person. The keeper of the keys is either available or not. Either he comes quickly, or you have to wait a long time, or he doesn’t come at all, and then you’re in big trouble.
If the person in charge turns up early, there is still the unpleasant possibility that the person is not properly informed and will act as a kind of inspector, deciding whether or not you are entitled to use the toilet, whether or not your personal assistant or guide dog can enter with you.

I have had unpleasant moments, even when using a support stick. The most interesting was when the staff member offered to open the accessible toilet for me, as all the others were in use – if I’m not ashamed, I don’t mind “it”. I joked about it, but I really wondered: would it be shameful, embarrassing to use the toilet in dignified, safe conditions? No, but too often it involves unpleasant interludes, awkward moments.
Sometimes, unfortunately, with explicit violations of rights: recently, my fellow members have suffered serious violations because of a lack of information, an inappropriate attitude.

Interesting fact:
Several organisations around the world offer keys, sometimes literally. The user has to prove his status to the company and, after paying an annual membership fee, he receives a special key that can be used to open all the toilets in the network, even in several countries. No need to look for money or cards, no need to wait for a man with a key, no need to be afraid of unpleasant situations or people.
In Paris and Japan, for example, anyone can use the barrier-free toilets, they are not locked and they are free of charge.
These solutions are not yet available in Hungary.

Fortunately, it’s not all dark and terrible, but it’s a major deterrent for me and an almost constant source of anxiety for those who can’t go to a ‘traditional’ toilet.
Even among my disabled acquaintances there are those who have a healthy point of view: if you don’t seem to have a problem, you have no business being there, shame on you! I mean: they would send me away too, who could use a strong reason for several reasons. And I’m already thinking: if I’m well, I won’t use it unless I really have to. I’ve internalised this nicely too – that is, it’s become part of my thinking, part of my behaviour – so that I feel guilty for not looking disabled or just being better than usual.

So then, who’s actually allowed to use the accessible toilet?

In an ideal society, a barrier-free toilet is available to anyone who feels that they can do their business safely in a specially designed room.

This means that, in addition to people with mobility impairments, for example, people who seem to be great at moving, but when it comes to sitting down or standing up, turning around in tight spaces, making movements – they are less able for whatever reason.

Or the visually impaired: these rooms have a roughly uniform interior design, making it easier to find what’s where and not hurting users when navigating. If you have a guide dog or other assistance dog, they can fit in here too. (Yes, they can go in, and should go in with the owner. These specially trained dogs are not muzzled, but wear a special harness.)

It can also be useful for pregnant women.

These rooms should have a larger bin, especially as they are usually also changing rooms. People with a stoma can empty and change the bag more easily here. The catheter can be emptied more conveniently and hygienically.
The larger bin also fits used adult incontinence products.

Is there somewhere to inject the insulin or other injectable medication? Yes, there should be a room for this in the accessible toilet. (However, they do not have a hazardous waste container, so the user has to take the needle etc. with them and put it in a suitable place in a suitable container.)

You could use it if you have a problem that you can’t wait for the occasional long line, such as IBD, Crohn’s, urge incontinence, or if you “just” had a problem with your sandwich.

Accessible toilets would also be a good idea, if:

You’re sensory over-sensitive, so you can’t stand the constant door slamming, the hand dryer screaming… or you have some other condition that makes using the communal toilet a nightmare instead of a relief.

You are likely to be unwell or require assistance: this toilet has an alarm. (Difficulties: the alarm does not work or the staff do not know what the beep is, where it is coming from and what to do.)

You have an immune condition that makes it not good to be around too many people: these toilets are less used and they are usually more careful to clean. And in case of a problem, you can disinfect it yourself more easily.

Traditional small, narrow cabins are not big enough, you can’t move freely in them (whether because of your size, you have a mobility problem or you don’t like the “walls” touching you)

You have a temporary condition that requires: using two crutches or braces, an injury that is invisible to others and prevents you from moving (even a surgical scar that is healing, a broken rib), or a balance problem…

If you are with a baby or pushchair and there is no dedicated toilet available.

Last but not least, one very important thing: if you need a personal assistant!
It doesn’t matter what your mobility status is, what your relationship is with the person, or what gender they are. Nor is it an argument that “but they didn’t need a helper before”. There are ups and downs: one day you help, the next day you get help. In order for a personal helper to help you, they have to be there with you, inside. Neither one of you has to justify the other’s presence or intention to enter.

To top it off, the really super rooms have adult-sized (fold-down) surfaces for changing nappies and even showers and hazardous waste bins. And in the ultra-supers, there’s a patient-moving lift.

Because of what I and my fellow members of the People First Association have experienced, I have only one place in the whole country where I regularly and willingly use the accessible toilets. This place is the I Love Pécs Café in Pécs, where I often go for a good chat, a refreshing or warming drink, and I have even had the opportunity to have an online conference call here. Here you know what’s for who, no awkward communication, no weird looks, no cleaning things to get around and it’s only closed when it’s busy. Then I can wait in comfort.

Anyway, if there is no stroller space or a properly designed cubicle, I hurt myself, the stimuli make me feel terrible – in fact, I often start by cleaning, but that’s a user-side problem. And I even pay for it.

I’d be much happier if I could expand my “feel-free to come here” list! I hope that with this writing we are getting closer to that goal.

❗️Let us know your experiences with accessible toilets in a comment!

Written by Hilda Kerekes

This Why? is a bit more for Hungarian speakers, as we are discussing Hungarian terms of disability. But it can also be exciting to follow the changes in Hungary as a foreigner. Is it just Hungarian or is it a general phenomenon? We look forward to your comments below.

I could ask the question “what shall I call you”, if I want to quote our great poet Petőfi.

First, a little about the naming conventions we currently use.
There are two terms we use for disability in Hungary today: perhaps the most accepted is person living with disability. Why? Because it expresses that I have a disability – in my case a visual impairment – that is not part of my personality, but that I live with.
The other most commonly used term is a disabled person, which is used in legislation, literature and official places.
I fully agree with those experts who take the view that the two terms most commonly used today should be used in conjunction with the words “person”.

Previously, the word disabled was used quite naturally. Opinions are very divided on whether this is offensive or not. What is certain is that nowadays the word is used by many people as a abusive word, and has unfortunately become a kind of slang.

In general, the term injured is often used, but I think it is appropriate when used in conjunction with the type of disability, such as mobility impaired, visually impaired, hearing impaired. In itself, ‘injured’ can strengthens a damaged consciousness. Or it may not indicate an existing disability, but a temporary injury following an accident. In this way, a bruise or cut is also an injury.

The starting point however, is the use of now socially unacceptable terms such as stupid, crazy, cripple or idiot. Indeed, in the 19th century, these were common everyday and technical terms!
Stupid was the word for dumb, and then the word was applied to the mentally handicapped, but not in a pejorative sense, simply as a term. The same goes for idiot, used for people who didn’t understand social rules because they had a lower level of intelligence. And cripple was a general term for the physically handicapped.
The first institution for the mentally handicapped opened its doors in 1875 in Hungary in  Rákospalota under the name of “The First Hungarian Institute for the Education and Care of the Stupid”.
And in the early 1800s, a “public madhouse” was founded, which, according to the custom of the time, excluded disabled people from society and locked them up in institutions.
Another noteworthy term from József Roboz is the “weakly able”, which he mentions as a title in the first textbook he wrote on the concept of differentiated education.

Disease or condition? The question is a very good one, because I think disability is a condition that is either congenital or acquired later, i.e. it has been around for a certain period of time. In fact, it is usually the result of a disease, which is why I think the word ‘condition’ is more appropriate for disability.

There are also many different names for the types of disability. Each type of disability can be divided into several subgroups in order to distinguish the degree of disability. But it’s very much up to the individual person with a disability to decide which one they feel is their own, or which one is offensive to them. For example, I belong to the blind subgroup of the visually impaired, but I prefer to be called visually impaired. It’s worth remembering that we don’t need to know how much a visually impaired person can or cannot see, or how disabled a disabled person is, whether they are in a wheelchair or use a cane. It is therefore easiest to use the generic terms for a particular group of disabilities, to avoid awkward situations.

Why are names important? The most important thing is to always be respectful and to always respect the human dignity of the person concerned when referring to people with disabilities. Not just in their presence.

And back to the basic question, why do we have to keep changing the terms?
The main reason I think is, that society is constantly picking up on the technical terms originally used for people with disabilities. And they start to use it in hurtful, pejorative terms – mostly by able-bodied people to each other. It’s especially common for young people to call each other ‘disabled’ if someone doesn’t understand something the first time, or simply to insult or belittle. The same change has happened to our words ‘stupid’, ‘lame’, ‘cripple’, ‘crazy’, etc.
And people with disabilities themselves, and the profession dealing with them, now have to come up with particularly complex, unremarkable and strange ways of putting a name to what was and is a simple, understandable name.
Isn’t that crazy too?? Instead of fleeing forward, we should be educating society in kindergarten, school, family and everywhere. So that they stop throwing around words about people with disabilities, their condition, when they want to insult someone.

Written by Evelin Almádi and Veronika Pataki, also based on Panna Kaszás’ university thesis