Feb 05, 2010 - 04:30 AM

By Jillian Follert

DURHAM -- The Oshawa coffee shop is loud and crowded. A line snakes from the register to the door, where patrons shove and huddle to get in out of the cold.

For most people, this situation is little more than an annoyance. An unexpectedly long wait for a coffee and muffin.

But, for someone who has trouble walking or standing, the wait could prove painful. For someone who can't see, the crush of people could be disorienting. For someone with anxiety, the hubbub could cause a panic attack.â?¨ These are the kinds of things Edie Forsyth and Sarah White point out, as they watch the line creep forward.

"We assume everyone experiences the world the way we do," Ms. White says. "But, there are so many people out there with some kind of disability ... and about 95 per cent of those disabilities are invisible."

The local women are passionate about accessibility, so much so that in 2008 they quit their respective jobs to start their own consulting and training firm, Accessibility Experts Ltd.

In the year and a half it's been in business, the company has grown by leaps and bounds.

Business is brisk, because big changes are coming to Ontario under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. The government is developing a series of accessibility standards, which will be implemented one at a time over the coming years.

The first one addresses customer service, requiring anyone who deals with the public to be formally trained in serving people with myriad disabilities, everything from vision loss to asthma. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to $100,000 per day to the organization, plus $50,000 to each director.

The standard became law for the public sector on Jan. 1 of this year.

The private sector -- places like stores, restaurants and non-profit organizations -- must comply by Jan. 1, 2012.

That may seem like the distant future, but Ms. Forsyth says it's a massive undertaking to get every private business and organization in Ontario up to speed by then.

Accessibility Experts is, so far, the only company in Durham offering the training. They provide one- and three-hour seminars, online courses and training for trainers, so companies can teach their own staff in-house. Their private and public sector clients span Durham and Ontario.

Ms. White said business owners often think of accessibility in terms of wheelchair ramps and elevators and are surprised to learn that service is as much a part of the equation as the way things are built.

"It comes down to making things user friendly. Take a hair salon for example. If someone calls for an appointment, it could be as simple as mentioning there are a few steps at the entrance, so people know before they get there. Or offering to go to their home, if they can't get into the salon," she said.

Other examples of accessible customer service might include learning how to properly guide a customer with vision loss, accommodate service animals or provide alternate formats for written materials, such as Braille.

For Cyndie Sproul, the changes can't come soon enough. The chairwoman of the Oshawa Accessibility Advisory Committee lost her vision about eight years ago and relies on a service dog to help her navigate.

She is constantly shocked by business owners who insist that service dogs aren't allowed in their establishment, or employees who ask invasive, personal questions about her disability.

"I hope this training will educate people and take care of those issues," she said. "I also hope it will alleviate some of the fears people have about helping someone with a disability. Part of the dilemma is that people are scared to offend or do the wrong thing. All you really need to do is ask what kind of help someone needs."

For more information, check out www.accessibilityexperts.ca or www.mcss.gov.on.ca.