Meet our founder: Jamie Hanlon

My interest in helping people with disabilities started when I began working as an Interior Design Specialist in 2010.

The interest in how the world can be improved to remove barriers for those with disabilities and health conditions evolved as I worked through my Foundation Degree and then went on to take a BA (Hons) Interior Design at Falmouth University.

This topic is of particular interest to me, because I have three hidden disabilities.

• Deafness. In November 2019, I became a Cochlear Implant and link Hearing Aid, user.
• Crohn’s Disease seven operations and trying to prevent an eighth.
• Dyslectic 2019. The terminology I use may not be the same as others.

Despite beginning my degree in 2010, I graduated in 2016 after having a gap year because of my Crohn’s.

The years of my studies had been troubled by these health challenges, at first without me really realising. From 2014 – 2019 I suffered from Post Traumatic Shock Disorder. PTSD as it is more commonly known, is often associated with veterans, or survivors or traumatic events such as accidents. But what I didn’t realise, was that any kind of trauma can leave you with the mental health after effects which are identified as PTSD. In my case, it was eventually discovered that my emotional state was the result of complications from my seventh operation for Crohn’s at Royal Cornwall Hospital.

Due to my interests and qualifications, in 2016 I was encouraged to become an access consultant and studied some courses in London. The courses I took were Access Auditing & The Equality Act 2010 (An understanding of the practicalities of access improvements). Housing Standards – Designing for Dementia – Accessible Housing: (Category 3 – Wheelchair user dwellings), Building Regulations and British Standards 8300 (BS8300).

All of this led to me working with a whole range of people, from private home owners, to companies and public bodies, all with one aim — to remove barriers and increase freedom for those among us who live with a disability, health condition or learning difference. I am passionate about helping organisations and individuals to work towards this goal, and to helping those with hidden disabilities as well as those whose challenges are immediately visible.

Able-bodied people can usually access a beach or walk across Bodmin Moor or the coast

paths with minimal planning. What we hope to achieve through our work at Inclusive Access CIC’s passion is quite simply to help people with disabilities access the same areas and enjoy the same feeling of freedom as an able-bodied person. To do this, we want to help businesses understand their responsibilities under The Equality Act 2010 and to support them in upholding these.

If you are an individual or an organisation and you think that my team and I can help you, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.