client meetings. Unexpected emergency legal meetings may have to take place in the
homes of people with mobility disabilities who rely upon public transit services.
It is important to ensure that appropriate (i.e., accessible) parking spaces are available
for clients who arrive in their own vehicle and that the entrance to the building is
accessible. If someone else drives the client, then a safe and accessible drop-off area for
the client, and a parking area for the person who drove them, is also required.
For appearances before courts or tribunals, lawyers should contact the relevant registrar
to ensure that accessible rooms are booked for proceedings involving clients with mobility
disabilities. Unfortunately, there are still many court houses with inaccessible rooms.98
F. Mental Health/Psychiatric Disabilities^99There are a broad range of mental health/psychiatric disabilities that come under various
diagnostic categories including schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders and
phobias. The type, intensity and effect of each of these disabilities varies from person to
person and each can be episodic in that there may be times when the person is not
affected at all by his/her mental health disabilities. It is therefore important to avoid
imposing stereotypical perceptions on clients who have mental health/psychiatric
disabilities. Everyone experiences mental health issues differently. The focus should be
on interacting with the person as an individual.
The actions of a person with a mental health/psychiatric disability may seem different
from what is perceived of as “normal” among people who have no such experiences. Do
not be overly concerned by a sudden change in mood, speech pattern or volume, a burst
98 Report of the Disability Issues Committee, “Making Ontario’s Courts Fully Accessible to Persons with
Disabilities” (December 2006), online: Court of Appeal of Ontario
http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/accessible_courts/en/report_courts_disabilities.htm.
99 There are several terms used to describe people with mental health issues and there has been long
standing debate and no consensus on appropriate terminology. Other terms in use include:
consumer/survivors, psychiatric survivors, psychiatric disability, mental health disability, people with
mental health issues, people with mental illness, and madness. However, it should be noted that
“[m]any psychiatric system survivors are unwilling to see themselves as disabled” cited in Peter
Beresford, “What have madness and psychiatric system survivors have to do with disability and
disability studies?” (2000) 15.1 Disability and Society 167 at 169.