Multiple sclerosis patient develops map to help people with disabilities

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. When Jason had his MS diagnosis at age 25 he decided to start documenting his disease progression on camera.

“I wanted to capture this transformative experience—becoming disabled—in WHEN I WALK because I hadn’t seen it done before, and people need to see how a degenerative disease impacts the lives of those living with it.”, says Jason about his documentary.

After 5 years, Jason, lost his mobility and became dependent on a mobility scooter. This new reality brought him the challenges of performing routine activities on a city that sometimes is not prepared for mobility devices. Jason knew he had to do more, he had to act. So, he and his wife, Alice, decided to create a map, AXS Map (access map), to rate businesses and places based on their accessibility and that could be used by everyone.

“When Jason lost the ability to walk he lost the ability to go to a lot of places,” said Alice. “And he had the idea that it would be amazing if people could see if a place is accessible before going there.”, mentioned Alice.

AXS Map aims to combine different opinions and points of view on one shared network, both creating a workable resource for and reinforcing a community of people who care about access and inclusion.

“We wanted the reviews to be really simple and something that anyone can do,” said Alice. “We didn’t want the review process to be onerous on the user. So we made it into something that takes just a second of your time.”, said Alice.

In 2011, a prototype of AXS Map was created based on grants from Google Earth Outreach and other foundations. From then, Jason and AXS Lab have been working to refine the map, spread the word about AXS Map and encouraging organisations and individuals to contribute to the database.

Adapted from: https://www.fastcompany.com/3042583/a-ms-patient-builds-a-yelp-for-peopl...

More info: http://wheniwalk.com/axs-map/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=4Chta29jjXQ