Purple Tuesday: Making every voice heard
Purple Tuesday is a global movement working with organizations to improve the customer experience for people living with disabilities, with celebrations on the first Tuesday of November each year. November 4th is an important reminder of the importance of accessibility and inclusion, and an opportunity to highlight what we’ve achieved in this space, as well as how far we still need to go to make every voice heard.
Why communication accessibility matters
Communication disability affects millions of people. In the US alone, up to 70 million people - around 20% of the population - will experience communication difficulty at some point in their lives. Yet this community often remains underserved.
When people think about accessibility in public spaces, the first images that come to mind are ramps and accessible toilets - and these are essential. But for people with complex communication needs, the absence of supportive communication tools can remain a largely unseen barrier.
Communication boards
This Purple Tuesday, we’re focusing on communication boards and how they can be a simple but powerful way to bring AAC into everyday life. These boards can make a huge difference for people in commercial and community settings.
At TTMT, we offer a range of printed Communication Boards based upon our Super Core symbol vocabulary. They’re designed for real-world use - in libraries, swimming pools, schools, playgrounds, office corridors, dining halls, and public spaces, and can be tailored to the setting to ensure relevance.
They can support businesses and organizations to provide essential communication infrastructure, and enable people with complex communication needs to engage, participate, request, comment, ask, buy and belong.
Normalizing communication boards everywhere
Communication is a human right. Public spaces should be equipped for accessible communication just as they are for physical accessibility. Making communication boards a normal part of our everyday environments helps to:
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Encourage inclusion
By showing that you expect and welcome people with communication needs, which can shape staff and visitor behavior in powerful ways. -
Reduce stigma
When a board is a standard feature of a café, library, or store, it stops being a special provision and becomes a normal, shared tool for communication. -
Improve customer experience
Communication challenges aren’t always permanent. Someone with speech fatigue, anxiety, or a temporary difficulty can benefit too. Offering a communication board makes your service more inclusive for everyone. -
Support staff awareness and training
Once a communication board is in place, staff learn to recognize and respect alternative ways of communicating, helping to build a culture of inclusion. -
Create a network effect
The more venues with communications boards, the more normal they become. People start to expect them in cafés, libraries, public pools, and health centers, changing norms, one space at a time.
As a member of the organization, we’re proud to support Purple Tuesday each year. It aligns closely with our mission to empower everyone to have a voice and feel heard.
This November, let’s make communication inclusion part of everyday, not just for one day, but for every interaction, in every space.
Visit our website to learn about customizable communications boards for your organization.