Handicap Access

ADA signs are designed and manufactured for Handicap persons. They follow the guidelines set up under the Americans with Disabilities Act. And with so many more handicapped employees now being hired under that act, these signs are becoming more and more prominent.

     ADA signs can be found wherever a handicap individual will have to negotiate an entrance, a restroom or a walkway. The signs are generally made with heavy-duty lamination, or from steel or aluminum. All signs must have non-glare backgrounds and characters to help ease the way for the elderly and those with little or perhaps no vision.

      While these signs are now beginning to be seen in and around factories, they are not the only type of ADA signs. There are also signs for the hearing impaired, people who are deaf and those that may have a mental disorder of some kind.

     Tactile or Braille signs for those that are legally blind identify both rooms and spaces. They are placed very close to the door that they are being used to identify. These signs follow specific ADA guidelines: They require upper case letters that are between 5/8” and 2” high. The braille is placed directly under the letters.

     There are four standard symbols used. There is the Wheel Chair symbol for entrances; the international Ear Symbol for the hearing impaired; the keyboard symbol for text telephone and the phone symbol for areas where volume controlled phones are located.

     Here are some of the basic signs that can be found with the familiar Wheelchair symbol:

ACCESS AT SIDE OF BUILDING; ACCESSIBLE;  NOT ACCESSIBLE; WHEELCHAIR RAMP;  PARKING BY DISABLED PERMIT ONLY; HANDICAPPED PARKING VAN ACCESSIBLE, VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED; EXIT, EMERGENCY EXIT, EXIT( with left or right arrow); RESTROOMS.

     Examples of Tactile signs include:  TELEPHONE; IN CASE OF FIRE DO NOT USE ELEVATORS, USE STAIRS; PLEASE RING BELL; FIRE EXTINGUISHER; DANGER, HIGH VOLTAGE.

     ADA Keyboard signs typically have a series of dashes which simulate a keyboard. There is usually a picture of a telephone receiver on top of the dashes. ADA Ear symbols include a picture of an Ear on the sign with a diagonal line running from the lower left of the sign up to the ear photo, then continuing up to the upper right hand corner of the sign. The sign may include the wording: ASSITIVE LISTENING SYSTEMS AVAILABLE.