Why we built Access Compass

Access Compass started with a simple, stubborn frustration: when you or someone you care for is disabled, finding the right support is often harder than the support itself. The information is scattered, out of date, or buried where nobody can find it.

My story

I'm Allan. I'm registered "severely sight impaired", which, as a social worker who believes in the social model of disability, is a label I'd quietly take issue with, but there we are. I have no 3D depth perception and limited vision, and I use assistive technology every day. I'm also an Advanced Practitioner social worker, working with children with disabilities, and I chair a disabled supporters' association. So access isn't a feature I read about, it's how I live, and it's the people I spend my days alongside.

Whether I've got my social worker hat on or I'm helping a family myself, the same wall comes up every time. The support that exists, from local groups to statutory services to practical how-to guides, is spread across a dozen websites, buried three clicks deep, or so out of date you can't trust it. Families spend hours hunting for help that is often sitting right there, if only someone had gathered it in one clear place.

So I built the tool I needed. That is how we build everything at ADAI Digital: tools built for everybody, with disabled people fully and inclusively front and centre, never bolted on the side.

What Access Compass is

Access Compass is a free, accessible directory of disability support services, accessible places and how-to guides, for children and adults, their families and carers. It currently covers Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire in the UK, and Victoria, Australia, and we publish separate editions as "Access Compass: <Region>" as it grows. It is a signposting tool: it lists publicly-available services and places and points you towards them.

Independent and source-led

Access Compass is independent of the local authorities, NHS bodies, charities and services that appear in its listings. It is made by ADAI Digital, not by a council or government department. We use publicly available information, show where it came from and when it was checked, and link you to the original source for the current official position.

Looking for accessible places and day-out ideas as well as support information? Try our sister app, RoamPal Guide.

What we believe

Honesty before everything. We list public information about services, and every claim we make about accessibility carries a source and the date it was checked. A blank never means "inaccessible", it means "not yet checked". Details change, so we always ask you to confirm with a service directly before you rely on it, and every listing has a link to tell us when something's wrong. Access Compass is information and signposting, not professional, legal, medical or financial advice.

One experience for everyone. Accessibility isn't a separate section, it's woven into how the whole app works: keyboard support, adjustable text, high contrast, a dyslexia-friendly font, and clear labels for screen readers. This is an app anyone can use.

Your data stays with you. There are no accounts and no tracking. Your settings and saved items stay on your own device, and the app keeps working offline once it has loaded.

Free. The people who most need clear support information shouldn't have to pay to find it.

Gather the support that already exists, tell people plainly where to find it, and make it usable for everyone. That's the whole idea.

Who's behind it

Access Compass is made by ADAI Digital, a small company in Kettering with a plain mission: use technology to make lives better, especially for people who are too often designed around rather than designed for. Money is fuel for that, not the point of it.

If any of this speaks to you, if a service is missing, or if we've got something wrong, please tell us at admin@adaidigital.co.uk. Reports from disabled people, families and carers are the most valuable feedback we get.

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