By Harry Georgiou, Founder of Speak To Me

19 September 2026 | Liverpool

Today, I went to do something I love: shopping independently with the support of my support worker.

It started off absolutely fine.

I went into a clothes shop in Liverpool ONE, found what I wanted and picked out an outfit.

It was a normal shopping trip.

Then I got to the till.

There wasn’t really a traditional till. The whole process was automated.

I put my clothes down and the machine automatically scanned them.

The problem was, I didn’t know it had done that.

As someone who is visually impaired, I couldn’t simply look at the screen and understand what was happening.

A member of staff helped me understand what the machine was doing and explained what was happening on the screen.

Then it came to paying.

I was using cash, and once again I was faced with a machine and a process that I couldn’t independently see or understand.

My support worker helped me with the cash and showed me where it needed to go so I could complete the payment.

And that was the moment that really made me think.

What would have happened if I had been there on my own?

A small experience that raised a much bigger question

I work.

I earn my own money.

I can decide what clothes I want.

I can go into a shop and choose them for myself.

Yet at the final stage — actually spending that money — technology suddenly made me reliant on somebody else.

For me, it felt like a little bit of my independence had been taken away.

It might sound like a small thing.

But independence is often made up of lots of small things.

Being able to go into a shop.

Choosing what you want.

Paying for it.

Leaving.

Things that many people don’t even have to think about.

Is automation always progress?

Technology can be brilliant.

Automation can make things quicker. It can reduce queues. It can save businesses money. It can make some people’s lives much easier.

And when technology is designed accessibly, it can give disabled people huge amounts of independence.

But accessible for some does not mean accessible for everyone.

For me, that automated till didn’t increase my independence.

It reduced it.

The problem isn’t necessarily automation itself.

The problem is what happens when systems are designed without everybody in mind.

Disabled people should not be an afterthought

Yes, there was a member of staff who helped me understand the machine.

Yes, my support worker was there to help me with the cash.

And I am grateful that they were there.

But what if they weren’t?

What happens when somebody is shopping completely independently?

What happens when a member of staff isn’t immediately available?

What happens when someone can’t read a touchscreen, understand the instructions or work out what the machine is asking them to do?

Disabled people should not constantly have to find somebody to help them navigate a system that could have been made accessible in the first place.

Accessibility should be designed in from the beginning.

Independence doesn’t mean never needing support

Using support does not make somebody less independent.

I use support, and that support helps me live my life.

But there is a big difference between choosing to use support and being forced to rely on someone because a system has been designed without you in mind.

That is the difference I felt today.

Businesses should care about this too

There is another side to this conversation.

Customers.

If I was shopping alone, I would now think twice about going back to a shop where I knew I might not be able to independently complete my purchase.

That isn’t just an accessibility issue.

It is a business issue too.

If technology creates barriers for disabled customers, businesses risk losing those customers completely.

Build the future with us

Automation isn’t going away.

And I don’t think it should.

But as shops, banks, transport systems, restaurants and everyday services become more automated, we need to ask:

Who is designing these systems?

Who is testing them?

Who is being listened to?

And most importantly:

Are disabled people actually in the room?

Think about people with visual impairments who cannot read a touchscreen.

Think about people with learning disabilities who may need information presented differently.

Think about people who need more time.

Think about people who communicate differently.

Think about people who simply need another human being available.

Technology should increase independence — not take it away.

So when we build the shops, services and technology of the future, disabled people cannot be an afterthought.

Bring us into the conversation from the beginning.

Let us test the technology.

Listen when we tell you something doesn’t work.

Keep human support available.

Because sometimes, the most accessible thing in the building is still another human being.

We can have innovation.

We can have automation.

But we can also have accessibility, choice and human interaction.

Nothing about us without us.

Have you experienced inaccessible automation?

Have you ever used a self-service till, touchscreen, ticket machine, app or automated service that made something more difficult rather than easier?

Speak To Me wants to hear directly from disabled people about the barriers you experience in everyday life.

Share your experience with us and help make sure disabled people’s voices are heard when the future is being designed.

Ask. Listen. Include.

Speak To Me — Fact-based. Evidence-led.

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