TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Denise Brodey

Airport Aids Passengers with Hidden Disabilities (But Not Everyone Wants the Help, Thankyouverymuch)

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lanyard with a sunflower tag on it

The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport appears to be the first in the nation to offer green Lanyards printed with yellow sunflowers that symbolize a “hidden disability” such as dementia, hearing loss, post-traumatic stress disorder or autism. It is part of a new pilot program at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, reports USnews.com. The easy-to-spot sunflower lanyards are meant to assist workers in identifying people with invisible disabilities. Help could be in the form of an agent coming around a high counter to be closer to someone with hearing loss. Or in the case of autism, the lanyard could alert a worker that a child might be highly sensitive to crowds or touch.

OUR TAKE: While reviews of the lanyard program have been sunny in the U.K., the forecast is a little stormy in the case of the Seattle lanyard pilot program. Critics argue that being tagged as different is exactly what some people don’t want, which seems somewhat petty given that the ID’s are free to those who want them and can be quite useful for families with young children who want to pre-board their flights to avoid possible anxiety incidents.

Key Experts Join Advisory Board, Bring Expertise to TravelAbility Summit 2020

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A warm welcome to all of the new TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board Members who will join us in 2020. These subject experts further expand our expertise and understanding of the landscape at the intersection of disability, technology, and travel. 

Bonnie Lewkowicz, Program Manager of Access Northern CA at Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program

Bonnie Lewkowicz, whose experience includes operating a special needs travel agency, has worked in the field of Inclusive Tourism for over 30 years specializing in lodging accessibility, accessible trails, customer service training with a disability focus and as an accessibility information specialist.  

headshot of Kathryn Speer Shoaf smiling red hair

Kathryn Speer-Shoaf, R.N., is the Owner/ CEO of Elite Cruises & Vacations

Kathryn Speer-Shoaf is a dementia-friendly travel expert as well as a Supported Senior Travel and Accessible Group Travel Specialist. As an R.N. and experienced Group Travel Expert, Speer-Shoaf has created travel opportunities in a wide range of venues including exclusive cruise, land tour, and topical social itineraries. Speer-Shoaf also consults on Luxury/ VIP, Faith-based, accessible, senior, diabetes, cancer care, educational /CEU, and other topical group cruise events.

Nicole King-Smith Ph.D., CHT, CGSP, CEO at NK Enterprise
Consulting, LLC

Dr. Nicole King-Smith is a generational expert whose work focuses on
training professionals and organizations on how to achieve their desired
results and overcome generational gaps in their workplace culture. As the
director of customer service training for Ft. Myers CVB, she developed and
incorporated one of the DMO industry’s first accessibility training modules.

Judi Durant, Director of Visitor Services, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau

Judi Durant, Director of Visitor Services, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel – Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, has extensive experience helping families to get the most out of vacation venues that they may have once avoided due to noise and other sensory issues. As Director of Visitor Services Durant is a pioneer in customer experience training for consumer-facing staff not only at the airport, where she is headquartered but also for hotels and attractions. Durant serves as chair of the ADA Advisory Board of Southwest Florida and works with community experts in the disabilities field.

Josh Loebner, Director of Strategy at Designsensory

Josh Loebner, director of strategy at Designsensory, specializes in brand planning and brings conviction, visibility, and voice to a rarely discussed topic—advertising and disability. He is based in Knoxville, TN.

Edward Harris Chief Marketing Officer at Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board

Edward Harris, chief marketing officer at Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board, has been the driving force behind the Valley Forge accessibility initiatives. In just six months the destination has researched and organized accessible attractions and hotel product and developed “Access Montco” an inclusive awareness video that wowed the crowd the annual meeting. Ed’s background in executive marketing positions with eBay, Under Armour, and Timberland will be quite valuable as the event moves forward.

Toby Willis, Technical Program Manager at Expedia Group

Toby Willis, technical program manager at Expedia Group say: “My vision loss has made me a creative problem solver and diplomat. This, coupled with my strong work ethic gives me the relentless drive and dogged determination I have to break down the social and attitudinal barriers that allow people with disabilities to live full, rewarding lives. I am a tenacious, life-long-learner with a vibrant, entrepreneurial spirit. I love people and teamwork. I am currently building an Equal Productivity Access Program for the Expedia Group Information Technology organization.

Find a complete listing of TravelAbility Summit Advisory Board members on the Summit website.

Novartis and Getty Images Launch Competitions to Meet Needs of People with Disabilities

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two women signing in a cafe
Three women sign and sip coffee in a photographer from the Getty Disability Collection launched in 2018. photo courtesy: GETTY IMAGES

Fostering awareness of the unmet needs of the 1 billion people with
disabilities has become a standard practice and a way to recognize novel
outside approaches. Two companies whose effort represent the trend:

Getty Images Creative Bursary: Getty Images recognizes that the world needs more images of people with disabilities. Yet they recognize that
breaking into the commercial industry can be difficult, which is why they have created the $40K worth of grants photographers who are selected. The Getty/VerizonMedia accessible photo grants center around life with disabilities and aim to elevate photographers as they work to capture and share the visual stories of people with disabilities, according to Business Insider.  In 2018, Getty and Verizon launched The Disability Collection, a joint effort in conjunction with the National Disability Leadership Alliance to more authentically represent people with disabilities in the media.

 READ MORE

The Novartis Assistive Technology innovation Prize: The $250k prize
(which includes stage time at SXSW) launched recently identifies and
embraces technology that aims to improve mobility and daily life for people
living with MS. Applications are open worldwide to the tech community,
innovators, design experts, patient advocates, according to Novartis.  Needs
link to the competition.

READ MORE

The Most ‘Intrepid’ Disability Project Yet In NYC

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Nose of a plane atop the intrepid on a grey day in New York City.
photo courtesy: Andre Ravazzi

Senses—such as sound, touch and feel—may be the key to unlocking a better experience for people with disabilities visiting historic sites. Thanks to a $500K grant, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will partner with New York University’s Ability Project to develop sensory-based interpretive experiences for historic sites. The research from the NYU Ability Project, dedicated to the intersection of disability and tech, will be replicable by historic sites of all sizes, according to an NYU news release.  

READ MORE ABOUT THE NYU ABILITY PROJECT

How Simulating Real-time Flying with a Guide Dog Helps Passengers

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DOg at her feet, a passenger tests putting on an oxygen mask in a simulation. Everyone smiling and of course the dog is very cute.
Photo Courtesy Guide Dogs for the Blind/Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines has taken the lead in helping disabled passengers who use guide dogs to navigate air travel. For the sixth year, the airline partnered with Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) for an event in which guide dogs-in-training, their handlers and people with a range of disabilities explore and get comfortable traveling in mock airplanes, according to the Seattle PI.com READ MORE