TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Museums & Attractions

5 Accessibility Ideas Totally Worth Stealing

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a blind sea otter lifts his head while swimming in water at an aquariumTravelAbility Insider recently interviewed Lynn Walsh, accessibility and inclusion manager at John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  Her tips for staff training, best practices, and cross-pollinating ideas can be used for nearly any attraction or destination. Here they are:

  1. Be honest with visitors. If you’re “working on it”—whether it’s a ramp or a website change—let people know. Otherwise, the disability community is likely to assume that accessibility is not on your radar or that you are not interested in hearing their ideas. And don’t forget to let people know the resources and accommodations you do have—that accessible restroom may not be a big deal to you, but it’s huge to those who need it!
  2. Train your staff—all of your staff. From those who interact with guests on a daily basis, to those who are writing the grants or cleaning the facility—accessibility and inclusion are a part of everyone’s job. Training will provide the knowledge and confidence needed for all staff to work within their sphere of influence to create an accessible and inclusive environment for all.
  3. See your destination or attraction through someone else’s eyes. Find local User/Experts who are willing to share their feedback and ideas. Lynn has engaged numerous people from the disability community on various projects at the aquarium to learn from their expertise. Work with those who you’re creating the experience for – don’t assume to know what people with disabilities want or need.
  4. No need to reinvent the wheel. Engage with peers – share ideas and resources. Is there an Access Network in your location? Chicago Cultural Accessibility Consortium (CCAC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower Chicago’s cultural spaces to become more accessible to visitors with disabilities. CCAC provides free professional development opportunities and other resources to cultural administrators in the Chicagoland area. Look for an Access Network in your area.
  5. Look for opportunities everywhere. Recently one of Shedd’s marine mammal trainers was inspired by Cruz, a totally blind sea lion that calls Shedd home. Cruz responds to audible and tactile cues, which made the trainer wonder if Cruz would respond to voices heard through an iPad. To our delight, Cruz does respond to the iPad cues – which means we can now take the sea lion experience on the road to those who can’t physically come to the aquarium due to illness or disability. And yes, that’s a photo of Cruz in the water at Shedd Aquarium.

 

OUR TAKE: Major museums and cultural institutions are substantially ahead of many other non-theme park attractions on accessibility as they have been conditioned to be responsive to the needs of their local disability communities and by doing so they are already prepared for tourists who are disabled.   Many, such as Shedd Aquarium, have “accessibility” or”diversity” directors, staff positions destined for future growth. Even tourism suppliers without a staff person dedicated to accessibility can deploy any or all of these practical and low-cost ideas on an ad hoc basis to level up their appeal to the disability their own disability community and tourists as well. 

Universal Orlando’s Autism Superhero Saves a Family’s Vacation

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A scene with many people along a street that is packed with shops and a fire breathing dragon at Universal Orlando studios

Vacationer Lenore Koppelman and her son were extremely excited to take a spin on the Spiderman ride at Universal Orlando. But when it temporarily broke down during their visit—Ralph did too. An Orlando resort staffer (who saw Ralph was upset) also had a not-so-typical response: She lay down on the ground next to him and began to try to comfort him, according to USA TODAY.
If you’re wondering: What are the chances that a resort staffer would feel comfortable doing this?  You will be pleasantly surprised. Part of a growing trend, Universal Orlando’s staff is Autism Certified by IBCCES. In short, that means they have been trained to solve problems and make accommodations for families traveling with a child with autism or other special needs. This type of training is a game changer for the travel industry and neuro-diverse families who want the best experience for their family on vacation. A fellow mom who saw Koppelman’s Facebook post about the day said it best when she wrote in the page comments

“Thank you for sharing. This means so much to me, a mom of an awesome autist. #UniversalStudios, Can you teach me how to train the world to accept our children like your staff does? I, too, thank you for making this child’s day special.”

OUR TAKE: There will several renowned panelists devoted to talking about the topic of making travel easier for families with children that have special needs at the upcoming TravelAbility Summit.

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Yes! America’s Top Attractions Are ‘Getting with the Program’

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a view of a orange water slide at Nicks hotel a

There are 3.5 million Americans are currently living with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the prevalence of autism in U.S. children is becoming the fastest-growing developmental disability, according to experts.

In response, many of the country’s largest family-friendly attractions are training staff to be knowledgeable and sensitive to the needs of autistic travelers. Some of the first attractions to become Autism Certified Centers include Mall of America, Nickelodeon Universal, Sesame Place, and Sea World.

If you have an autistic friend or family member, it’s likely you’ve become accustomed to making small but significant changes to your plans when you do things together. You may also be able to read the signs that a child is over-stimulated, uncomfortable or eager to do something over and again.

But many businesses aren’t there—yet. Any destination or attraction can take part in an IBCCES’s certification program, even training hundreds of staffers using their program. The result is that staff will be able to fully interact with visitors and appreciate neurodiversity. Certification is not simple—it can take weeks or months depending on the size of your staff—but it’s an undertaking whose time has come. Learn more at IBCCES.

 

 

 

 

India’s Disability Advocates Team Up For Accessible Carnival 

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Picture of a lamp and some colorful lights out of focus in Goa, India Accessible holiday specialists, along with India’s first wheelchair taxi service and DRAG (Disability Rights Association of Goa), are collaborating to improve accessibility and inclusion at Goa Carnival. READ MORE

Shakespeare actors with Down Syndrome Perform at Texas Waterpark

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In early November, the Morgan’s Wonderland—the theme park in San Antonio, Texas that is accessible to everyone—staged “Scenes, Sonnets and Soliloquies: Vol. 1,” a 30-minute production that included scenes from “Romeo and Juliet,” “As You Like It,” “The Merchant of Venice,” “Much Ado About Nothing” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” as well as a sonnet. Half of the cast were special needs individuals and half were not.

Nikki Young, who oversees the entertainment program in the park, was inspired to add Shakespeare to the park’s offerings by “Growing up Downs,” a documentary about a group of British actors with Down syndrome who staged a touring production of “Hamlet.” She decided she wanted to do something similar. There are more than 20 “ultra accessible” attractions within the park. The organization’s mission statement is: “To provide a safe, clean and beautiful environment free of physical and economic barriers that all individuals – regardless of age, special need or disability – can come to and enjoy” For more, click here.