TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

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The Key To Making (Almost) Any Public Space More Accessible

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two seniors walk along a leafy park trail Thanks to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), there is now a Best Practices guide for inclusive streets, parks, playgrounds and more, according to Curbed.com. The guide was written based on Universal Design Principles (universal design is another way of saying design created with truly everyone in mind.) Instead of building spaces that cater to specific disabilities or meet quantifiable requirements, the ASLA recommends broadening the definition of accessible design to the point where a spaces account for all possible use cases. And it’s not always as complicated as it sounds, according to this piece by writer Lisa Stinson.

Our Take: Although the concept of universal design has been around for a long time in certain sectors, it is becoming more common to see this type of thinking used to create buildings and public spaces that are accessible to everyone. Designing for everyone—particularly early on in product development—makes for a smoother (less costly) process and ultimately, a superior product, say experts. 

Handicap Accessible vs. Wheelchair Accessible: Do You Know the Difference?

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Entire family with Dad in front sitting in wheelchair

All accessibility is not equal, although there is some crossover, according to an informative post on thrivingwithparalysis.com. The author clarifies the differences according to her personal experience as a caregiver. This piece covers all the details from ‘the dreaded aisle seat, the perfect table for a wheelchair user and more.  

OUR TAKE: There’s no better expert than a traveler with a disability or their caregiver. This blog, with all of its details, couldn’t possibly be written with such detailed and trustworthy advice had in not been done by a caregiver whose got a lot of real-life knowledge to share. Destinations, attractions, and hotels would be wise to take caregiver through a tour of a place and do some on the spot usability testing.  It’s the little things that can make a huge difference in a traveler’s experience.

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Mom Worried Her Son Would Bother His Seatmate on the Plane. But Instead…They Became Buddies

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If you saw the two seatmates cracking jokes and having fun on the direct flight from Las Vegas to PDX, you might have assumed that they were father and son. But this wasn’t the usual son-tells-father-to-stop-making-Dad-jokes banter. They were strangers: One, a 7-year-old autistic boy traveling on a short flight without his mom and the other, a passenger who happened to take the seat next to him. Because mom was a bundle of nerves, she decided to write a note of introduction for whoever might sit next to her son, shown here. The ride turned out to be a shining moment for both of them, each enjoying the trip and getting to know each other. The video has since gone viral. SEE MORE, here.   

OUR TAKE: If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. In the travel industry, which is all about new life experiences and connections, the story of the two seatmates couldn’t be a more appropriate example of that. Landon is definitely one of a kind! Find information on travel providers who specialize in working with people with autism, here. 

Why 285 Million People Worldwide Can’t Navigate Your Hotel or Airport

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The very existence of a tool that can map public indoor spaces is a big deal for travelers who are blind or have low vision, especially in cities and towns struggling with budget cuts, according to a recent piece in WIRED. The author interviewed the Louisville, Kentucky CEO who created the mapping tool who said, “It’s really wonderful to hear people say, ‘I can walk through malls or walk through venues without this sense of hopelessness or of missing information’.”  Find out more about Access Explorer here. (Access Explorer is available for Android phones and is available as an iTunes app.) READ MORE 

OUR TAKE: New research shows that national study that shows cases of blindness will double in the United States by 2050—and that doesn’t include the 16 million Americans expected to have difficulty seeing. A researcher at the National Institutes of Health is quoted as saying, “These findings are an important forewarning of the magnitude of vision loss to come.” One great resource for collateral is BrailleWorks.com, which helps to create menus, maps and other materials for the millions who can’t read documents because of visual impairment or blindness; they also do audio.

 

photo courtesy Access Explorer 

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