Assessing Path of Travel for People with Disabilities Other Than and in Addition to Blindness

1. Assessing Path of Travel for People with Disabilities Other Than and in Addition to Blindness Donna SmithDirector of TrainingEaster Seals Project ACTION

2. Learner Objectives • Gain experience in assessing the path of travel for disabilities other than blindness • Hands-on experience using 3 tools for making assessments • Understand sensory and social considerations for people with autism

3. Path of Travel • The route a person must take: • From the origin of the trip to the vehicle • On the vehicle • From the vehicle to the destination • This trip in reverse

4. What is an Accessible Path of Travel? • On an individual level • The path which meets the mobility requirements for any given person • May or may not meet ADA specifications • May or may not be accessible for others

5. Path of Travel Assessment – Route and Scout • Thorough review of the trip • Identifies obstructions and potential solutions • Identifies accessible features to teach • Helps to determine complexity of trip and new skills to be learned • Always done in advance of working with the individual

6. Regulatory Language: 49 CFR Part 37: Transportation Services for Individuals with Disabilities (ADA) • § 37.43: An accessible path of travel may include walks and sidewalks, curb ramps and other interior or exterior pedestrian ramps, clear floor paths through corridors, waiting areas, concourses, and other improved areas, parking access aisles, elevators and lifts, bridges, tunnels, or other passageways between platforms, or a combination of these and other elements. 3-9

7. In Plain Terms • Sidewalks or pathways • Curbs and intersections • Platforms, lighting and detectible warning strips • Stairs, elevators or escalators • Tunnels or raised pedestrian walkways

8. Public Conveyor Systems:Special Considerations for Travel Trainers

9. Vehicle Accessibility • Includes all aspects of boarding, riding and alighting from the vehicle • Assistance from the operator is also a factor • Other passengers may play a role

10. Regulatory Language • Appendix D to Part 37 Section 37.167: On fixed route systems, the entity must announce stops. The announcement can be made personally by the vehicle operator or can be made by a recording system. • Appendix D to Part 37 Section 206.3: Fare collection areas shall be placed to minimize the distance which wheelchair users and other persons who cannot negotiate steps may have to travel.

11. Vehicle Features • External vehicle signs • Bike racks • Steps, lifts, ramps, kneeling system • Fare box • Internal vehicle signs • Alternative format signs

12. Vehicle Features (cont’d) • Stop request signals • Priority seating area • Mobility aid securement system • Public Announcement (PA) system • Level boarding, near level boarding, or lifts

13. Sensory Considerations • Lights/colors – visibility and distraction • Sound – too much or too little • Smell – too much or too little/distraction • Touch/texture – useful cues or need to avoid

14. Social Considerations • Presence of other riders and transit personnel • Attitudes of other riders and transit personnel • Potential for danger or interference • Availability of safe assistance

15. Assessment Tools • Checklist for Assessing the Accessibility of Transportation and Mobility • ISA Sensory Scan for Public Transportation • ISA Social Scan for Public Transportation

16. Assessment Process • Plan the trip • Select the tool(s) • Take the trip and make the assessment • Determine if the trip is: • Accessible and teachable • Inaccessible or too complex • Teach the trip or plan a new one

17. Discussion • How is this similar to the O&M process? • How does it differ so far? • What are we missing?

18. Sensory and Social Scans • Developed by Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D., Director of Autistic Global Initiative • Taken from the Easter Seals Inclusive Learning Project • Project ACTION Student and Schools Initiative is lead by Judy Shanley, Ph.D.

19. 3 Steps of Self-Advocacy • What is Self-Advocacy? • The three steps: • Self-Awareness • Advocacy Plan • Implementation

20. Here’s an Example

21. Step 1: What Do I Need? • Jon has autism • Sensory difficulties • Tactile sensitivity • “I like people, but being touched feels like a bad sunburn.” • Jon wants to take the subway to work. • The subway makes Jon feel anxious.

22. Step 2: How Do I Get What I Need? • Jon wants to feel less anxious. • He makes a script that he can use when the subway is crowded. • Jon practices his script with a friend. • “Would you mind letting me take that seat? If I get bumped, I feel lots of pain. It is a medical problem. Thank you.”

23. Step 2: What is Disclosure? • Jon does not feel he needs to share that he has autism in order to make a good advocacy plan. • Jon is going to make a “partial disclosure” by saying he has a medical condition. • A partial disclosure helps others understand that your needs are legitimate, but you don’t have to “tell all.”

24. Jon’s Disclosure Choices Type of Disclosure Possible Outcome “Other passengers will think I’m weird if I ask them to move without some kind of explanation.” “If I say I have autism, another passenger might misunderstand my needs, since many people don’t know that people with autism has sensory challenges.” “If I explain my sensory sensitivity as a medical condition, other passengers are more likely to understand.” • No disclosure 2. Full disclosure 3. Partial disclosure

25. Step 3: Implementation • Jon practiced his script. • Jon took the subway to work. • He used the script on the busy subway and was able to get the right kind of seat to keep himself from touching or bumping into others.

26. Disclosure and the ADA • We all have the right to access public transportation. • The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects this right for people with disabilities. • Some disabilities are easy to recognize. • Some disabilities are not easy to recognize, like Jon’s sensory problem. • If you disclose to a transportation worker that you have a disability, they must abide by ADA rules and allow you access and certain supports. • Disclosure can be a form of self-advocacy.

27. ISA Sensory Scan™

28. Social Aspects of Transportation • Navigating transit locations (transit stops, paying fares) • Interactions with transit workers • Interactions with other passengers • Verbal communication • Non-verbal communication • Social norms and expectations • Safety

29. ISA Social Scan™

30. Exercise: Sensory Systems Pre-Teaching Tool • Fill in the last column on the Sensory Systems Pre-Teaching Tool • Focus on sensory input here in the classroom • Turn to your neighbor and discuss your input • You will have 5 minutes to complete this exercise

31. Checklist for Assessing the Accessibility of Transportation and Mobility • Introduction/how to use the tool • Going to the stop/station • At the stop/station • On the vehicle • Recommendation for improving accessibility

32. Going to the Stop/Station • Sidewalks • Signage • Curb ramps and detectible warning strips • Signalization

33. At the Stop/Station • Boarding area • Seating • Signage and other information • Environment safe/clean • Crowding and possible distractions

34. On the Vehicle • Signage and announcements • Crowding and distractions • Lifts, ramps and securement equipment • Priority seating • Farebox • Operator performance and assistance

35. Additional Use of Checklist • Make recommendations to public works about: • Sidewalks • Signalization • Cleanliness and safety • Make recommendations to transit about: • Usability of bus stops • Operator performance • Equipment failure

36. Checklist Not Intended to: • Make full ADA assessment of stops/stations • Evaluate intersections • Assess for ADA compliance at any level

37. Discussion • What is on this list that you never considered before? • What would you add to this list?

38. Exercise – Prepare to Take a Trip! • Take with you: • Checklist for Assessing the Accessibility of Transportation Mobility • ISA Sensory Scan for Public Transportation • ISA Social Scan for Public Transportation • Pen/Pencil • Transit pass/fare

39. Instructions • Divide into small groups • Check to be sure you have everything you will need • Follow the directions the trainer has provided for taking a short trip on public transit • Use all 3 tools to evaluate the accessibility of your trip • Return to the classroom in 1 hour

40. Debrief • What accessible features did you find? • What was not so accessible? • Name some of the sensory inputs you noticed. • What social conditions might be pertinent to certain individuals?

41. Summary Thoughts • Your skill set as O&M instructors is well-suited to learning to train people with additional or different disabilities • Given the wide variation of physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities people who are blind experience, O&M instructors already do a lot of what we reviewed today.

42. Training Resources • Introduction to Travel Training Workshop • Fundamentals of Travel Training Administration • www.projectaction.org/training/TravelTraining.aspx

43. Discussion Forums • Global Travel Training Community • ESPA-NCST.communityzero.com/GTTC • Accessible Transportation for Students • ESPA-NCST.communityzero.com/ATS

44. Products • Competencies for the Practice of Travel Instruction and Travel Training • Travel for Students Success: The Route to Achieving Post-Secondary Student Outcomes • You Can Ride • www.projectaction.org • 800-659-6428

45. Other Resources • Association of Travel Instruction • www.travelinstruction.org

46. Thank You • Donna Smith • Director of Training • Easter Seals Project ACTION • dsmith@easterseals.com • 800-659-6428