Improving Travel Patterns in a Cafeteria Setting

1. Improving Travel Patterns in a Cafeteria Setting

2. Illinois School for the Visually Impaired The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI) is located on an 18-acre campus in Jacksonville, IL. The role of ISVI is to provide students who are blind and visually impaired (VI) a free, comprehensive educational program commensurate with individual needs and abilities. The school provides students with instruction in the same course work required of all school-aged children in Illinois. Additionally, ISVI offers a comprehensive curriculum that emphasizes expanded core-curriculum areas of instruction including: vocational skills, Braille, daily living skills, orientation and mobility training, assistive technology, adaptive physical education, home economics and industrial arts. ISVI offers a broad array of social and recreational activities to all students through the residential living programs during evenings and weekends. This combination of educational, expanded core, and social programming is designed to prepare students for successful living as independent, self-supporting citizens.

3. What was the issue? Students were not traveling efficiently or independently in the dining hall.

4. Background:Meals are served cafeteria style. Students carry a tray from the serving line through a door into a large dining room. The dining hall is designed with high ceilings and tile floors causing sounds to resonate creating auditory clutter. • Students sometimes wander far off the path of travel. • When students veer off the path they sometimes bump their tray into the back, neck, or head of peers who are seated. • Many students – even some who are independent travelers in other settings -- need assistance finding a particular table or other location ( for example, the salad bar). • Students have trouble from the serving line to a seat, from the seat to the salad bar, and from the seat to the sink where they return trays after meals.

5. What did we do? • Investigate and collect data: ISVI staff reviewed • research asking such questions as: • Is a serving line approach acceptable or necessary? • This format is commonly used on college campuses, hospitals and other businesses, and some restaurants. • Has there been any literature published on this or a similar topic? • No literature addresses this specific issue in a research format • The skill of navigating a serving line is listed on O&M evaluation checklists (Joffee & Rikhye, 1991; Loumiet & Levack, 1993; Willoughby & Monthei, 1998).

6. ISVI staff contacted other state schools for the blind to inquire about the layout and function of dining halls in similar settings. Both Dietary and O&M staff at residential schools in four other states were contacted . • Staff at all four schools described similar problems in their cafeterias. • Staff at all four schools contacted expressed an interest in improving independent travel in the cafeterias.

7. Baseline Data ISVI staff observed during breakfast and lunch periods and collected baseline data on the frequency of instances of students bumping into others while traveling from the serving line to a seat and from the seat to the tray return. Observations revealed two main problem areas: students were bumping into others while locating a seat, and congestion at the narrow tray return station led to many accidental contacts between students each meal time.

8. Dining Hall Arrangement Prior to Intervention • No unobstructed straight lines of travel • Table arrangement random • Salad bar difficult to locate tactually • Tray return area easy to locate auditorily but not tactually • No indicators of ends of tables, location of rows between tables

10. How did we proceed? Collaboration:A core team led this project seeking input from over sixty people including students and staff. Collaboration:Staff from five separate departments actively engaged with recommendations and discussions. Collaboration:An interested and supportive administrative team approved plans and necessary spending.

11. What Next? After analyzing baseline data, reviewing literature, consulting with other schools for the blind, and considering input from staff on site, the team revised the layout of the dining hall with the following changes:

12. Rugs were strategically placed to provide tactile cues. • Rugs indicate straight line of direction out of the serving area into the dining area. • Rugs indicate beginning and end of tables. • Rugs indicate location of aisles between tables. • Rugs lead to key landmarks: tray return rack, salad bar, aisles

13. Other Changes • Slotted tray return racks were incorporated. • These reduced congestion at the tray return sink. • Racks are similar to those used at colleges and hospitals • Organized arrangement of furniture: • Tables are placed end to end in sets of two in uniform rows. • No furniture was placed in natural paths of travel such as entrance and exit routes. • Elementary students lunch schedule changed 5 minutes earlier to reduce congestion in the serving line area.

14. Dining Hall Arrangement After Intervention

15. Comparison of Pre- and Post-Intervention Data

16. References Joffee, E. & Rikhye, C. H. (1991). Orientation and mobility for students with severe visual and multiple impairments: A new perspective. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 85, 137-142. Loumiet R. & Levack, N. (1993). Independent living: A curriculum with adaptations for students with visual impairments (2nd ed. Vols. 1-3). Austin, TX: Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Willoughby, D.M., & Monthei, S. L. (1998). Modular instruction for independent travel for students who are blind or visually impaired: Preschool through high school. Baltimore, MD: National Federation for the Blind.