Beyond Ramps: Making your services accessible to people with disabilities
Developed
By:
The University of
Kansas
Center for Research
on Learning
Division of Adult
Studies
©
March 2000
Funded By:
The Kansas
Department of Human Resources
University
of Kansas
Center for Research on Learning
Division of
Adult Studies
3061 Dole Center
Lawrence, KS 66045
Fax - (785)
331-3827
http://das.kucrl.org
Questions or
requests for more information can be
addressed to our
staff:
Gwen Berry
Email:
gwen@ukans.edu
Phone: (785)
331-3423
Jean Hall
Email:
jhall@ukans.edu
Phone: (785)
331-3482
Daryl Mellard
Email: dmellard@ukans.edu
Phone: (785)
331-3659
Kathy Parker
Email: kparker@kumc.edu
To request
additional copies of these materials contact:
Noelle Kurth
Email:
pixie@ukans.edu
Phone: (785)
331-3421
"Disability
is one of the fastest growing minority groups that anyone can join
at any time."
-Congressman,
Jerrold Nadler
One in every five
Americans has a disability. If this number seems high, consider that "disability"
includes hearing and visual impairments, chronic health conditions, orthopedic
problems and many other conditions. Not all people with disabilities use wheelchairs
and many disabilities are invisible. In fact, people with disabilities form
the largest minority group in the United States.
Like many minority
groups, people with disabilities encounter numerous negative attitudes. These
attitudes include pity, ignorance, stereotyping, and even fear. Thus, for them,
accessing services in their community may be fraught with emotional as well as
physical challenges. But, just as
you have tailored your services to meet the needs of diverse ethnic and
cultural groups, we hope that you will also meet the needs of people with a
variety of disabilities.
This packet will
help you become more comfortable in working with people who have disabilities,
and in making your services more accessible, welcoming, and inclusive. In part
one we address disability etiquette and human diversity. Hopefully, this section will help you
better interact with and be more knowledgeable about people with different
kinds of disabilities.
Part two of the
packet deals with legal issues and accessibility. Specifically, we provide definitions of some of the terms
from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and explain some of the
law’s requirements. We also
include brief checklists to help you make your services more accessible.
The last section
provides contact information for the Kansas centers for independent living and
for information regarding specific disabilities. The centers for independent
living are a great local resource for you to use whenever you have
disability-related questions. Keep
in mind that many of these centers have satellite offices, so even if your town
is not listed, a center may be close by.
The services that
you provide are important. We hope that this information will help you to make
your services available to the many people with disabilities in your community
who may need them.
If you have any
questions or need further information please feel free to contact any member of
our staff.
Providing access to
persons with disabilities is more than just curb cuts and ramps. The 20% of adults with disabilities
encounter access problems from a variety of barriers. The following three circle diagrams are examples of other
areas in which a person may encounter a barrier to access, accommodations, or
advocacy. The following include
sample of access issues and solutions.
Policies
Practices
Procedures
Equipment
Environment
Attitudes
Access Issues
Policies
- No animals are allowed in building
- Weekly meetings are rotated to different sites
- A driver's license is required for identification.
- "Order of Selection."
Practices
- An oral interview is required of all clients.
- Intakes, exams, and classes are done in groups.
- Videos are purchased for use with consumers.
Procedures
- Client must complete all forms.
- Classes are offered to the public
- Program approval depends upon certification from other agencies.
Equipment
- Organization has a telephone available to consumers.
- Consumers use computers.
- Standard height desks are available for completing forms.
Environment
- Reception area has a high counter.
- Clients choose their own items from shelves in the back of the room.
- Building has an audible smoke alarm.
Attitudes
- We do not serve people with disabilities because they have never requested services.
- People with disabilities could not benefit from our services because we place people in jobs.
Solutions to these Access Issues
Policies
- Allow service animals in buildings.
- Weekly meetings are held in accessible sites close to transportation routes.
- Alternate proof of identification is acceptable.
-
"Order of Selection."
Practices
- Interview questions are available in written format.
- Alternative, accessible arrangements are made for people who cannot participate in group settings.
Procedures
- Proxy or office staff members may complete forms.
- Classes and reasonable accommodations are available upon request.
- Agency follows confidentiality guidelines.
Equipment
- TDD is available for deaf consumers
- Keys can be color-coded to access given functions.
- One desk should have at least 27’ under it for wheelchair access.
Environment
- Lower counter or a portion of it to 24-26 inches high.
- Assistance is given upon request for individuals who are unable to access items.
- A smoke alarm with visual signal is also installed.
Attitudes
- Education, education, education.
The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) utilizes a three-part definition of an
individual with a disability. Thus, a person with a disability is one who has:
_ a
physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the
major life activities of the individual;
_ a
record of such an impairment; or
_ been
regarded as having such an impairment.
The
phrase "physical or mental impairment" may include such diseases
and conditions as:
_ orthopedic
_ visual
_ speech
and hearing impairments
_ cerebral
palsy
_ epilepsy
_ muscular
dystrophy
_ multiple
sclerosis
_ cancer
_ heart
disease
_ diabetes
_ mental
retardation
_ emotional
illness
_ learning
disabilities
_ HIV
disease
_ tuberculosis
_ recovery
from drug addiction or alcoholism.
Examples
of major life activities include caring for oneself, performing manual tasks,
walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working.
Learning disabilities:
"a general term manifested by significant difficulties in the
acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or
mathematical abilities, or social skills.
These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to
be due to central nervous system dysfunction, and may occur across
the life span. Problems in self-regulatory behaviors,
social perception, and social interaction may constitute a learning disability.
Although learning disabilities may occur concomitantly with
other handicapping conditions (for example, sensory impairment, mental retardation,
serious emotional disturbance) they are not the result of those conditions."
-Speak
directly rather than through a companion or sign language interpreter who
may be present.
-Offer
to shake hands when introduced. People
with limited hand use or an artificial limb can usually shake hands and offering
the left hand is an acceptable greeting.
-Always
identify yourself and others who may be with you when meeting someone with
a visual disability. When conversing
in a group, remember to identify the person to whom you are speaking. When dining with a friend who has a visual
disability, ask if you can describe what is on his or her plate.
-If
you offer assistance, wait until the offer is accepted. Then listen or ask for instructions.
-Treat
adults as adults. Address people
with disabilities by their first names only when extending that same familiarity
to all others. Never patronize
people in wheelchairs by patting them on the head or shoulder.
-Do
not lean against or hang on someone's wheelchair. Bear in mind that people with disabilities treat their chairs
as extensions of their bodies. As
do people with guide dogs and help dogs. Never distract a work animal from their job without the owners'
permission.
-Listen
attentively when talking with people who have difficult speaking and wait
for them to finish. If necessary,
ask short questions that require short answers, or a nod of the head. Never pretend to understand; instead repeat
what you have understood and allow the person to respond.
-Place
yourself at eye level when speaking with someone in a wheelchair or on crutches.
-Tap
a person who has a hearing disability on the shoulder or wave your hand to
get his or her attention. Look
directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively to establish
if the person can read your lips. If
so, try to face the light source and keep hands, cigarettes, and food away
from your mouth when speaking. If
a person is wearing a hearing aid, don't assume that they have the ability
to discriminate your speaking voice.
Never shout at a person. Just
speak in a normal tone of voice.
-Relax. Don't be embarrassed if you happen to
use common expressions such as "see you later," or "did you
hear about this?" that seems to relate to a person's disability.
*The
10 Commandments were adapted from many sources as a public service by the
United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc. (UCPA). UCPA’s version was updated by Irene M. Ward and
Associates (Columbus, OH), also as a public service and to provide the most
current language possible for its video entitled, The Tem Commandments of
Communicating with People with Disabilities.
Title III of the
ADA applies to "public accommodations," including day care centers,
retail establishments, hotels and motels, senior citizen centers, homeless
shelters, food banks, and other social service agencies. Under Title III, places of public accommodation
must ensure that they do not intentionally or unintentionally discriminate
against persons with disabilities.
Integration is
fundamental to the purposes of the ADA, and by adhering to these provisions,
agencies will meet that goal. Requirements for public accommodations include:
_ Allowing
a person with a disability to participate in a service, program or
activity.
_ Ensuring
that all programs and services are accessible to individuals with disabilities,
when viewed in their entirety.
(see Facility Accessibility Checklist).
1.
Ensuring that
communications are accessible to individuals with a range of disabilities. Access can be provided through
auxiliary aids and services such as qualified interpreters, assistive listening
devices, television captioning and decoders, Telecommunications Devices for the
Deaf (TDDs), readers, taped texts, brailled materials and large print
materials. (see Communications Checklists).
._ Making
reasonable modifications in policies, practices or procedures to avoid
discrimination on the basis of disability. For example, if a policy exists to
administer a screening or interview in a group setting and a person with a
mental health impairment has difficulty functioning in groups, then the policy
should be modified to allow a one-on-one administration for that individual.
Ensuring
the accessibility of your offices is an important step in providing effective
services to clients with disabilities.
Remember that being "accessible" means more than making your
facility usable by people who use wheelchairs. In all of the United States, less than one million people who
use wheelchairs. In contrast,
four times as many people have serious visual impairments and 24 times as
many have hearing impairments. Thus,
you must make sure that your programs are accessible to people with many different
types of disabilities. The following
checklists will help you to think about ways to do this.
If
your agency has information that is communicated visually, such as printed
materials or forms, you need to consider ways to make that information
accessible to people with visual and cognitive disabilities. Similarly, if you have information that
is usually presented aurally (i.e., must be heard) you need to consider ways to
make that information accessible to people with hearing impairments. And, finally, if you have procedures
that require a person to use oral communication (e.g., answer questions in an
interview), you must think of alternate ways that a person with a speech
impairment can respond.
In
the assessment of communications your office uses, consider communication
involved in all aspects of services, including outreach, public meetings and
hearings, and day to day activities.
Examples might include:
_ telephone
conversations
_ video
tapes
_ interviews
_ brochures
_ forms
The
Communications Checklists provide examples of alternative forms of
communication that you can use to make your services accessible to people with
a variety of disabilities. Also,
keep in mind that many of the strategies for making communications accessible,
such as simplifying forms and providing documents in larger print, will make
your communications more user friendly for all clients, not just those who have
disabilities.
For
each type of communication, check those accessible formats that your office
already has available. Be sure to
consider accessibility of all program communication, not just communication
that occurs within your office (e.g. brochures, telephone conversations). If you can provide the auxiliary aid or
service within your office, note this is in the “Provider
Information” column. For
example, if you can provide written documents on computer diskette, indicate
this. If your office does not have
a certain accessible format available at this time, investigate ways of
obtaining it so it will be available if needed and list the provider name and
contact information in the space provided.
Find
out the processing time for each provider so that you can inform an individual
how long it will take to provide a requested format. You may also want to check if your regional or state office
has standing provider contracts for obtaining any of the formats. Centers for
independent living are also good places to ask about possible
After
you have completed the checklists, inform the public (in flyers, brochures,
advertisements, etc.) that you have alternative formats available. Establish procedures for timely
response to requests for alternative formats. A person with a disability should not be forced to wait an
inordinate period of time to receive materials in an accessible format.
(column
one)
(column
two, to circle)
Yes or No
Yes
or No
Yes or No
Yes
or No
Yes or No
(column
three, to fill out, if "no")
(column
one)
written
materials
TDD
(Telecommunications Device for the Deaf)
Telephone
amplification
Real
time captioning
Assistive
listening devices
Word
processors
Others
(list)
(column
two, to circle)
Yes or No
Yes
or No
Yes or No
Yes
or No
Yes or No
(column
three, to fill out, if “no”)
This
checklist is provided for staff of community-based organizations to review the
accessibility of their facility.
The checklist is not designed to be a comprehensive evaluation tool but
rather a starting point for considering overall accessibility.
Many
building features that are common in older facilities such as narrow doors, a
step or a rounded door knob at an entrance door, or a crowded office area are
barriers to access by people with disabilities. Because removing barriers can
be simple and inexpensive in some cases and difficult and costly in others, the
regulations of the ADA provide a flexible approach to compliance. This practical approach requires that
barriers be removed in existing facilities only when it is readily achievable
to do so.
The
Facility Accessibility Checklist provides questions about accessibility for
persons with various disabilities.
For each question, check whether or not your office is compliant with
the particular feature. You may
find some features need to be addressed by your office in order to make it more
accessible.
The
costs of making your agency accessible are shared by the building owner, you,
as a tenant, and by the management company if there is one. To know where to start consider the
following priorities: 1) enabling
individuals with disabilities to enter the facility;
2) providing access to those areas where
public business is conducted; 3)
providing access to restrooms (if they are used by your clients or
customers); 4) removing any
remaining barriers.
Although
the features in the checklists are categorized by disability, any change to
improve accessibility will probably improve accessibility for all people. For example, by installing a ramp to make facilities accessible for
people who use wheelchairs, you also make it accessible for parents pushing
children in strollers and delivery persons using carts.
If
you are not able to remove barriers you must make your services available
through alternative methods if doing so is readily achievable. Examples of alternative methods include:
having clerks retrieve merchandise located on inaccessible shelves or delivering goods or services to
customers at curbside or in their homes;
meeting with clients in accessible places like restaurants, libraries, or their homes or reassigning services to an accessible location (e.g. to the ground floor or another building); and
developing policies regarding what to do in
emergency situations if individuals
in the office have sensory deficits cannot see or hear emergency warning devices.
Facility Accessibility Checklists
(column
one)
1. Are accessible parking places closest
to the accessible entrance?
2.
Do curbs on
routes of travel have curb cuts?
3.
Is a route of
travel available that does not require the use of stairs?
4.
Are the slopes
of ramps no greater than 1:12?
5.
Are all
pathways and ramp surfaces slip-resistant?
6.
Are doorways
at least 23” wide?
7.
Are pathways
through the facility and ramps at least 36” wide?
8.
Can accessible
doors be easily opened (e.g. by a person with limited strength or dexterity)?
9.
Are counter
heights/reception windows in public areas accessible to people using
wheelchairs (28”-34” high)?
10.
Are knee
spaces at work areas at least 27” high, 30” wide and 19”
deep?
11.
Is a five foot
circle available along the route of travel for a person using a wheelchair to
turn around?
12.
Do wheelchair
accessible bathroom stalls have at least a 5’x5’ area, clear of
door swing?
13.
Is the toilet
seat in the accessible stall 17-19 inches high?
14.
Are soap,
towels, faucets and hand dryers in lavatories 48” or lower?
15.
Are the public
phones no higher than 48” and have clear space to allow maneuvering?
(column two, to
circle)
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
Yes or No
(column one)
1.
Does the
office have a TDD phone device available for the deaf or hard of hearing?
2.
Do alarm
systems have flashing lights?
3.
Does staff
use the Kansas Relay System, (800) 766-3777, to get pertinent information to
persons via phone?
4.
Are
visible floor indicators in place on elevators?
5.
If
emergency intercoms are in use in elevators, are they usable without voice
communication?
(column two, to
circle)
Yes or No
Yes or No
(column one)
1.
Are obstacles
within pathways cane-detectable (located within 27” of the floor or
higher thatn 80” and protruding no more than 4” from the walls)?
2.
Is there sign
on the jamb at each floor identifying the floor in raised and Braille letters?
3.
Do posted
materials have large type and strong contrast?
4.
Are carpets
and door mats low-pile, tightly woven, and securely attached along the edges?
(column two, to
circle)
Yes or No
Yes or No
(column one)
1. Do signs (e.g. restroom signs) have pictorial as well as written information?
2. Is posted material written so people with low-reading and cognitive levels can understand?
3. Are materials available on audio tape?
(column two, to circle)
Yes or No
Yes or No
1.
Selected
task:
2. How
will this task improve your services
3. Who
needs to be involved in getting it implemented
4. Who
can help you solve any implementation problems?
5.
What could be the most significant barrier(s) to implementation?
Communities have a variety of services available through agencies and organizations. For persons seeking services or assistance, however, the search can be quite difficult. Review the areas below and identify the group that might provide the needed assistance. Can you match each space with a resource? Having a bingo is good, having a blacked-out card is best.
B I N G O
(row
one)
Off hour
transportation.
Child care for a sick child.
GED to keep job.
Groceries to tide them over until end of
week.
Help with budgeting.
(row
two)
Crisis line.
In trouble with
employer, has been put on notice.
Abusive boyfriend
is interfering with person getting to work.
Family interfering
with efforts to work.
Home repairs or
renovation.
(row
three)
Clothes for work. Recently lost several pounds and cannot afford a new
wardrobe.
Car repairs.
Substance abuse services.
Emergency child care.
Tax preparation help.
(row
four)
Would like to improve reading skills.
Work place accommodation but does not know
how to ask.
Gas money.
Utility bills break the budget.
Help advocating for a child with a
disability.
(row
five)
Person needs computer skills.
Being evicted needs help locating new
residence that is wheelchair accessible.
Car pool falls apart, no transportation to
work.
Multiple problems coordinating services is
overwhelming.
No health insurance. Earns too much to qualify for Medicaid.
(row
six)
Not getting along with boss. Needs help with
communication.
Child care.
Needs to find a job that brings in more
money or has room for advancement.
Support to stay on job.
Often ill. Needs supportive healthcare.
Centers
for Independent Living
Centers for independent living (CILs) are excellent local resources for learning more about how to tailor your services to meet the needs of people with disabilities. All centers offer four core services of information and referral, peer counseling, advocacy, independent living skills training, as well as other services designed to meet the needs of their communities. Kansas is served by the thirteen CILs listed below. We encourage you to contact your local center or call the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas at 1-800-217-4525 (voice and TDD). CIL staff can answer any questions you may have regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or people with disabilities, and they are often available to visit your office to help with accessibility.
3330 West Douglas, Suite 101
Wichita, KS
67203-5415
(800) 479-6861 Voice/TDD - (316) 942-6300
Independent Living Center of
Northeast Kansas
414 Commercial
Atchison, KS 66002
Voice/TDD - (913) 367-1830
Center for Independent Living for
Southwest Kansas
111 Grant Ave.
Garden City, KS
67846
Voice/TDD - (316) 276-1900
Independent Connection
1710 W. Schilling
Salina, KS 66401
(800) 526-9731 Voice/TDD - (785) 827-9383
Three Rivers, Inc.
408 Lincoln
Wamego, KS 66457
(800) 555-3994 Voice/TDD - (785) 456-9915
The WHOLE PERSON, Inc.
301 E. Armour Blvd., Suite 430
Kansas City, MO 64111
Voice – (816) 561-0304 TDD - (816) 531-7749
Southeast Kansas
Independent Living
1801 Parsons Plaza
Parsons, KS 67357
(800) 688-5616
Voice/Fax - (316) 421-5502
TDD - (316) 421-6551
Independence, Inc.
2001 Haskell Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66046
Voice - (785) 841-0333 or (800) 824-7277
TDD - (785) 841-1046
Topeka Independent Living Resource Center
501 Jackson, Suite 100
Topeka, KS 66603
(800) 443-2207
Voice/TDD - (785) 233-4572
Resource Center for Independent Living
915 South Main
Hutchinson, KS 67502
Voice/TDD - (316) 663-3989
Resource Center for Independent Living
1137 Laing
Osage City,
KS 66523
(800) 580-7245
Voice/TDD - (785) 528-3105
Coalition for
Independence, Inc.
4631 Orville, Suite 101
Kansas City, KS 66102
Voice/TDD - (913)
287-0999