KosAbility is a community diary series posted at 5 PM ET every Sunday and Wednesday by volunteer diarists. This is a gathering place for people who are living with disabilities, who love someone with a disability, or who want to know more about the issues surrounding this topic. There are two parts to each diary. First, a volunteer diarist will offer their specific knowledge and insight about a topic they know intimately. Then, readers are invited to comment on what they've read and/or ask general questions about disabilities, share something they've learned, tell bad jokes, post photos, or rage about the unfairness of their situation. Our only rule is to be kind; trolls will be spayed or neutered.
I have two objectives with my KosAbility diary today. First, I’ll report on the progress to date toward making Netroots Nation more accessible to people with various disabilities. Second, I’ll list a number of suggestions that have been made in several venues regarding some steps we could take to ensure more improvement.
We Kossacks still appear to feel somewhat proprietary about Netroots Nation gatherings, even if they have grown well beyond the early Yearly Kos conventions. Part of that sense of ownership includes a belief that we ALL should have the chance to participate in this big, exciting, inspiring, and fun event.
There have been, and still are, many barriers to universal participation, however. One major barrier is cost, since it is an expensive proposition to attend: registration, travel, lodging and food really add up. For many Kossacks with disabilities, often on fixed (and low) incomes, and further constrained by out-of-pocket medical costs, the prospect of attending a NN is simply unimaginable.
Other barriers to attendance and to full participation also have existed and still do interfere with Kossacks’ enjoyment of the event. Part of what makes it so complicated to guarantee accessibility is that “disability” encompasses a number of circumstances. Mobility issues; energy & stamina limitations; perceptual impairments; medical conditions requiring special accommodations—all these (and more) ideally should be fully addressed in advance by conference planners to ensure a satisfactory experience for every convention attendee.
Although conference organizers have demonstrated support for a fully-accessible conference in principle, and progress toward greater accessibility has been made, there is more to be done. It’s important, probably even necessary, for accessibility plans to be made well in advance of the event as comprehensively as possible even without knowing exactly who will attend or what they will need. In a “if you build it, they will come” sort of way, those plans themselves are what convey the message to prospective attendees that a suitable effort will be made. No time like the present, therefore, when memories of the recent event are still fairly fresh, to make plans and set goals for next year’s event.
Let me now offer a brief recap about earlier NNs, mostly via diary links, as a sort of benchmark against which later events can be measured. While I’m at it, I’d also like to acknowledge that I’m drawing on a number of sources for this diary, some published (as in previous diaries and comment threads or links to resources for convention planners) and some not (as in the informal KosAbility caucus that occurred at NN12).
Our benchmark: NN10 in Las Vegas
KelleyRN2 wrote a diary shortly after NN10 in Las Vegas, KosAbility Special: Netroots Nation was not user-friendly, in which she raised several problems with the venue and its lack of accessibility. She and the commenters in the thread also mentioned these issues (summary taken from my pre-NN12 KosAbility diary):
Accessibility: Barrier-free rooms (bedrooms and bath/restrooms), but also clutter free meeting rooms; minimal carpet; ramps instead of stairs in every official meeting location; ASL interpreters or closed-captioning
Environmental safety: Smoke-free as the rule, not the exception; good, fresh water sources readily available throughout the facility
Convenience: Adequate travel time between events; rest areas (with food & water) for those who cannot repeatedly traverse the distance between lodgings and events
Event planning: Consult other organizations for ADA guidelines & suggestions for implementation; hire a disability coordinator for NN planning from day one; registration form to ask re special needs, with a plan for support if necessary; DKos fund for motorized wheelchairs for those who need them in this special circumstance
Cost: Keeping the event and locale affordable for people on low, fixed incomes with relentless medical and other expenses
On-site support: DKos aides for people without travel companions who might need some extra help (preferably, with advance orientation & matching)
Organizing and advocacy: phone/text tree for participants, to spread word quickly among KosAbility attendees; KosAbility caucus
Improvements Made in NN11—plus good ideas mentioned then, too
As he did this year,
Adam B asked for feedback on NN11 in Minneapolis.
Some perennial complaints were voiced again, in particular the lack of water at the conference venue, and the scarcity of power outlets. Improvement in seating was praised, but one person suggested providing some air mattresses so that people could actually lie down to rest if need be. Apparently, scooter rental was a possibility, but it wasn’t publicized in advance, and this caused some difficulties.
Several people mentioned this idea (about a volunteer corps to be recruited in advance), but this one by kyril was the most comprehensive:
1. Accessibility was improved, but could be improved more. There was at least one deaf attendee (a Kossack) who was upset at the lack of signers; another brought his own interpreter. Meanwhile, our mobility-impaired attendees had an easier time - but indie still had the shuttle debacle at the airport, and it's still very difficult to get around a convention hall in a non-powered wheelchair. He had friends getting him where he needed to go most of the time but that's really not an optimal solution; we were all happy to help, but imagine being in his shoes and wanting to do something different from what your friends were planning.
Suggestion: On the registration form, ask if attendees have hearing, vision, or mobility impairments and offer a list of available accommodations. Once you get a rough number, set up a formal system of volunteers to provide dedicated assistance to people with disabilities - perhaps you could offer a full scholarship in exchange for agreeing to a 6-hour daily shift providing a particular service (signing, wheelchair-pushing, etc), separate from the other merit-based scholarship programs. The scholarships could probably be partly funded by voluntary donations from paid attendees (just provide a box to check to add 5 or 10 dollars to your fee to fund accessibility volunteers). Having a dedicated volunteer who's being compensated for their effort would allow people with these impairments to freely choose where to go and participate more fully and easily.
Please join me after the jump for a review of the NN just past and suggestions for NNs to come.
Conditions at NN12—Best Yet
Let me begin this section by observing that despite the complications presented by incomplete accessibility, in general NN12 attendees appear to have been very pleased by the event. Our small but mighty KosAbility caucus, which met briefly on Friday afternoon, wanted to send this message to the convention organizers, in case they feel that their work is underappreciated: The conference is so wonderful, we’d like to open it up to as many people as we can.
Some progress was made in a couple of key areas, mainly regarding convention layout, food and water, but conditions were not yet perfect. The following paragraphs are drawn from information supplied by the KosAbility caucus participants and from the comment thread in Adam B’s diary requesting feedback on NN12. (By the way, some KosAbility caucus attendees did not give their explicit consent to be named as part of this group, so I will leave it up to anyone who was there to identify themselves and share their specific comments in the thread.) I hope you will excuse me for not linking specific comments to the individuals who made them in any venue.
The convention center itself was relatively compact, which is a help in itself. For those who stayed at the Westin, travel between one’s lodging and the event was minimal. (That was not the case for people who stayed elsewhere, however, which did make it difficult for some. See below for recommendations in this regard.) The convention center doors were very heavy, and that posed a problem for some people. The few gender-neutral restrooms were too far from the center of activity to be reasonably accessible.
Unfortunately, not all the off-site venues (that is, where there were official events) were wheelchair-accessible. This poses a big problem and is an important issue to remedy next year.
The NN12 registration form requested information about people’s basic food preferences and provisions were apparently made for the on-site lunches based on these preferences. However, these food arrangements did not yet go far enough, and so there are more recommendations (see below) for improvement. Water was widely available in large jugs at various stations throughout the convention center, for dispensing either into one’s own container or into a single-use cup, and this was a significant and welcome advance over NN11.
While some progress has been achieved, other problems appear to have persisted from one year to the next. To name only two examples: People have repeatedly asked for more outlets and more charging strips, which are particularly important for people needing powered devices of one sort or another. There may have been more of these at NN12 than before, but there still weren’t enough. Clear aisleways in the presentation rooms, for people using wheelchairs, scooters, or other mobility devices, were not always provided. Others will be described below, in connection with recommendations for future events.
Support for hearing-impaired people was not sufficient, and below there are several suggestions for improving those accommodations. I am also not aware of any special adaptations for visually-impaired attendees. There may have been some, perhaps on an individual basis, but this is an area needing work as well.
In the pre-NN12 KosAbility diary I posted, Kelley also provided a list of accommodations/supports that would be worth having. Here are some of the items she mentioned, now with my personal assessments in italics (which may not be accurate or complete).
I am particularly interested in/concerned about accommodations for those who are mobility impaired but still struggling to get around on their own feet. How far do they have to walk? Can they rent scooters? Are they affordable? Is there a designated area to leave them in the convention area? Yes, scooters could have been rented, but at a cost of $160.00 for three days. The cost was prohibitive to me, so I did not pursue the matter.
Are chairs available for the morbidly obese? Yes, a limited number in the lounge in the Exhibit Hall, and some more in the Westin lobby.
Can oxygen canisters be refilled nearby? How? At what cost? I did not see any such arrangements
Is there a first aid station? Manned by whom? I did not see any such station.
Have any provisions been made to deal with acute diabetic problems, of either extreme? I did not know of any.
I saw Raven's comment about restaurants "in the area". That's useful information, but only for those who can manage the distance and afford the prices. Quite frankly, I know many people who would appreciate directions to the nearest soup kitchen. Having the on-site meals helped to some extent, as long as one isn’t gluten sensitive (since most of them were sandwich wraps). There were a few inexpensive eating options nearby, though getting that information did take a little digging.
Recommendations for NN13 and beyond
As with the report on NN12 conditions, the following recommendations come from the KosAbility caucus discussion and from the comment thread in Adam B’s post-NN12 diary. One of the ideas from NN11 is brought forward as well.
Adam B’s announcement that $5.00 will be added to each registration fee specifically to defray costs of enhancing accessibility is welcome news for NN13. Clearly, that money could be quickly spent—so priorities will still have to be set, and more help than the money alone will still be needed.
Here I will list the recommendations that have emerged so far, in a rough classification. I am hoping that this list can grow from the comments in our thread today (and later). I also beg your indulgence if I have misrepresented or poorly identified any suggestion, and ask for your help in the comments to clarify or correct.
Mobility & access:
--Areas at the front of the room (and/or close to outlets) should be reserved for people using mobility aids.
--Aisleways need to be wider and better defined.
--A block of hotel rooms in the closest facility ought to be reserved for people who find it difficult to travel more than the minimum distance to the conference center. (Help for the additional cost this might entail would be good, too.)
--ALL off-site venues must be fully accessible.
--Shuttles for distant off-site locations would help.
--Scooters for on-site use ought to be available, with a fund to help defray costs for those who need them.
Perceptual impairments—hearing related:
--Headphone assists ought to be provided.
--ASL interpreters for key events (keynotes, and more) should be provided.
--Videos (and live streaming) should have closed captions.
--Seating at the front of the room should be reserved for people who need close proximity to the speakers to hear better and/or to read lips.
Dietary needs:
--All food should be LABELED so people can know what’s safe for them to eat.
--Gluten-free options for on-site lunches should be provided.
--Tea (caffeinated and not) ought to be made available at no extra charge.
--Fruit as a breakfast or snack option besides muffins, bagels, and cookies would help.
--Those who need to have a mini-refrigerator in their room for medicines of any sort should be able to get them at no extra cost (and have them cold and running upon check-in).
Other special considerations:
--People with migraines and/or people with seizure conditions can be triggered by very loud noises and bright lights (especially strobe-like lights), and there should at least be warnings of these possible triggers beforehand.
--We still need more electrical outlets/power strips.
General recommendations:
--We need a health care panel and a disability panel, as well as a set KosAbility caucus time, next NN.
--More information regarding accessibility needs should be requested on registration forms, to be passed along to a Disability Support Committee.
--We need to establish a fund to help people with extraordinary expenses. The $5.00 per registration will help, but that could be spent quickly. Extra fundraising can be done with enough time.
--A Disability Support Volunteer Corps should be created in advance, possibly with some credit toward registration for a commitment to certain tasks and blocks of time.
--We need a Disability Support Coordinator in advance, to help NN planners to improve accessibility. Delegating responsibility can help folks like Adam and Nolan, too, since they already have more than enough to do.
TheFatLadySings (who has professional experience in this capacity) has been approached about serving in such a role, and she has agreed to consider it.
The next steps to take will be to make sure that some of these steps happen soon, so that these gains can be consolidated and that we can move forward. Publicity and registration materials for NN13 are already in use, which means we’re already a little behind.
On the other hand—we have a very large group of very capable people who can each take on little parts of the project. With this, I open the floor to your comments and suggestions!