Around the
Water Cooler
.JPG)
A User Perspective on Attending ConferencesJennifer Lowe
Executive Director, SHOUT
(Jennifer earned her Bachelors’ degree in the Liberal Arts with concentrations in writing and special education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Jennifer works for Pittsburgh PaTTAN as an Assistive Technology Specialist. Also, Jennifer has been the Executive Director of SHOUT for seven years and is a member of the board of AAC Institute. She is delighted to be involved with these important organizations.)
I’ve been privileged to attend conferences around the world such as Sweden, Germany, Singapore, & Canada. Like any conference attendee and tourist, I’ve had both good and bad experiences with my social events, the actual conference content, and hotel accommodations. I decided to accept this invitation to contribute a column to talk about conference participation from the perspective of a user of AAC. Perhaps, future conference planning may take into consideration some of the hardships experienced by attendees who use AAC. After all, I believe conference organizers have a goal to increase “conference going” by the end-users and families of assistive technology.
Despite trying to convince users of AAC and families to attend conferences, the majority of the conferences I have attended were geared towards attendees who were “talking” professionals. Therefore, the after hour events were planned for them with limited sensitivity to the needs of individuals with disabilities. As a user at these events, I was exasperated by the planning and lack of accommodations at many (but not all) venues. From my perspective in a wheelchair with a mounted AAC device, I had to wonder whether they considered that there would be people who relied on AAC devices attending at all. Also, did anyone think we might wish to participate in conversations – not only with our attendants or family, but other conference attendees?
I would like to share some experiences I had at some recent international conferences in terms of social events and accommodates. I hope you see the humor in the situation, since the goal of AAC is the most effective communication possible.
Social Events:
The initial after hour events are frequently a get acquainted type reception with wine and light snacks. Attempting to talk with other attendees is virtually impossible for me! Admittedly, I resort to smiling and nodding my head to people. I feel that this makes networking counterproductive for me. While these events have good intentions, they aren’t very effective for augmentative communicators. During a dinner at a recent conference talking with my communication device because of loud music was exasperating. Unfortunately, this occurred at virtually every social function at the conference. Although the social events that I attended were entertaining, they just did not facilitate communication.
Hotels:
At one conference I attended this year my hotel was across the street from the Convention Centre. The frustrating part about this hotel was the accommodations weren’t very accommodating. What were they thinking? At first, I had a disabled room which was utterly ridiculous! I could hardly negotiate around the room, in my chair! My poor attendant had to sleep on a roll away bed. It was so uncomfortable for her! There was nothing that would assist me in the shower either! This shouldn’t be the norm. At another conference there was a chair, similar to a little lawn type, which I sat on while I was showering. In Singapore, the bathroom was spacious with a platform which I sat on when I showered. The bathroom was big enough for my chair as well which helped my attendant when she had to transfer me.The room also had two beds and was easy to negotiate. In Germany, the hotel room that I stayed in had two beds, too and I could function with my chair. Not having the accommodations I need creates physical problems and discomfort that shouldn’t be interpreted as expecting luxury. Fortunately, in Canada, my attendant and I were able to get another room; a non-disabled one. The irony is that the non-disabled room was so much bigger! I never could understand why a disabled room would have only one bed! I don’t want to sleep with my attendant and I know she shared that feeling.
The theme of the 3rd International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology in Singapore in 2009 is “accessible tourism.” From my experience, I found Singaporean hospitality gracious and sensitive to my needs as a person with a disability. I wonder what strategies and tips for the rest of world the conference program will have to improve not only accessible tourism, but accessible conference attendance. Perhaps other conference organizers can learn something that will make attending AAC conferences easier and more manageable for individuals who rely on AAC. I encourage looking more closely at the issue.
As Executive Director of SHOUT, I must end by holding up the Pittsburgh Employment Conference (PEC) as an example of a conference trying to make a difference in creating an inclusive venue. PEC organizers have worked for almost twenty years with the same hotel to increase awareness about the needs of conference attendees with disabilities. This was not an easy task, but paramount to the long-term growth and reputation of the conference. For growth, conference venues don’t just need to have facilities for 3 or 4 attendees with disabilities, but 50, 60, and in PEC’s situation up to 100 and more. I know SHOUT members have a wealth of knowledge about overcoming the hurdles in making a conference work for a large number of individuals in wheelchairs with attendants. We’d be happy to provide advice to others accepting the challenge of planning an “accessible conference.” Accessible conferences are an important issue for readers of this column, because people in positions of power network at conferences and make decisions about how resources and services are allocated that will impact our lives as users of AAC. We can’t afford to be left out of these venues, because of poor accessibility and environmental considerations that limit our ability to engage in conversations. We can help make the change and find solutions to get our voices included and heard at more conferences around the world.
Your feedback is always valued. AACConsumerNet@aacinstitute.org.
