Addressing The Needs Of Your Attendees Ashfaq (Kash) Husain Chair, R7 Conference Advisory Committee

Types of Needs Travel Accommodations Dietary Smoking Language Religious Observances Persons With Disabilities

Visible Disabilities  Mobility Assistive Devices  Amputee  Service Animal Invisible Disabilities  Vision Loss  Hearing Loss  Medical Condition (Stroke, Cardiac, Diabetic, etc)  Learning Disabilities  and many more !

What You Can Do Ask !! - How may I help you? Place this question on your website Identify someone who will address these requests Is you website accessible? W3C Standards?

Event Location Is it accessible? - Ask your Facilities Manager Take a walk around the venues and look at:  Disabled Parking Locations  Entrance – is it at grade ?  Washrooms – Are they accessible ?  Signage – Place in strategic locations  Accessible Bedrooms  Elevator with Braille or floor calling ability  TTY unit and Kit for persons with hearing loss

During The Event Space !!!  Registration Area  Meeting Rooms  Dining Facilities  Evacuation Plan Communications  Alternate Formats  ASL (American Sign Language)  Assistive Listening Devices  Real Time Captioning

General Etiquette Focus on person’s ABILITY Be Respectful Be Patient Be Observant ASK Listen Carefully Speak to the person not their partner Do not raise your voice Be yourself – it is OK not to know what to do CONSIDER THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN.

Resources Website Design:   ISO/IEC 23026; IEEE Std , First edition Software Engineering - Recommended Practice for the Internet - Web Site Engineering, Web Site Management, and Web Site Life Cycle  Facilities:  Facility Accessibility Design Standards (FADS)  Accessible Design / Universal Design Resources

Resources Americans With Disability Act (ADA)  General Information:  lityOntario  WSU - or try your own local University.  United Nations -

Universal Symbols