This is an email from a fellow DHHS member in response to the accessibility issue at conventions. Read on :)
Rachel
------ Forwarded Message
From: Peter Steyger <steygerp@...>
Reply-To: <DHHS-SpeakUp@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:00:12 -0700
To: <DHHS-SpeakUp@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [DHHS-SpeakUp] Accessibility at professional conferences
Hi Rachel:
Advocacy is Key here.
A group of d and hoh members/attendees at the Association for Research
in Otolaryngology (ARO) have advocated for accessibility at their
conference over the years, and have obtained coverage that now borders
on the fabulous scale we see at AGBell conventions: full CART provision
for ALL oral presentations, ALDs in all rooms, and sign
interps/transliterators for attendees that need them for poster
sessions.
X-Hotmail-From: From my experience with this issue, the critical thing is not
acceptance of need in principle, but
1) willingness and effort of the organizers and the AAA Board/Council
to locate the $$$ required
2) organization and planning for implementaion by the meeting planners
both of these issues need time ahead of the conference to implement,
and thus advocacy needs to begin NOW for next year's conference, and to
get the AAA board and planners on board.
The effort you put into this is great experience in organizational
planning, and interaction. It also gives you great exposure and can
advance your professional career. It certainly did for me, so view this
as an opportunity to make an impact.
if you need a letter from me to AAA, I'd be happy to write one
explaining what we did at ARO.
I am aware of several audiologists who are members of DHHS and if y'all
band together, a critical mass can make this requirement become
extremely imparative and politically necessary by AAA.
best regards
peter
>>> heartie7@... <mailto:heartie7%40hotmail.com> 4/23/2007 11:16 AM >>>
Hello Everyone!
I have been MIA but read your emails occasionally. I have a question to
ask
of you guys. For those who have attended professional conventions (not
deaf/hh geared conventions like AG Bell), what has been your experience
with
getting your accommodations for the conventions? I just got back from
an
audiology convention (American Academy of Audiology) and walked out
with a
HUGE sense of disappointment in their service provision. An irony, you
think?
Rachel Berman
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