Lack of equitable way finding information at conference on technology & persons with disabilities #csun10

Sighted visitors are provided with maps in their conference booklet that allow them to plan their routes through the exhibit hall and figure out where each booth is located. This is information that is deemed so important that It is even posted on the conference website. When you call the conference information # and ask about route planning within the building it is pointed to as the place to go to find out this information. This allows an attendee to independently plan their trip, activities and routes throughout the week of conference activities. This also allows them to do this at their time of choosing.

However, this information is not accessible to the blind and low vision participants who are planning on attending. Because the information on the conference site isn’t designed properly and because of this it isn’t meaningful for blind and low vision visitors in it’s current form; as pointed out in this blog posting: Lack of accessibility of the web site for the conference on technology & person’s with disabilities http://bit.ly/a9IMC9 . This is not because it isn’t possible, nor is it because there aren’t options to make this type of map and route information accessible, it is simply because it wasn’t done.

The conference had the ability to be a leader in this area and provide it’s blind and low vision users with a far greater level of accessibility, inclusion and independence at the upcoming conference as it relates to way finding at the conference. However, the effort to meet needs of blind and low vision visitors attendees hasn’t improved over the last 7 years; as pointed out in this blog post: Don’t forget the blind at #csun10 – http://bit.ly/chWZVT

Inclusion & independence vs dependence

There seems to be some confusion that Providing tours of the area is an appropriate equivalent to providing printed maps and way finding information on their web site. While I agree that O&M type activities are useful; they do not provide the same information as is provided to all sighted attendees. The question is, would you prefer an arranged group tour or an independent technology solution that would benefit you during the whole conference, The conference organizers obviously provide the map in so many places because they recognize that people want this information & they want to be able to take it with them.

I would understand if it wasn’t technologically feasible. If the solutions were prohibitively expensive or there was a lack of awareness of the issues and need for accessibility & inclusion. However, there are at least a half a dozen solutions to this requirement. The conference organizer’s might .benefit from touring their own exhibit hall, as at least 3 companies are showcasing just such a solution. In addition to this, one low cost, simple and extremely valuable such option is the ClickAndGo way finding technology [http://www.clickandgomaps.com/ ] as) it offers both indoor and outdoor guidance, and can be accessed freely by anyone with a note taker, laptop, pda, daisy reader or cellphone. This product was used to provide accessible wayfinding at both the last two ATIA conferences and received from attendees who used it an extremely positive feedback. An attendee simply selects a start point and end point and gets walking instructions on how to navigate the area.

It is unfortunate that some form of independent way finding option isn’t being considered (especially since there are multiple options). Someone should step up and address these important concerns.