New England ADA Center. Letters ADA are cut out against three corresponding angular green quadrilateral polygon.
A project of the Institute for Human Centered Design

February 2023 Newsletter

ADA Question of the Month

Question: We are going to renovate a bathroom on the second floor of a two-story building. Does it need to comply with the ADA?

 

The answer is at the end of the newsletter.

Just for Laughs
A bare-chested man with a strong physique and no arms says, "I love it!" to the artist that just chiseled a statue of his likeness. Statue is similar to ancient Greek statues of the human form that are missing limbs.
Events

Embracing Intersectionality - A Conversation about Race and Disability

A group of people of diffrent races, genders, and abilities.

Wednesday, February 15

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar


You are invited to join a virtual event led by members of the Black Disability Community in honor of Black History Month. The panel of Black self-advocates and family members that support those with disabilities will discuss their lived experience.


Embracing Intersectionality - A Conversation about Race and Disability.

Quarterly Tea with Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD): Navigating Support Options to Resolve Disability-Related Issues

Massachusetts Office on Disability

Wednesday, February 15

1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar


When you want to resolve a problem, sometimes working out who does what and how to ask for assistance can be a hurdle. This hour-long conversation will offer real-world examples and information on: identifying goals, finding information, planning what to do, effective interactions, MOD and support. There will be 20 minutes of live questions and answers at the end. 


Register for Quarterly Tea with MOD.

Ask an ADA Professional: Parking and the ADA (Part 2)

Person in a wheelchair exits the ramp of a van in the access aisle of a van accessible parking space.

Wednesday, February 22

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar


This 1-hour session is part two of our “Parking and the ADA” program. Due to the amount of questions and participation our first session received, this second session will get straight to your questions about parking and the ADA. You can watch the archived recording from the January 11 webinar on Parking and the ADA before joining this session. Sign language interpreters and human generated real-time captioning will be available.


Register for Ask an ADA Professional: Parking and the ADA (Part 2).

Image source: file photo.

Accessible Parking and Passenger Loading Zones Webinar

Parking sign with the international symbol for accessibility placed at the exterior of a brick building.

Thursday, March 2

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar


The next webinar in the U.S. Access Board's free monthly series will address accessibility requirements for parking spaces, van spaces and accessible passenger loading zones. Presenters will also review recommendations for the design and construction of accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging stations located on both government and private facilities. 


Register for Accessible Parking and Passenger Loading Zones Webinar.

Image source: file photo.

2023 National ADA Symposium – Kansas City

2023 National ADA Symposium in white letters on a red background.

May 21 - 24

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CDT

Live In-Person Event – Kansas City, MO


Registration for the 2023 National ADA Symposium is now open. The four-day training event offers 91 sessions covering all areas of the ADA. Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt, Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) will be the keynote speaker on Monday, May 22nd. The symposium has a flexible schedule to meet attendee needs. Continuing education credits are offered for approved courses. This is an in-person event. 


Our 2023 National ADA Symposium - Virtual event will be held June 12-14; registration for that event will open later this month February.


Register for the National ADA Symposium.

Regional News

New Hampshire's Governor’s Commission on Disability (GCD) and PATH Reach Out to People with Disabilities

New Hampshire Governor's Commission on Disability

The GCD worked with the Department of Health and Human Service and the Director of the Philbrook Adult Transitional Housing (PATH). PATH is a voluntary housing program for residents recently released from inpatient psychiatric care. The residents live independently while they look for housing. GCD’s Title 1 Employment Specialist Lorrie Ripley helped include NH’s Vocational Rehabilitation into the conversation. PATH NH Director Deb Robinson was a guest presenter at the most recent Commission meeting and described the program’s goals and achievements. 


Learn more about the GCD.

The Town of Bennington Vermont Has a New More Accessible Website

The Henry Covered bridge painted red with white trim in Bennington Vermont. Photo courtesy of Flickr by Charlie Kellog.

The Town of Bennington, Vermont has a new municipal website. Before launching, the Town enlisted multiple individuals to test the website’s usability. Charlie Murphy, peer advocate, counselor and coordinator at Vermont Center for Independent Living, was one of the testers. He is also blind. The feedback helped find barriers in navigation while sharing an outsider’s view of the website design. Serious attention was given to ADA accessibility on the website.


The Town of Bennington Has a New More Accessible Website.

Image source:file photo.

Massachusetts Office on Disability’s (MOD) Client Assistance Program Offers Employment Workshops

Massachusetts Office on Disability

The MOD’s Client Assistance Program (CAP) has a free, interactive workshop series, consisting of three workshops over Zoom. The series helps employees and jobseekers with disabilities and their advocates. Topics include the decision to disclose a disability, reasonable accommodations, and disability discrimination.


MOD Client Assistance Program Offers Employment Workshops.

Mount Holyoke College Seeks Employee Relations and Accommodations Coordinator (Human Resources Generalist)

Steeple clock tower of Mt. Holyoke College sticks out from the trees and a setting sun.

The Employee Relations and Accommodations Coordinator will provide advisory services about human resources on employee matters. They will also oversee and lead employees through the reasonable accommodations process. Core job duties include helping with employee accommodations, advising employees, and strengthening relations with other departments. A reasonable accommodation is a change to the application or hiring process, to the job, to the way the job is done, or the work environment that allows a person with a disability who is qualified for the job to perform the essential functions of that job and enjoy equal employment opportunities. Mount Holyoke College strongly encourages Black, Indigenous, and People of Color candidates to apply and consider joining their team. 


Mount Holyoke College Seeks Employee Relations and Accommodations Coordinator (Human Resources Generalist).

Image source: photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College.

New Hampshire’s Governor’s Commission on Disability (GCD) Seeks an Accessibility Specialist

New Hampshire Governor's Commission on Disability

The GCD seeks a qualified person to serve as an accessibility specialist. Qualified applicants will know about building plans and standards. The accessibility specialist will handle policies and procedures to make sure programs are accessible per the ADA.


New Hampshire’s GCD Seeks an Accessibility Specialist.

National News

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Releases New Guidance on Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Seal with an eagle at the center.

The EEOC released an updated resource document: “Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.” This document explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job applicants and employees who are deaf or hard of hearing or have other hearing conditions. 


EEOC Releases New Guidance on Hearing Disabilities in the Workplace and the ADA.

President Signs Bipartisan Measure to Improve Addiction Treatment

The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. A sprawling mansion with tall pillars.

President Joe Biden signed a bill in December that includes the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. The bill will make buprenorphine more available to people seeking treatment. Buprenorphine is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for opioid use disorder (OUD). The MAT Act will help remove barriers to care for OUD.


President Signs Bipartisan Measure to Improve Addiction Treatment.

Image source: file photo.

Creating More Equitable Pathways to Good Jobs

A depection of a group of people of diffrent races, genders, and abilities seated around a conference table

The US Department of Labor published a blog post on Creating More Equitable Pathways to Good Jobs. The post discusses how there are fewer women, people with disabilities, and people of color in fields, such as construction and manufacturing. The post gives several ideas including investing in training and creating inclusive workplaces (ones that are welcoming to people of any gender, race, or identity). The post also describes programs to help make a more inclusive workforce.


Creating More Equitable Pathways to Good Jobs.

Image source: file photo.

US Settlement Signals Protections for Addiction Medicine

US Department of Justice seal

A former Tennessee correctional officer will receive $160,000 in back pay and damages. The former officer was forced to resign for taking Suboxone, a medication used to treat his opioid use disorder. This case is the first time the U.S. Department of Justice has used the ADA to settle a claim that a person with a disability was discriminated against for taking a prescribed medication to treat substance use disorder.


US Settlement Signals Protections for Addiction Medicine.

3 Well-Meaning Habits That Frustrate People with Disabilities

People of different races with apparent and nonapparent disabilities sit in a circle talking and laughing.

One way to have better interactions with people with disabilities is to be respectful. There are three common things non-disabled people say and do, with the best intentions, that can frustrate people with disabilities.

  1. Minimizing disability by saying things like, "I don't think of you as disabled."
  2. Misplaced comparison by saying, "I broke my leg once and had to use a wheelchair for three months."
  3. Aggressive assistance by insisting to help a person who is disabled.


3 Well-Meaning Habits That Frustrate People with Disabilities.

Image source: photo courtesy of Disabled and Here.

Rocky Mountain ADA Center Offers New Web Course on Accessible Parking

Several accessible parking spaces at a train station with the ramped train plaform in the background.

Accessible parking provides access to many places and is important to individuals with disabilities. State or local governments, businesses and non-profit organizations comply with the ADA when they provide accessible parking spaces. The training will focus on understanding what accessible parking is, including the different types, why they are important, and how they meet the needs of people with disabilities.


Rocky Mountain ADA Center Offers New Web Course on Accessible Parking.

Image source: image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons..

Answer to the ADA Question of the Month

Answer: Yes, alterations needs to comply with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (the Standards) and local building codes. Are you changing out a faucet? The faucet needs to be easy to use with one hand. Or are you starting with the studs? If you are removing all the fixtures, tearing down walls to the studs, the bathroom needs to fully comply with the Standards. That means you’ll need to have the right amount of space around the toilet and fixtures, clear floor spaces at things like the sink, and space next to the door to get in or out of the room. If updating only means painting the walls then the Standards would not apply. 

Show You Know!

Participate in our monthly interactive quiz feature where you answer our disability-related question.


Question: What item below is not part of an accessible parking space?


A)   A sign that marks the accessible parking space.

B)    An access aisle which is a striped area for people to enter or exit their vehicle

C)    Connected to an accessible route that leads to the nearest accessible entrance

D)   The ground surface to be stable, firm, and slip resistant.

E)    Handrails around the accessible parking space.


Email your answer to ADAinfo@IHCDesign.org by February 28.

First person to respond with the correct answer will be featured in next month’s newsletter. 


Last month’s Show You Know! answer


Thank you to Jessie Butterfield, at the Vermont Center for Independent Living for being the first person to submit the correct answer.


The question was: The ADA says public entities (state and local governments) and private entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) need to offer auxiliary aids and services to make sure that individuals with speech, hearing and vision disabilities can understand what is said or written and can communicate effectively. From the list below, choose a common auxiliary aid used for effective communication?


A)   Real-time computer-aided transcription services (The instant translation of the spoken word into English text by a person using a computer.);

B)    Open and closed captioning, including real-time captioning (Captions are when spoken words are put into written words. Open captions always are in view and cannot be turned off, whereas closed captions can be turned on and off by the viewer.);

C)    Brailled materials and displays (Braille is a system of raised dots that can be read with the fingers by people who are blind or who have low vision.);

D)   Sign language interpreting (It is when spoken words are translated into hand signals which is done in person or through video remote interpreting.);

E)    All of the above.


“E)” was the correct answer. 

Examples of common auxiliary aids and services include all the items listed. Auxiliary aids and services must be provided in accessible formats, in a timely manner, and in a way that protects the privacy and independence of the individual with a disability. To learn more read the ADA National Network’s fact sheet on Effective Communication.

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New England and Center a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design
We strive to ensure the Newsletter and the content we share is accessible. Unfortunately we have limited control of external websites. Please email us at ADAinfo@IHCDesign.org if you encounter any issues accessing the newsletter or related content.

Access New England features topics related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), originating from the ADA Center, our state affiliates, the ADA National Network, and national sources.

The New England ADA Center is a member of the ADA National Network funded by the Administration for Community Living through National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Grant  90DPAD0011.