New England ADA Center
December 2019 Newsletter

ADA Question of the Month - Do You Know the Answer?
Question : I attended a recent town meeting and I couldn't hear a thing. Prior to the meeting I asked for an assistive listening device, but I received no response from the town administrator. Shouldn't they provide the listening device? 
The answer is at the end of the newsletter.
Lincoln, Rhode Island Gym Cited After ADA Complaints
Maxx fitness Clubzz After receiving a complaint on several accessibility issues, a coordinator of the Governor's Commission on Disabilities, visited the gym and wrote up a report in July, which gave Maxx Fitness 30 days to say how they would develop a plan to make the gym more accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Image source: photo courtesy of Maxx Fitness Clubzz.
New Tip Sheet: Addressing Misunderstandings About Mental Health in the Media
mental health
Stories in several media outlets sometimes use incorrect or offensive statements to describe mental health conditions. A new tip sheet has been developed to clear up some common misunderstandings about mental health conditions. The tip sheet provides strategies to talk about mental health in a more accurate and helpful way.

Image source: image courtesy of Medium.com.
Vermont Tech Company Expands Business to Help Clients be More Accessible to Their Customers
Accessible Web
The new company, Accessible Web, offers solutions to help businesses develop accessible websites and/or upgrade their current company website to make them more digitally accessible to people with disabilities.

 Image source: image courtesy of Accessible WEB.
Rhode Island: Wheelchairs Can't Get Into Playground Built to be Accessible
Bob Cooper and Walter Buteau
A six-figure state grant was given to the town to build an accessible playground, but now there are issues stopping wheelchairs from even getting through the front gate. Rhode Island Governor's Commission on Disabilities Executive Secretary, Bob Cooper demonstrated the problem, rolling backward on the slanted path as he pulled the gate toward his wheelchair.

Watch here or read the story.
Bob Cooper and Walter Buteau. Image source: courtesy of WPRI 12.
New Research Results Identify Challenges to Implementing the ADA Survey for Cities and Towns in New England
Logos of the New England ADA Center and a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design
Did you know that only 7.5% of municipalities in the New England region are in full compliance (administrative requirements and services, programs and activities) with the ADA? The New England ADA Center published the results of our research study about the challenges that municipalities face in implementing the ADA.

New Repertory Theatre Offers Multiple Accommodations for People with Disabilities in Boston, Massachusetts
New Rep Theater
The theatre is striving to provide accommodations that will ensure an equitable experience for people with disabilities. Braille programs, assistive listening devices, and open captioning (available during select performances) are a few of the auxiliary aids and services provided by the theatre. 

National News
Participate: Exploring Timeliness of Cancer Diagnosis in Persons with Physical Disability
cancer cells
Researchers from the Health Policy Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital are interested in looking at health care experiences of people who have difficulties with movement or have a mobility disability and who later in life develop cancer. 

Click here to learn more.
Image source: image courtesy of Partners Healthcare.
University of Michigan Art Professor Leads Creation of Interactive Game for Kids With and Without Disabilities
iGYM The goal of iGYM, an augmented reality game system is to create a truly inclusive environment for children to play and exercise together. The kids found the game fun and competitive regardless of their level of mobility, and those with mobility disabilities liked that it could be played without additional equipment. 

Image source: photo courtesy of Michigan New, University of Michigan.
david harbour In "Stranger Things," Harbour plays the police chief in the fictional town of Hawkins. Acting allowed Harbour to channel his neurosis into a skeptical police chief of a sleepy town besieged by supernatural events.

Listen here or read the transcript.
Image source: photo courtesy of Yahoo.com
Robert Murafsky and Monsoon As the number of emotional support animals aboard airliners proliferates, a veteran's service dog sometimes gets a bad reputation. The airline industry has found an ally among the nation's war wounded. Some veterans and service dog organizations say the overuse of untrained emotional support companions has made it difficult for veterans to get acceptance for their properly trained service animals on airplanes and beyond.

Robert Murafsky and service animal, Monsoon. Image source: photo courtesy of the New York Times by Emma Howells.
Deafscape Universal design isn't just for interiors. Alexa Vaughn, a deaf landscape architect, is advocating for universal streets too. Vaugh pioneered her concept, called "DeafScape," to help make streets more accessible for deaf people. She consulted the American Society of Landscape Architects for their universal design guidelines. 

Image source: photo courtesy of ELLE Decor.
ADA Title II Action Guide for State and Local Governments - 7 Steps to Implement the ADA Graphic
State and local governments (public entities) have obligations under Title II of the ADA to provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all services, programs and activities. The ADA Action Guide leads public entities through a process to compliance with the ADA.

Answer to the ADA Question of the Month

Answer: Many people with disabilities are prevented from participating fully in programs, activities and services because of communication difficulties. To address these barriers, the ADA requires that communication with people with disabilities must be "as effective" as communication with others. This may require public entities to provide "auxiliary aids and services," which would include assistive listening devices. To learn more about a municipalities' obligation to effective communication visit the ADA Title II Action Guide.
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New England ADA Center, a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design

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 # 90DP0087.