More than 1 in 4 U.S. adults have some type of disability. Even if a travel space meets ADA requirements, it isn’t always accessible to everyone. There are some simple things we can all do to accommodate travelers with disabilities.
“Travelers with Disabilities” is a 10-part series highlighting the experiences of travelers with disabilities. It’s part of our ongoing mission to shine a light on underrepresented communities in travel. If you’d like to contribute to our future reporting and share your own experience as a source, please fill out this short form.
Linda Williams doesn’t make dinner reservations like most of us do.
She starts by asking others about their accessibility needs: As a clinical psychologist and founder and CEO of the Invisible Disability Project, she knows that more than 1 in 4 U.S. adults have some kind of disability, whether it’s obvious to others or not.
“There may be something in my friend group that I don’t see,” she says, “and they may not feel comfortable speaking up unless I invite them.”
She is visually impaired herself and knows what it’s like to feel left out.
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There are countless small things we can all do to accommodate people with disabilities. Over the past few months, USA TODAY has been exploring some of the unique, yet common, challenges travelers with disabilities face. Here are seven things USA TODAY readers and contributors with disabilities want other travelers to know.
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1. Don’t stare, but don’t ignore them either.
“My mother always said, ‘Don’t stare at me, ask me why I’m in a wheelchair and I’ll teach you about my disability,'” said Marta Rivera, who, like her late mother, has multiple sclerosis.
Rivera’s children hated it when people stared at their grandmother, but being ignored can also hurt.
“If you see someone trying to get into a building, it doesn’t cost you anything to open the door for them,” Rivera said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to get my mom’s wheelchair through the door only to have it slammed in my face. It’s really humiliating.”
2. Acknowledge and include people with disabilities
“I know the world isn’t made for us, but the fact that you’re willing to acknowledge that and try to make it a little easier says a lot,” said Bethany Hildebrandt, whose daughter, Kaylee, has complex medical conditions including cerebral palsy and is considered non-verbal because only her family can understand her.
Hildebrandt said the ADA guidelines are a minimum standard for hotels and other travel companies, and she wants people with disabilities to be included in the discussion when designing inclusive spaces and experiences.
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Deborah Dopkin, a double amputee, says she could write a book about bathroom accessibility.
“Roll-in showers where the shower controls are inaccessible from the shower bench are a common issue, as are towel racks and robe hooks that are inaccessible,” Dopkin says. “Most hotel bathrooms in ADA rooms have wheelchair-accessible sinks, but the mirrors are hung high on the wall, making them inaccessible from a wheelchair.”
Closet bars are often out of reach, and mattresses are “too high off the ground to make transferring from a wheelchair to a bed unsafe,” she said — assuming she can even get into the room in the first place.
“The simple act of opening a door to a room (which is often heavy and spring-loaded) and entering the room in a wheelchair would be ludicrous if it weren’t nearly impossible to do independently,” Dobkin said. “The same is true in public restrooms.”
“Communicate with the people who are actually experiencing it,” Hildebrandt suggested to those designing these spaces, “consult with them as you’re making choices and decisions about what this looks like in real time.”
3. Know that COVID complicates everything
While many countries are easing COVID-19 restrictions for travelers, we’ve learned throughout the pandemic that things can change quickly, and travelers with disabilities who need careful planning may not be able to pivot at the last minute.
“I had to cancel a trip to Vienna in November because Vienna closed its borders the day before I was scheduled to leave,” said Judy Tudor, a FORA travel advisor who is paraplegic. “I wondered what would happen if I was already on a flight when this change happened and then arrived in Vienna only to be told I couldn’t enter the country. This is an inconvenience for any traveler, but for travellers with disabilities who require special accommodations or arrangements, their options for making changes are severely limited.”
Pandemic-related staff shortages could also make travel difficult.
“Many travelers with disabilities often call hotels, restaurants and attractions in advance to ask about accessibility and share specific requests for their visit,” says Tudor, who believes such personalized service is not widely available and that new staff are unfamiliar with accessibility issues.
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4. Disability-centered
“Think, ‘Okay, where in my environment might someone with different physical needs encounter a barrier that prevents them from fully accessing the space?'” said Williams of the Invisible Disability Project.
She acknowledged the challenges of doing so, especially with invisible disabilities.
“If I’m an able-bodied person who can see, hear, smell, and walk, how on earth can I imagine this?” she asks. “Indeed, it’s only by centering the idea that bodily diversity exists that I can imagine this.”
5. Don’t be overconfident
“You should never make assumptions about someone’s capabilities, especially when it comes to carrying luggage, walking long distances or using stairs,” says Amy Gaeta, a PhD student and disability rights activist. “This includes people with mental illnesses or learning disabilities, whether they appear to have a disability or not.”
Gaeta has nerve damage in one of his legs and suffers from a number of invisible disabilities, including anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“If you’re traveling with a person with a disability, ask what you can do to be a better travel partner,” she said. “If your disabled companion agrees, let the travel agent know that there is a disabled person on board and ask what options are available to make the trip more accessible and comfortable for the disabled person.”
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When Craig Harms travels, he wears a “Deaf” sticker on his shirt to let others know he has a hearing loss.
“It’s convenient when going through TSA and boarding the plane, and airport staff seem to be much more accommodating when they find out I’m deaf, instead of judging me to be stubborn or acting suspiciously,” he said.
“Please be patient with us,” he added. “If misunderstandings arise, please resolve the issues instead of taking the easy way out and ignoring us. And please don’t consider us rude if you try to talk to us and we ignore you. What has been taken away from us is the ability to communicate effectively.”
6. Don’t forget people with disabilities
“Using a walking stick helps others know you’re visually impaired, but the downside to using one while you’re out and about is that it makes you wait,” says Maxine Freedom Starr, R.D., a health assurance counselor at the Center for Disability Independence in New York City. “We often see people with disabilities being able to skip the queue and do a lot of things first, but I’ve also found myself having to wait for help when most of the time I don’t need it.”
She said many places, such as airports and tourist sites, view blind people as disabled.
“I am not allowed to walk freely or assist myself even though I am physically healthy and have the ability to do so,” she says. “Something I try very hard to avoid is asking for assistance when going out because, as a blind person, it’s often the case that ‘if you can’t see, you forget’. I’ve been left in empty rooms, pushed into corners, missed half the events I was attending, missed meals, and been completely forgotten about.”
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7. See the best in others
“Just be kind and assume that the other person is trying their best,” says Shannon Rosa, senior editor of Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, whose son, Leo, has autism and whose two other children have neurodevelopmental disorders.
“Even if we look different, even if we act different, we have the same right to be in public as anyone else,” she said. “So don’t be mean.”
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Rosa points out that things that are no big deal to others, like making eye contact or getting used to flickering fluorescent lights, can be difficult for people with autism.
“If we’re focused on the happiness and wellbeing of kids with disabilities, even if it’s not obvious to others, I think it’s really important to be as considerate as we can and not shame kids who need support when they’re going through a difficult time,” she said. “They don’t need to be shamed.”
Contributor: Bailey Schultz, USA TODAY
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