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About 27% of adults in the U.S. have some disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s approximately one in four adults.

While mobility issues are the most common disabilities, many Americans also live with hearing, vision and cognitive disabilities. For that reason, corporate meeting and event professionals must educate themselves on the needs of people with disabilities, and the laws governing inclusion, most notably the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA].

The ADA is a federal law that protects disabled people from discrimination. It mandates that public spaces must make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities to have equal access as everyone else. This includes meetings and events, and planners are responsible for ensuring their events are available and accessible to all.

“People who have different abilities have every right to be able to enjoy the same facilities that everybody else does,” says Timothy Arnold, regional vice president with Hospitality Performance Network, HPN Global. “It’s up to us as planners to make our events as inclusive as possible.”

Defining ADA

The ADA is a federal civil rights law originally signed into law in 1990 to prohibit discrimination based on disability, similar to the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The law prohibits discrimination against disabled people in their jobs and other aspects of life and also sets forth standards for disabled persons to have fair and equal access to the same places and events.

Most important for meeting planners are the ADA’s Standards of Accessible Design, which require meetings and events to have accessible parking, venue layouts, restrooms, seating, elevators and more. Accessibility requirements even include event registration, websites, event materials and communication.

ADA compliance is required in most public events, whether they are held inside or outside. For example, for a convention held at a hotel, a meeting planner should ensure that the hotel has gone above and beyond ADA guidelines so that attendees can conveniently access all convention areas.

On that same note, outdoor venues should also be as accessible as possible for disabled people. For example, planners should ensure that the ground and paved surfaces, such as parking lots and sidewalks at an outdoor venue, are level enough for wheelchair users to move around freely.

Ensuring ADA Compliance for Events

There is more to ensuring an event that is ADA-compliant and accessible to all attendees than just providing adequate wheelchair access. Planners should make accommodations for attendees with disabilities other than mobility issues. Events should also be easily accessible for attendees with hearing, vision and cognitive disabilities.

Arnold says planners should exceed ADA compliance requirements to ensure everyone feels included. “Every hotel is going to say, ‘We’re compliant,’ but compliant doesn’t mean inclusive,” he says. “It’s just a matter of wanting to do a little bit more, wanting to make your event just a little bit more inclusive.”

Accessibility for event speakers and presenters is just as important as for attendees. This includes access to the stage, podium and microphones.

Reggie Driscoll, senior meeting professional with the State Bar of Wisconsin and president of the Wisconsin Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), says he makes sure to accommodate the needs of speakers and attendees at the events he plans.

“We look to have an alternative to a podium so that speakers can see and be seen, and we make sure that tables and microphones are set or can be set at differing heights,” he says.

Here are some crucial things for planners to consider to ensure their meetings and events are ADA-compliant and accessible:

Registration

Accessibility and inclusion start at the beginning of an event, when attendees first register. An event’s website and social media pages should be designed to be easily accessible for people of all abilities. This can mean including text along with sound so people with hearing or vision disabilities can easily access the information. Registration is a good time to get an idea of the accessibility needs of event attendees. Do they need an interpreter, are they bringing a service animal or do they have dietary restrictions?

“Asking those questions at registration is paramount,” Arnold says.

When it comes to making sure a venue is ADA-compliant, it helps to do your homework, says Naomi Tucker, strategic events consultant & coach for Planners on Purpose in Appleton, WI. “This means asking the right questions and confirming those responses so that you are able to accommodate your attendees.”

Melissa Falendysz, event program manager at BCD Meetings & Events, says she tries to capture any mobility, visual, hearing or dietary requests during registration that must be accommodated when planning the event. “This lead time helps me ensure that I, along with all the venues and vendors, can provide attendees with a very inclusive experience while at the event,” she says.

“I think communication with the individual is very important,” says Driscoll. “Never assume what may be needed. Have a discussion with the individual and go over the flow or agenda with them and let them tell you what may work better or what may not be necessary for them.”

Venue Layout

Assessing the venue layout of a meeting venue is a crucial step to ensuring accessibility for all attendees. Look at the venue’s entrances, corridors, doorways, meeting rooms and stages to ensure there are no possible obstacles. Driscoll says he communicates with the venue to make sure it offers standard accessibility as well as any special requests that attendees may have indicated during registration.

“Accessibility considerations flow through a full event, from how wide the door openings are, to the aisles of your general session, to ensuring that an attendee can get from one floor to another in an easy, safe way,” Tucker says.

When possible, Arnold recommends that planners conduct a site inspection to verify the venue offers more than just basic compliance, especially for older, historic buildings that may have been grandfathered in on ADA compliance matters. “As you’re doing more site inspections, you get used to noticing planters in the wrong place and points that may cause issues.”

“Having a relative that requires mobility assistance to get around, I always do a walkthrough with her in mind,” says Falendysz. “When in public spaces, I closely observe what obstacles she has faced that I may not have thought of at events that I’ve planned. As I walk through a venue space, I look at the proximity of elevators or chair lifts, restrooms, the distance between meeting rooms and designated parking spaces to our event area, to name a few.”

For catered events, it’s also imperative that serving trays, plates and silverware are accessible to wheelchair users at a height that isn’t too high, stresses Falendysz. “Some people naturally don’t think twice about chafing dishes and placement of plates/silverware in the buffet line. However, this can be a terrible hindrance for those who have mobility equipment,” she says. “If they’re seated in a scooter/wheelchair, it is very dangerous for them to reach up into a high chafing dish that may have hot items in it. It’s best to have low-serving dishes and allow for a clear spot on the table to be able to place their plate down when getting their food.”

Elevators

Having an accessible elevator is also essential. According to ADA, the law requires elevators to be at least 36 inches wide by 54 inches deep. They should also be easy to get to. Arnold notes that one hotel he scouted had an elevator, but it could only be accessed through the kitchen.

“It might have worked if there was one person who needed any type of access, but if there were 10 or so, it would have taken hours to get everybody through. So, it didn’t work for my group that had multiple people in wheelchairs and mobility devices,” he says.

Restrooms

Venues should have at least one restroom stall that is wheelchair accessible. For outdoor events, at least 5% of the portable toilets available must be wheelchair accessible, per ADA guidelines.

Planners should also ensure the sink, hand dryers and paper towel dispensers in restrooms are at an adequate height for wheelchair users to reach, Falendysz says.

“If the paper towel dispenser or hand dryer is too high, think about placing a stack of paper towels near the sink so it’s easy to reach,” she says.

Scheduling regular restroom breaks within an event’s agenda is worth considering. “If additional assistance or time is needed, (attendees) can then choose to use the restrooms either before or after the breaks when they are less crowded,” says Driscoll.

Signage & Printed Materials

Signage and printed materials for meetings and events should be clear, concise and easy to read for most people, including those with vision or cognitive disabilities. Tucker says optimizing signs and printed materials for people with color vision deficiency (CVD) is also helpful.

When planning events for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Driscoll says he makes sure that signs like Plenary, Breakout, Restroom and Exit are placed high so wheelchair users can still see them above all the people who may be milling around.

Seating

Seating arrangements for meetings and events should be made to accommodate people with disabilities. Theater seating is often difficult for wheelchair users to navigate, Arnold says. He prefers setting up tables in crescent rounds with seats on the ends designated for wheelchair users.

Falendysz uses table tents to easily identify spots reserved for individuals with mobility devices. “I mix these spots in with tables along wider pathways. I don’t want individuals to ever feel secluded being at their own table, just because it’s closest to the door. Making sure they feel inclusive at the event is always top of mind,” she says.

Site lines are equally important in seating arrangements, Driscoll says. He ensures that the stage at an event can be seen from all the seats and that the podium doesn’t block anyone’s view.

One factor often overlooked but noteworthy in ensuring accessibility for attendees with mobility devices is the length of the tablecloths. “If they are too long and drape on the floor, they can get caught in wheels and be a safety hazard,” Falendysz says.

Providing sign language interpreters, real-time captioning and transcripts can help attendees with hearing impairments. “There’s been much advancement with real-time captioning in the last few years,” Tucker says. “Many of the technologies and platforms that are available to us provide this as a service for events. Providing transcripts is another way for attendees to understand what is being said at a meeting or event.”

Driscoll says the State Bar of Wisconsin is lucky to have court reporters to help with real-time captioning at events. “We always send as much information or even printouts of the speeches to the captioner or interpreter ahead of time so they have an idea of what will need to be interpreted,” he says.

If a planner doesn’t have vendors for interpreters at the event location, Arnold recommends contacting the local Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) for resources. “I love a good CVB because I can’t know everything,” he says.

Service Animals

Some people with disabilities have a service animal to help them navigate or provide emotional support, so planners should ensure that the necessary accommodations are made for the animals. This includes communicating with the venue that there will be service animals present and arranging for pet release stations at the event, Arnold says.

Ultimately, ADA compliance for meetings and events isn’t just the law, it’s good business, Arnold says. “It’s the right thing to do, but there’s also a huge business case for bringing more people to your meetings and events and not being discriminatory in any way,” he says. C&IT