In late June, the 15th National ADA Symposium was held in Denver, Colorado. Five hundred eighty three attendees participated in 50 different presentations on a wide range of topics dealing with all aspects of inclusion for persons with disabilities. Forty-eight states and several countries (i.e., Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Canada, and Japan) were represented. Participants included persons with mobility impairments, hearing impairments, vision impairments and cognitive disabilities as well as some people that are temporary able-bodied. Issues included those of interest for ADA Coordinators, enforcement officials, architects/designers, lawyers, advocates, communities, employers and service providers. International Code Council’s (ICC) Senior Staff Architects, Kim Paarlberg and Jay Woodward, offered five presentations at the four day event.
The 2010 National ADA Symposium was hosted by the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC). The DBTACs are 10 regional centers that provide technical assistance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each DBTAC covers several states, providing ADA information, interpretation and training. The DBTACs are funded through a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). These 10 centers are great resources and can be reached through 1-800-949-4232 or www.adata.org.
Jim deJong, Director of the Great Plains DBTAC, shared comments from some of the participants, e.g., “The symposium included such a variety of participants that attendance helped me get a new view of concerns. Being able to discuss accessibility with designers, enforcers and advocates provided a variety of viewpoints that I do not get when I attend meetings with just persons in my specific area of expertise or with my specific disability.”
Speakers for the symposium included representatives from the U.S. Access Board, FEMA, Department of Justice, Department of Education, U.S. Forest Service, DBTACs, ICC, etc. While attendees could attend any session, there were recommended tracks for ADA Coordinators; building design and code compliance for accessibility; the laws and regulations; community issues; employment issue; and recreation facilities. Minimum requirements, as well as good design practices were discussed. For a few examples: Jay Woodward and Kim Paarlberg gave a presentation that talked about the ideas of green and sustainability building issues and how that works with accessibility requirements and the concepts of universal design. Emergency evacuation concerns were addressed – both specific to buildings through a presentation by Kim Paarlberg regarding fire and lockdown emergencies and another by Marcia Roth, of FEMA, regarding issues during regional disasters such as floods, storms or earthquakes.
New requirements were covered – Jay Woodward spoke about the revisions to the 2009 ICC A117.1; Bill Botten, Access Board covered recreational facilities; and Dave Yanchulis, Access Board addressed the 2004 ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines. Some great news shared at the symposium was a strong possibility of the 2004 ADA/ABA coming out of the Office of Management and Budget in time for the 20th Anniversary of the ADA in July. This could lead to adoption of the ADA/ABA Guidelines by the Department of Justice by the fall of 2010! Marsha Mazz, Access Board, and Kim Paarlberg gave a joint presentation on the coordination efforts between the Access Board and ICC regarding the accessibility requirements in the IBC, ICC A117.1 and ADA/ABA Guidelines. These are just a few examples of the many options offered.
ICC (and especially Jay and Kim) would like to thank Richard Sternadori from the Great Plains DBTAC for suggesting and supporting ICC’s involvement in a symposium about the ADA. ICC has been involved in the last five symposiums, thanks to Rich and the support of his director, Jim deJong. Rich was a code official in Missouri and Kansas before becoming the Nebraska coordinator for the Great Plains DBTAC. His experience allowed him to embrace the idea that the code official can have a positive influence on accessibility. By enforcement of the building codes during plan review and inspection, the code official can assist the designer with early compliance with accessibility issues. Catching problems during these building phases is much more cost effective for the building owner than later retrofits or corrections. In addition, the benefit for the community is that the buildings are constructed accessible, thus providing access for everyone to places to work, live and play.
Jana Burke, Director of the Rocky Mountain DBTAC, said “We were thrilled to be able to help host the ADA symposium in Denver. We are really looking forward to participating again next year.” For information on next year’s symposium watch www.adasymposium.org.