Month: May 2013


May
2013

Accessible Museum & Sporting Venues in Boston

categories: Accessibility, Arts & Fun

Boston-SkylineThere are wonderful museums & sporting events in Boston for those of all ages and abilities to experience.

The following are links and contact information to plan your outing. Be sure to call numbers listed beforehand to address your individual access needs.

Museum Venues

Museum of Science
Everyone can participate at the MOS equally in the excitement of science and technology learning.

Accessible Museum Offerings
This very handy tool  displays many cool accessible offerings at the MOS! Use the filters on this link to display museum offerings that meet your individual access needs.

Contact Nora Nagle, Museum Accessibility Coordinator with any questions or concerns regarding visitors with special needs at 617-589-3102.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

MFA‘s Access Programs

  • Access to Art Program
    Interactive tours designed for groups with physical and cognitive disabilities, dementia, or those undergoing medical treatment. Also offers individual tours with care partners for those with Alzheimer’s and those undergoing cancer treatment.
  • Beyond the Spectrum – Adventures in Art for Children with Autism
    Special program designed for children ages 8-12 on the autism spectrum, including Asperger’s syndrome, accompanied by parent or caregiver. Program meets the 1st Saturday of each month from 10:30am – 12pm. Call 617-369-3303 for further information.
  • Feeling For Form – Blind and Low Vision Visitors
    Intro Series is available on the first Sunday of most months at 10:30 am.
    Pre-registration is required for all tours.
  • Hand’s Reach to Art
    Throughout the year, a selection of gallery tours, performances, and demonstrations are presented in American Sign Language (ASL) or are sign-language interpreted. On the second Wednesday of each month there is a tour in ASL at 6 pm.

For general access information, call 617-267-9300.
For MFA‘s Access Program Tours, contact Hannah Goodwin at 617-369 or Valarie Burrows at 617-369-3302.

Boston Children’s Museum

  •  Offers information on ASL programs, assistive listening devices, quiet spaces and times. The Exhibit Accessibility Guide uses icons as a guide to navigate the museum based on child’s learning style.
  • The Morningstar Access Program offers children with special needs the opportunity to visit the museum at a time when guests are limited to 100.  During these times, children and their families can explore the Museum with less concern about infections and large crowds. Pre-registration required.

For  further information call 617-426-6500

Free Fun Fridays

Thanks to the Highland Street Foundation, be sure to take advantage of Free Fun Fridays to explore museums and cultural venues across the state for FREE this summer with your family.  Fridays run from June 28th-August 30th featuring parks and venues such as the Museum of Fine Arts (July 12th), Boston Children’s Museum (Aug. 2nd) and others!!

Sporting Event Venues

Boston is one of the finest sport’s towns in the country.  Enjoy rooting for your favorite team.

Disability Accessible Seating at Local Arenas &  Stadiums
This MNIP Fact Sheet, created by Patrick Gleason, offers handy tips and strategies for those buying tickets for accessible seating at arenas and stadiums in New England.

 


May
2013

Exactly Where I Want To Be

categories: Accessibility, Arts & Fun

Bruins Seat ViewThis week we are pleased to introduce guest blogger, Patrick Gleason.

Boston’s TD Garden crackled with emotion on April 21, 2013. The hometown Bruins were looking for their first win since the bombings at the Boston Marathon just six days before.

Fans were out in force, many wearing black and gold “Boston Strong” shirts that mimicked the team’s jersey colors. The Bruins had already punched their ticket to the playoffs, but needed positive momentum for the postseason.

As I looked out from my manual wheelchair in Balcony section 307 celebrating my 33rd birthday with my longtime friends Nicole and Michael I thought, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

Experiences With Disability Seating

I’m a veteran of attending events through disability seating. It has been a regular part of my life since the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. Red Sox games, rock concerts, comedians; I’ve been fortunate enough to see them all.

I bring up those examples because society hardly ever talks about the idea that individuals with disabilities may want to attend these events. The opportunities to attend are there, and they may be easier than you think.

ADA Guidelines

First, the ADA mandates that disability seating must be available in every seating area and price range, so patrons can choose their location. Second, virtually every venue has a dedicated ADA line where you can order tickets directly from a live operator.

Third, many venues only allow disability seating to be sold by the box office, so you don’t have to worry about scalped or fraudulent tickets.

Lastly, many venues don’t sell the row in front of disability seating, so views are often unobstructed.

Absolutely Worth ItPG-NC-Bruins

It can sometimes be a maze to find your seats. For the Bruins game, we parked in an accessible spot, took three separate (but clearly marked) elevators, got searched by security, and sat down about ten minutes before puck drop.

Was it a hassle? Maybe a small one. But after watching the B’s pitch a 3-0 shutout and literally give the shirts off their backs to first responders in attendance, I didn’t mind at all.


May
2013

The Museum of Science Offers Accessibility for All

categories: Accessibility, Arts & Fun
Aerial View of Museum of Science
© Dave Desroches

This week we welcome back Nora Nagle, ADA and 504 accessibility coordinator for the Museum of Science, Boston.

The Museum of Science shares a lifelong appreciation of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with over 1.5 million diverse visitors each year. We hope that you will join us!

Universal Design

The Museum understands that true accessibility goes way beyond compliance with architectural access codes. For over 25 years, the Museum has been committed to Universal Design (UD), the design of products and environments for use by all people, to the greatest extent possible.

In the late 1980s – well before the Americans with Disabilities Act — the Museum began to incorporate universal design principles in creating its exhibits, shows, and programs.

Accessibility at the Museum

Here are some of the Museum’s accessibility features:

  1. Wheelchair accessibility
  2. Multisensory interactives
  3. Audio labels
  4. Captioning
  5. Sign Language interpreters, with 2 weeks’ notice
  6. Sighted guides, with 2 weeks’ notice
  7. Family restroom
  8. Loaner wheelchairs and scooters
  9. Assistive listening Devices

As a person with a disability myself, I understand visitors often have individual questions or concerns. We welcome such questions and will try to make it easy for you to find the information you need.

Finding Accessibility InformationNora-Nagle-MOS

Accessibility at the Museum of Science is not limited to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We strive to create an environment that is inviting, engaging and accessible for everyone. If something is accessible, it should be easy to approach, reach, enter, interact with, understand or use. That is our goal.

We understand the need to “know before you go” and have made accessibility information available in a variety of ways:

The Museum has an accessibility page on its website. This page contains a search engine that enables visitors to search for the accessibility features desired.

If you prefer to speak with a person, or have questions that the website does not answer, please call me directly at 617-589-3102 (voice or relay). We can discuss your concerns and find answers to your questions.

You can also email us through the website or at accessibility@mos.org.


May
2013

Accessible Fun in Boston

categories: Accessibility, Arts & Fun

Museum of ScienceIs accessibility an issue for you when making plans? For many of us, the answer is yes, whether it be due to our own disability, or physical issues for a family member due to aging.
Well the good news is Boston offers many accessible cultural attractions and fun sporting events for those who require accessibility.

Coming Up This MonthTD-Garden

This month we will feature two previous INDEX bloggers, Nora Nagle and Patrick Gleason, to share their personal and professional experiences with accessibility.

Thinking about exploring and discovering what the Museum of Science has to offer? Be sure to read next week’s blog by Nora Nagle, the Museum of Science’s Accessibility Coordinator. The Museum of Science offers an accessible building, parking and programs/services for people with disabilities. Nora will answer questions and concerns for all visitors needing accessibility.

The following week we will feature Patrick Gleason, an avid and passionate fan of the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. Patrick will share his story of attending a wheelchair accessible Bruins hockey game at the TD Garden. You may not know that the TD Garden, home to Bruins hockey and Celtics basketball games, offers ADA wheelchair space seating for patrons with disabilities and their companions.

New ADA Ticket Requirements

In addition, the ADA 2010 revised requirements for Ticket Sales went into effect March of 2011.

These new and updated requirements address ticket sales, prices, identification of available accessible seating, purchasing multiple tickets, ticket transfer, and hold and release of tickets for accessible seating. This provides the opportunity for Boston sports fans with disabilities to enjoy the American pastime of rooting for their favorite teams.

Join us this month to learn more and get ready to make plans to have some fun in the months ahead.


May
2013

The Massachusetts Act Early Campaign: Because Early Identification is Important to Us

categories: Autism, Education, Family

Female and baby girl reading book, baby is pointing at bookThroughout the month of April, we’ve heard from members of the Massachusetts Act Early state team who have shared heartfelt stories about why identifying autism and other developmental disorders matters to them.

Who We Are

Our team is made up of parents, medical professionals, educators, autism resource specialists, human services program managers, public health practitioners, university faculty and many others.

We lead an interdisciplinary, collaborative statewide effort “to educate parents and professionals about healthy childhood development, early warning signs of autism and other developmental disorders, the importance of routine developmental screening and timely early intervention whenever there is a concern.”

What We Do

Our statewide coalition works to strengthen state and community systems for the early identification and intervention of children with signs of developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders.

The coalition envisions a future that uses a family-centered model that overcomes geographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic barriers to assure equal access to developmental screening for all children in the Commonwealth. This mission and vision drives every action Mass Act Early takes to make a critical difference in the lives of children and their families.

Our current goals include:

    1. Public outreach to increase awareness of autism spectrum and related disorders.
    2. Training for early childhood, health care, and educational professionals.
    3. Shortening the wait times between screening and diagnosis as well as diagnosis and intervention.
    4. Developing culturally competent autism screening materials and training curricula for early childhood educators, community health centers and pediatric practices across Massachusetts.

How We Do It

Our web site at www.maactearly.org  contains free downloadable materials about healthy developmental milestones in young children for families, early childhood professionals, and health care providers.

Most of these materials were developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC developed them for the national “Learn the Signs. Act Early” public awareness program, of which the MA Act Early initiative is the local state chapter.

Additionally, the CDC‘s online Autism Case Training (ACT) course covers identifying, diagnosing, and managing autism spectrum disorders.
There are three modules, which can be taken separately or together. They are based on real-life scenarios and include up-to-date information, illustrative videos, and pertinent references and resources.

Free continuing education credits (CME, CNE, and CEU) are available for each of the modules.

Our Priority: Cultural and Linguistic Equity in Massachusetts

The MA Act Early state team has set a priority of reducing early identification disparities for families who are from culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse backgrounds, particularly if their primary language is not English.

To that end, we have developed the “Considering Culture in Autism Screening” guide and toolkit which includes a clinician’s tips guide, a Massachusetts resource sheet “Referrals at a Glance”, and the validated M-CHAT screening tool in five languages. It also comes with instructions, a scoring sheet and the follow-up interview.

Make Early Identification Your Goal Too!

Visit the MA Act Early website often. “Like” us on Facebook and help spread the word!

Early identification may be important to any of us. It could be due to skyrocketing prevalence rates, a beloved family member living with an autism spectrum disorder, a sense of profound professional purpose to improve the quality of life or any number of other reasons.

Whatever raises your own concerns about early identification, please join us in making a lasting difference. Positive outcomes are within our reach!

About the AuthorElaine Gabovitch

Elaine Gabovitch, MPA serves as state team leader for the Massachusetts Act Early program and as one of 25 national ambassadors appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote the “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” public health program in Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.maactearly.org . She is also the Director of Family and Community Partnerships for the UMass Medical School-Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, family faculty in the Shriver Center’s LEND program, and an instructor in the UMMS Department of Family Medicine & Community Health.