Accessibility for Under 100 Dollars

The following are ways to create more accessible facilities and programs for under $100.  These ideas have been compiled from the participants at the Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD) conferences for Arts administrators and managers over the past 5 years.

Betty Siegel, Director of Accessibility

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

1. Add a cup dispenser to a water fountain that is too high.
2. Adjust the gauge on a door to lessen the pressure and make it easier to open and close
3. Ask local advocacy agencies to help you train staff and raise awareness.
4. At a doorway that is difficult to open, have a doorbell that people can ring for assistance.
5. Avoid glossy or highly reflective papers when printing program books or brochures.
6. Be sure that staff always introduce themselves.  Someone who is blind or has low vision may not be able to read someone's name badge or recognize an ushers uniform.
7. Be sure your staff know the accessible paths of travel and shortest routes around the facility.
8. Bevel thresholds with pieces of wood.
9. Color and shape code information.
10. Contact disability organizations and host an open house for their members.
11. Correct toilet heights with adjustable seats from Home Depot or other stores.
12. Create lower counter areas by putting in tables.
13. Don't use red and green together. Many people have red/green color blindness.
14. Encouraging people to ask for assistance.
15. Focus on great customer service.
16. Form an advisory board of persons with disabilities from the community.
17. Have a clipboard available for transactions at a counter that is too high.
18. In an elevator where the buttons are too high, have a wand available to push them.
19. Include information about accessibility in your marketing materials.
20. Increase lighting in dark areas.
21. Install easy to use handles on the inside of the doors on wheelchair accessible bathroom stalls.
22. Invite rehabilitation centers for people who are blind to use your facility for orientation training.
23. Invite service animal training schools to do training at your facility.
24. Join disability-related list serves to get to know the communities.
25. Keep paths of travel 36 inches wide and free of obstructions.
26. Lower labels on artwork so that short or seated persons can read them.
27. Make labels for artwork or other things hanging around in large print.
28. Make signage directing patrons to your access services prominent.
29. Make unsold seats available to patrons who are on fixed and limited incomes.
30. Move furniture, potted plants, and trashcans out of the path of travel to create an accessible route.
31. Move soap dispensers and paper towels to positions that are easy to reach.
32. Organize a pre-show touch tour.
33. Place access symbols are on your marketing materials and maps.
34. Place public materials on lower counters and tables.
35. Place wood blocks or bricks under tables that are too short.
36. Point out accessible routes of travel with signs.
37. Print self-guided tours for people with hearing loss who couldn't follow a docent.
38. Produce programs, playbills and other print materials in large print -sans serif font,16-18 point.
39. Provide maps of accessible routes of travel.
40. Provide scripts in advance for people to read.
41. Purchase a couple induction neck loops for your Assistive Listening Receivers
42. Put light colored tape on the edge of steps or places where there is a change in level.
43. Put non-slip material on slippery floor surfaces. NoSkidding.com has products for this purpose.
44. Put together a speakers group to go out and talk to local disability community groups.
45. Remind staff not to turn their backs when speaking to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
46. Replace low wattage light bulbs with higher wattage bulbs.
47. Replace round door knobs with levered handles.
48. Send notices of audio described performance to patrons who are blind or have low vision.
49. Send notices of interpreted and captioned performances to patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
50. Train docents to modify language on tours to be appropriate for the appropriate audience.
51. Train staff about accommodations provided and how to use them.
52. Train your staff in how to use relay services.  Don't forget the nationwide 711 relay service.
53. Try different types of alternative formats such as on audio options like tapes and CDs.
54. Use e-mail distribution lists to target audiences for specific events.
55. Use high contrast paint colors between walls and floors to help people with low vision navigate. 
56. Use high-contrast colors on labels for art work. White on black, or black on white.
57. Use pump style soap dispensers.
58. Utilize technical staff expertise to create accessibility.
59. Wrap pipes under sinks with insulation so people don't burn themselves.
60. Write an easy to understand synopsis of the play and have it available at the box office.

(1/7/06)