HomeServices | Products

June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant logo

Planning Accessible Events

Updated 11.19.09

Blue line

A Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings, published by the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Houston, 1993, 166 pages, Hardcover.

Accessibility Checklist for Events and Meetings, Edition 1.1
, Revised June 1998, 18 pages.

A shortened version and companion piece to Accessibility Guidelines for Speakers and A Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings. A tool for meeting and event planners who are familiar with access issues.

The Accessibility Planning and Resource Guide for Cultural Administrators is an online companion to the printed text Design for Accessibility: A Cultural Administrator’s Handbook (2003). The Guide provides guidance to cultural administrators on how to achieve accessible and inclusive programming for everyone including individuals with disabilities and older adults. It is designed to help your organization not only comply with Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act but also to assist in making access an integral part of your organization, including its staffing, mission, budget, education, meetings, programs and beyond. This document takes these laws and principles and applies them to cultural service organizations and other arts and humanities groups in both the public and private sector.

The Guide outlines a step-by-step "nuts and bolts" process for achieving accessible practices by setting the standard and illustrating how cultural organizations can make it happen. It features examples of “best practices” that illustrate specific methods for opening existing programs, services, facilities, and activities to individuals with disabilities and older adults, as artists, arts administrators, board members, volunteers, teachers, students and audience members. This online text takes advantage of Internet technology by presenting and linking to a wide variety of resources that assist cultural organizations. It is also provides necessary information to enable arts and humanities service organizations to assist their grantees/constituents in achieving accessible programming.

Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Guide for Organizations, 1995, 225 pages, Hardcover. <>Informal presentation on ADA compliance with chapters on: program access and nondiscrimination; physical access; communication access; and employment practices. Gives steps for completing an ADA compliance plan, contains checklists, planning sheets, samples of ADA compliance plans and lists many resources available for additional information and assistance. (Compliance with the transportation provisions of ADA are not covered).

Removing Barriers: Tips and Strategies to Promote Accessible Communication, North Carolina Office on Disability and Health and Woodward Communications. 1999. 40 pages.Reference guide that addresses the basics on ways to effectively communicate and interact with people with disabilities. Accessed 11.10.09

Temporary  Events

Accessible Temporary Events, A Planning Guide
, Ron Mace, Rex Pace and Leslie Young, 2002, 103 pages, $5
How to plan, promote, and provide accessible temporary events such as fairs, festivals, exhibits, concerts, races, tournaments, shows, and rallies. Addresses temporary parking locations, portable toilets, signage, and sound amplification systems as well as issues from Disability Awareness to Advanced Planning, Access to the Site, Participating in the Event, Service and Support Facilities as well as Resources available in the community to assist with accessibility. Note: Publication also available from DBTAC – Call toll-free line at  (800) 949-4232 to be connected to the center serving your area. Information is also available on the DBTAC website at www.adata.org

ADA Guide for Small Towns: Temporary Events , Department of Justice – March 2000, accessed 10.31.09

Temporary Events, Indiana Protection and Advocacy, accessed 11.10.09 

Speaker Tips

Accessibility Guidelines for Speakers, Revised July 2000, 18 pages, Offers tips in assuring access to the widest possible audience. Includes how to: make visual aids accessible through oral narratives and format; work with sign language interpreters; make soundtracks accessible through captioning; work with assistive listening systems; convert handout materials to alternative formats (Braille, large print, disk, audio ); record material on audio; and locate Braille transcription, captioning, recording and duplicating services.

Speaker Guidelines from American Public Health’s Association
Disability Forum’s Accessibility Committee, 2004:

Blue line

HomeServices | Products 

mailbox with flag moving jik@pacbell.net
© 1998 - 2009 June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant, All Rights Reserved.
Created 11/8/97  |  Updated 11.19.09