Autism related topics

[ifesbob]

I don't know if this would really count, as it's mainly accessibility for volunteers, but I'll put it here anyways.

Toledo Zoo actually has a thing for it's disabled volunteers. It's called ADAPT. Now, I honestly forgot what it stands for, but I'll say this. As someone who is in it and currently trying to move away from it.... Yeah, it's not the greatest for me. Not saying that it can't work for some folks, but it definetely is a no go for me. And basically all it is is having something called a peer support partner. Basically another volunteer or sometimes education staff who would go along with you for your shifts. And, I'll say this. Alot of the shifts are not meant for more than 1 person. Except for maybe the touch tanks and the biofacts. But thats it. So either one of you have to leave the other one ( or two in some cases ) out and feel terrible afterwards, or you have to try to make it work and it just becomes very awkward. And sometimes the peer support partner your buddied up with doesn't have the same amount of training as you do, so if you like doing a certain shift that requires training before and the other person doesn't have it, your stuck doing something that you wouldn't of wanted to do that day. And it's not like you don't get the accessibility without ADAPT either. Which, for me, makes the entire thing feel like a glorified babysitting service on my end. Again, I'm not saying that this can't work for some people. But for me, it's like a retractable leash. And I can't just go: " Hey, I'm not interested in ADAPT anymore. " and they'll no longer consider me apart of it. No. I have to go through a process to prove that I'm ready? Like, no. I don't want a long and complicated process just to become an " independant ADAPT teen ", I just want to go. And what makes this worse is that when you're in ADAPT, they won't let you go to somewhere on grounds entirely alone if you're in ADAPT ( but they'll let everyone else will, but I think this goes for the independants as well? ). Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that the zoo has an accessibility app? Made by a company whos worked with Autism Speaks before? Don't get me wrong, I love my job, it's just that I wish the accessibility was better.

Glorified babysitting and inability to do anything alone (outside of the people who genuinely do need 24/7 supervision, which is separate entirely) isn't the greatest from an accessibility standpoint really, and doesn't really help the people it's there to help. I am in a student support thing and I know because I've heard it direct from staff that they desire to give the right amount of support, and that's what this thing should do as well. Definitely unfortunate when places we value are not the best in ways that are important to us like this...

 

[TinoPup]

I know this is an old comment, but while a certain part of the staff has to go through training (which I did), it's mostly just sensitivity/saying the right things/bare-minimum "being nice" trainings. It's very general, just videos made by KultureCity. It's a good thing, I think, but I was never told where our quiet areas are, and I'm not even 100% sure I know where we have our bags (probably the gift shop, because that's where we have lots of things, but I don't know that for sure). Maybe that's a me problem but if the training didn't stress it to the point where I know it, maybe it's a little defective. There is training, basically, but it's not very involved honestly.

I think the quiet areas should be near busy areas, but have appropriate sound dampening so it's actually a quiet area.

That's good to hear from someone who's been on that side of things, because that's how it comes across. Being sensitive and understanding is fantastic! But employees, at minimum, should at least be able to direct people to quiet areas and to the bags, it's just two more easy things to remember, like knowing where first aid is.

Agreed. Several I've seen are next to/in busy areas but just have a few trees, if anything, separating them. Sticking a few benches somewhere doesn't automatically create a quiet area. The worst are the ones that put them near percussion gardens! Which is a thing I have a major issue with, how can somewhere be any sort of approved autism friendly place if they have unavoidable percussion gardens?!

 

[ifesbob]

That's good to hear from someone who's been on that side of things, because that's how it comes across. Being sensitive and understanding is fantastic! But employees, at minimum, should at least be able to direct people to quiet areas and to the bags, it's just two more easy things to remember, like knowing where first aid is.

Agreed. Several I've seen are next to/in busy areas but just have a few trees, if anything, separating them. Sticking a few benches somewhere doesn't automatically create a quiet area. The worst are the ones that put them near percussion gardens! Which is a thing I have a major issue with, how can somewhere be any sort of approved autism friendly place if they have unavoidable percussion gardens?!

I should ask the volunteer coordinator person where ours are. Because you're right, that's something people should know, even people who aren't core staff. "They didn't tell me" is not a valid excuse for me to not know.

Maybe it's a way to get rid of two issues at once? I mean, do the bare minimum for sensory inclusiveness, but it's also a place to rest for people with physical disabilities? I want to stress that that doesn't make it acceptable, it should be part of the certification process to modify the zoo layout if needed and to create quiet areas that are actually, you know, quiet. Or maybe the benches were already there and they simply couldn't be bothered to make an actual quiet area. It's a shame, really.