GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

[admford]

A little back story.

I'm handicapped, and depending on prosthetics, either walking with them or in a wheelchair. I've had a bad experience at a neighboring hotel to the Rio this year. Basically, after having a reservation since April, when I arrived I was told that they didn't have an ADA room available. After some arguing, one was "found". The room had problems, to say the least. TV wouldn't turn off, room light would not turn off as the wall switch was broken, and the shower head leaked like a sieve from the hose attachment. I was tired and brought the hotel a list of defects to them the next morning. After the first day of the con, I got back to my room. TV was fixed, room light was still broken as was the wall switch, and I didn't have the energy to check the shower, which I checked the next morning. And it turned out that the shower head was even MORE broken than before. I went down to the hotel lobby and asked to talk with the general manager. I was given the song from the hotel that "we cannot guarantee the type of room", even though ADA regulations require hotels to hard block ADA adapted rooms when booked (in other words, they actually have to guarantee them). In the end, at the threat of an immediate ADA complaint from my lawyer, I received one night free since the shower wasn't working, and placed in an unused ADA room (surprise! It was the one I booked originally!).

I talked with a couple of goons and after the closing ceremonies I talked with Russ about this. I was offered to write up a FAQ for any disabled people interested in coming to next year's DEF CON, and possibly to be a liaison for the disabled next year. Anyways, while I have a blog, I'm considering setting it up on my own server later on and I don't know about keeping it up to date. So I'll try posting versions of this FAQ in this thread so that people can comment.


FAQ Section concepts:

• Service Animals
  Caesar's (owner of Bally's and Paris) has the PetStay program. It would be useful if the PetStay brochure for each hotel be provided online.
• Wheelchair/Electric wheelchair/scooter rental
  
• Wheelchair accessible van rental
  
• Car rental
  Advantagge Rent A Car
  Alamo
  Avis
  Budget
  Dollar
  E-Z Rent-A-Car
  Hertz
  National Car
  Payless Car Rental
• Accessible Taxi
  Approximate Taxi Fares from McCarran Airport to various Hotels (PDF)
  Desert Cab Inc
  Lucky Cab
  Whittlesea Blue Cab
  Yellow Checker Star Taxi Cab
• Shuttlebus information
  Airline Shuttle Corp (ASC)
  SuperShuttle
  Bell Trans
  Showtime
• Public Transportation for the disabled
  All RTC vehicles are equipped with lifts, ramps or kneeling devices to accommodate passengers using mobility devices.
  Reduced Fare Photo ID Card information
  Transit Guide 07/07/13, Fares & Reduced Fares on page 6.
  Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada Paratransit & Accessibility Site
  2012-2013 RTC Paratransit guide PDF
• Las Vegas Monorail
  Las Vegas Monorail
  the Monorail system is completely ADA compliant. Wheelchairs, walkers, mobility scooters and motorized scooters that assist those with a disability are permitted on the Monorail. All Monorail stations have accessible elevator service to all levels. There is level boarding from the platform to all trains. All Monorail cars have space to accommodate mobility vehicles. Passengers boarding are required to place them in the locked position for the duration of the ride. Properly harnessed and trained service animals accompanying persons with disabilities are permitted in Monorail stations and on trains.
• Information regarding ADA regulations and hotels
  
• Emergency CON contacts in case of problems
  
• DEAF CON information

Suggestions & Information for Goons/Organizers

• Basic emergency wheelchair repair equipment
  110v portable compressor (up to 110 psi). 100 degrees heat makes wheelchair and scooter tires tend to lose pressure quickly.
• Wheelchair seating at talks
  ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities - Article 4.33 Space Size in Assembly Areas
  ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities - Article 4.1.3(19) Number of Spaces in Assembly Areas with Fixed Seating
  Wheelchairs next to center aisle in front of stage, and next to aisles in front of screens.
  ADA space requirements for one wheelchair side access seat are 60" x 33". This is roughly two aisles long, spaces can be marked out on the floor with tape. Seating order of wheelchairs should be considered by seating height, to keep good sight lines to the stage or screens.
  
• Goons and handling of people with reduced mobility
  Communicating With and About People with Disabilities - Dept. of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy. The "Actions" section is particularly useful.
• Print Materials/Maps
  Maintain a high enough contrast between text and backgrounds

I'll be updating this first post as needed and as I find more information. Please post any questions or suggestions that anyone might have here and I'll see about adding what I can to the FAQ.

[TheCotMan]

Re: GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

A little back story.

I'm handicapped, and depending on prosthetics, either walking with them or in a wheelchair. I've had a bad experience at a neighboring hotel to the Rio this year. Basically, after having a reservation since April, when I arrived I was told that they didn't have an ADA room available. After some arguing, one was "found". The room had problems, to say the least. TV wouldn't turn off, room light would not turn off as the wall switch was broken, and the shower head leaked like a sieve from the hose attachment. I was tired and brought the hotel a list of defects to them the next morning. After the first day of the con, I got back to my room. TV was fixed, room light was still broken as was the wall switch, and I didn't have the energy to check the shower, which I checked the next morning. And it turned out that the shower head was even MORE broken than before. I went down to the hotel lobby and asked to talk with the general manager. I was given the song from the hotel that "we cannot guarantee the type of room", even though ADA regulations require hotels to hard block ADA adapted rooms when booked (in other words, they actually have to guarantee them). In the end, at the threat of an immediate ADA complaint from my lawyer, I received one night free since the shower wasn't working, and placed in an unused ADA room (surprise! It was the one I booked originally!).

I talked with a couple of goons and after the closing ceremonies I talked with Russ about this. I was offered to write up a FAQ for any disabled people interested in coming to next year's DEF CON, and possibly to be a liaison for the disabled next year. Anyways, while I have a blog, I'm considering setting it up on my own server later on and I don't know about keeping it up to date. So I'll try posting versions of this FAQ in this thread so that people can comment.


FAQ Section concepts:

• Service Animals
• Wheelchair/Electric wheelchair/scooter rental
• Wheelchair accessible van rental
• Car rental
• Accessible Taxi/Shuttlebus information
• Public Transportation for the disabled
• Information regarding ADA regulations and hotels
• Emergency CON contacts in case of problems
• DEAF CON information

Suggestions & Information for Goons/Organizers

• Basic emergency wheelchair repair equipment
• Wheelchair seating at talks
• Goons and handling of people with reduced mobility

I'll be updating this first post as needed and as I find more information. Please post any questions or suggestions that anyone might have here and I'll see about adding what I can to the FAQ.

* Made a sticky in forum
* Promoted with tweet on twitter, asking others to contribute
* Please remind me when "DEF CON 23 Planning" forum is opened, to move/link this to the new forum from here to continue discussion

HTH, sorry about interruption, let's get back to topic.

[admford]

Re: GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

* Made a sticky in forum
* Promoted with tweet on twitter, asking others to contribute
* Please remind me when "DEF CON 23 Planning" forum is opened, to move/link this to the new forum from here to continue discussion

HTH, sorry about interruption, let's get back to topic.

Thanks for the visibility!

Currently I'm trying to find some information regarding seating arrangements for various tracks. Seating in the back and on the sides of the rooms for wheelchairs and mobility scooters isn't a usable solution.

Hopefully we can get more of a two way dialog going in this thread.

[digisight]

Re: GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

You may have seen me walking around with my digital (eSight eyewear) glasses this year at DEFCON.


These allow me to be able to see the presentations, read signs, etc. and zoom up to 14 times.

However, I still plan my route. That is, I look up the maps of the facility where I am going, including the conference layout, in detail so I am less likely to get lost. Therefore, getting the Defcon conference site plan on the DC23 website much earlier than the day of, or day before DEFCON starts, would be very helpful.

Signage at DEFCON is generally very good. This year some of the background colors and the foreground text colors were way to similar, making it hard to read some signs, but because I had the map (mentioned above), as well as asking others, I was able to find my way.

I have found DEFCON goons to be very flexible when I explain I have limited eyesight and try and sit near the front... however, not necessarily the RIO staff though... this year, it looked like the RIO had their own people seating folks in Penn & Teller (didn't notice that other years), and so this was the first time I couldn't get a seat down below for all the sessions... the Goons always let me in, knowing I would probably find some spot off to the side... not the RIO guys... sent me upstairs, which with the esight glasses meant I could still see most of what went on, it was not as good as being closer to the front.

My 5 cents worth.
DigiSight

[arose4beni]

Re: GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

DEAF CON information

Here is some information about DEAF CON:

We provide a meet up for Deaf and HH hackers during DEFCON. We also have a team of interpreters who volunteer their services at the con. Our interpreters are brought out to Las Vegas using crowd-sourced funds. We will be planning throughout the year and will share more details as they become available. More information can be found at our website: http://www.d3afc0n.com/

Thank you for posting this! Let me know when you need more information about DEAF CON.

[admford]

Re: GIMP CON (Disability FAQ)

Thank you for posting this! Let me know when you need more information about DEAF CON.

While I doubt any of the final FAQ will end up in DEF CON's official materials, I hope that this FAQ will provide as much information as possible for people going to DEF CON next year. I really don't care what disability one has, as long as we an cover as much of the spectrum. The first post I use as an continuously updated list of topics and related materials and links. While some of the stuff might seem "politically correct", wherever we can get more information to Con goers about the reality of travelling to DEF CON and getting around, the better experience they'll have and the more of a chance they'd actually come again.

And from what I've seen, If I can get this FAQ to be as wide ranging as possible and complete, I think that having such a document available for both staff and participants, would actually be a first outside a specific convention for disabled people.

While, a bit trite and old, a paragraph in the Hacker Manifesto pretty much describes us all in this community.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity.
My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like.
My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for.