1. Easter Seals Project Action (ESPA) Inclusive Service-Learning Program
Judy L. Shanley, Ph.D.,
Director, Student Engagement & Mobility Management,
ESPA, Washington, DC

2. Easter Seals Project Action (ESPA)
Our mission is to promote universal access to transportation for people with disabilities under federal law and beyond by partnering with transportation providers, the disability community and others through the provision of training, technical assistance, applied research, outreach and communication.
Funded by the Federal Transit Administration – 23 years
Our Work
Training Events – travel training, webinars, online training
Technical Assistance – 800#, , in-person (ATCI events)
Applied Research – development of useful materials
Outreach – building awareness, educating

3. Inclusive Service-Learning Program Goals
Heighten access and use of accessible public transportation by students to improve their attainment of postsecondary goals related to employment, higher education, and independent living;
Help schools and educators develop resources and relationships with transit and transportation professionals related to accessible transportation;
Support school and district secondary transition services around Federal Department of Education indicators (Indicator 13 & 14).

4. Key Characteristics of the Inclusive Service-Learning Program
Students and educators can access ESPA free materials to implement a service-learning project
Students across general and special education working together
Projects can be flexible in content and duration
Activities should encourage collaboration across education and transit
Educators participate in an online forums to share experiences
Ongoing support is provided by ESPA
Data collection regarding student learning and outcomes is important

5. Benefits to Students and Schools
Improved knowledge of accessible transportation options
Increased inclusive education and community based experiences
Enhanced relationships across schools and transit
Reduce the barriers toward student attainment of postsecondary goals due to accessible transportation challenges (improved indicator 1, 2, 13, & 14)
Opportunity for participation to be highlighted through ESPA - a national, highly visible project

6. Learning Transit Together through Self-Advocacy
Learning Transit Together through Self-Advocacy Easter Seals Inclusive Transportation Service-Learning Pilot
Valerie Paradiz, PhD

7. 3 Steps of Self-Advocacy
What is Self-Advocacy?
The three steps:
Self-Awareness
Advocacy Plan
Implementation
There are usually three steps when you decide to advocate for yourself:
Self-Awareness (What do I need?)
Advocacy Plan (How can I get what I need? Do I need to disclose?)
Implementation (I’m advocating for what I need!)

8. Here’s an Example

9. Step 1: What Do I Need? Jon has autism Sensory difficulties
Tactile sensitivity
“I like people, but being touched feels like a bad sunburn.”
Jon wants to take the subway to work.
The subway makes Jon feel anxious.
Jon has autism.
This makes it hard for him to process sensory input.
It’s especially hard for him to be touched by other people. He likes people, but for him, being touched “feels like a bad sunburn.”
Jon wants to take the city bus to work, but he’s always afraid that someone on the bus might accidentally touch or bump into him.
The bus makes Jon feel anxious.

10. Step 2: How Do I Get What I Need?
Jon wants to feel less anxious.
He makes a script that he can use when the subway is crowded.
Jon practices his script with a friend.
“Would you mind letting me take that seat? If I get bumped, I feel lots of pain. It is a medical problem. Thank you.”

11. Step 2: What is Disclosure?
Jon does not feel he needs to share that he has autism in order to make a good advocacy plan.
Jon is going to make a “partial disclosure” by saying he has a medical condition.
A partial disclosure helps others understand that your needs are legitimate, but you don’t have to “tell all.”
Jon did not feel he needed to disclose that he has autism to make a good advocacy plan.
So, he decided to do a “partial disclosure.”
A partial disclosure helps others understand that Jon’s needs are legitimate, yet he doesn’t have to share private information they don’t need to know.
Whenever you make an advocacy plan, you must decide if you want to disclose. If you do, you also need to decide if it should be full or partial disclosure.

12. Jon’s Disclosure Choices
Type of Disclosure
Possible Outcome
“Other passengers will think I’m weird if I ask them to move without some kind of explanation.”
“If I say I have autism, another passenger might misunderstand my needs, since many people don’t know that people with autism have sensory challenges.”
“If I explain my sensory sensitivity as a medical condition, other passengers are more likely to understand.”
No disclosure
Full disclosure
Partial disclosure
Ask participants to think of examples in their lives where they have experienced the three types of disclosure.

13. Step 3: Implementation Jon practiced his script.
Jon took the subway to work.
He used the script on the busy subway and was able to get the right kind of seat to keep himself from touching or bumping into others.
TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
Jon practiced his script before he tried taking the bus.
A friend role-played with him, so that he could try out different kinds of outcomes using his script.
Then, Jon took the bus to work.
He used the script, and it worked!

14. Your Self-Advocacy Experience
Can you think of a time that you advocated for something for yourself?
Can you identify the three steps of self-advocacy in your experience?

15. Disclosure and the ADA
We all have the right to access public transportation.
The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects this right for people with disabilities.
Some disabilities are easy to recognize.
Some disabilities are not easy to recognize, like Jon’s sensory problem.
If you disclose to a transportation worker that you have a disability, they must abide by ADA rules and allow you access and certain supports.
Disclosure can be a form of self-advocacy.
We all have the right to access public transportation.
The American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects this right for people with disabilities.
Some disabilities are easy to recognize.
Some disabilities are not easy to recognize, like Jon’s sensory problem.
If you disclose to a transportation worker that you have a disability, they must abide by ADA rules and allow you access and certain supports.
Disclosure can be a form of self-advocacy.

16. Our Sensory Experiences
The Sensory Systems
Over/Under Sensitivity
Sensory Overload
Shut Down and “Behaviors”
Sensory Integration Disorder

17. Our Sensory ProcessingNT
TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this slide is a graph showing the differences in sensory processing between a person with Sensory Integration Disorder and a person who is neurotypical and has no sensory challenges. The graph shows how a person with sensory integration disorder is affected more dramatically by sensory events in the environment, leading more easily to behavioral disorganization. The neurotypical, on the other hand, is able to adjust to sensory events more readily, and therefore remains regulated and in the zone of behavioral organization.

18. The Sensory Systems TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this slide depicts a worksheet for learning the 7 sensory systems. Included are line drawings of the following: an ear, a pair of eyes, a mouth, a nose, a hand touching a surface, and a man walking while attempting to keep his balance.

19. Scanning Environments

20. ISA Sensory Scan™ TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this slide is a picture of the ISA Sensory Scan Worksheet.

21. My Advocacy Plan TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this page is a picture of the My Advocacy Plan Worksheet.

22. My Advocacy Script TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this page is a picture of the My Advocacy Script Worksheet.

23. Social Aspects of Transportation
Navigating transit locations (transit stops, paying fares)
Interactions with transit workers
Interactions with other passengers
Verbal communication
Non-verbal communication
Social norms and expectations
Safety

24. ISA Social Scan™ TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this page is a picture of the ISA Social Scan Worksheet

25. My Advocacy Plan TEXT FOR SCREEN READER:
The image on this page is a picture of the My Advocacy PlanWorksheet.

26. Learning Together at School
Share your self-advocacy experiences with a partner, your class, a teacher
Learn about the sensory systems and your own sensory experiences
Do a practice Sensory Scan and share the results
Do a practice Social Scan and share the results

27. Learning Together Using Transit
Complete a Social Scan with a partner
Complete a Sensory Scan with a partner
Make a Transportation Advocacy Plan
Do you need to disclose fully or partially?
Do you need a script?
Role-play or practice your script
Implement your advocacy plan!
Share your results and experiences