Please Try This at Home 2019
Accessibility Information
In this document you will find more information about all accessibility-related measures for Please Try This At Home 2019 (PTTAH), both in what you can expect and what we can expect from you! We have worked hard to ensure the spaces are as accessible as possible and that we have communicated to our participants what they can expect. However, we understand that participants may have access needs not addressed in this plan, and we will do our best to accommodate any additional needs that are brought to our attention or come up at the event.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests please reach out to our Accessibility Coordinator: Myla Calhoun (moodymyla@gmail.com), (412) 307-7093
THE SPACE
Please Try This at Home will take place simultaneously in two venues: The Persad Center [5301 Butler St #100] and Body Euphoria [5268 Butler St.] These venues are directly across the street from each other. Butler St. traffic can be heavy on weekends, so volunteers will be available to assist with crossing as needed.
Ground Accessibility
Though Pittsburgh is infamous for its hills, PERSAD and Body Euphoria are located in a level area of the city without any inclines. The corners on Butler Street to cross from PERSAD to Body Euphoria have curb cuts.
Persad is fully ADA compliant. The ramp from the Persad parking lot to get into the main entrance has a railing and automatic doors. The majority of PTTAH content will take place at Persad.
Body Euphoria has two stories. The main entrance to the space (left door) is 39” wide and has a folding ramp that is rated up to 600lbs. Body Euphoria does not have an automatic door, but it will not close on its own once opened. The ground floor has two conference rooms, a small bathroom, and a kitchen. Reaching the second floor requires ascending a flight of fairly steep stairs. We will make an effort to keep as much content as possible contained to ground floor spaces and to make sure that people who need accessible spaces are able to get them.
Restrooms
Persad has four ADA compliant single-occupancy bathrooms.
Body Euphoria has one small (52” by 78”) bathroom. Navigating to it involves negotiating a series of tight corners. The door to the bathroom itself is 34” wide. There are plans to install stability bars in the bathroom before the event. The handwashing sink is situated on top of a cabinet which would make it difficult to get close to in a wheelchair.
All restrooms at PTTAH are single-occupancy and will not be gendered.
Sound and Lighting
Space
We are putting up a variety of signs with 14+ font size to help people get oriented to the space and facilities.
Persad has fluorescent lighting in all of its rooms. For the quiet area, we are going to turn off the overhead fluorescent lights and bring in a lighting source that can provide softer illumination. All event activities will conclude before dark.
If there's a fire or some other emergency, the alarm systems have both audio and visual alarms.
Content
All speakers will have access to microphones and sound amplifying devices as parts of their presentations. For informal discussions, we will provide microphones that can be passed around to different speakers if necessary for the size of the group. (More on this in the Event section.)
We do not plan to have any FX like strobes, loud noises, or other such theatrical elements. If your project or presentation will involve these, please give the audience ample notice so they may plan appropriately (those things can trigger seizures in some individuals).
We encourage participants to use ASL Applause (“sparkle fingers”) rather than audible applause (clapping). This helps participants who are sensitive to noise and also allows presenters to continue speaking uninterrupted.
Seating
The majority of seating at both Persad and Body Euphoria is made up of hard-backed plastic chairs. Some cushions, mats, and other seating options will be provided for those who may need them.
The first row or front area of presentations will be reserved for attendees with visual, auditory, size, and/or space access needs.
Participants are also welcome to bring any type of seating material they would find comfortable and are encouraged to rearrange the provided seating in whatever ways will best facilitate their comfort and engagement.
Chemical Sensitivities and Scent-Aware Space
Persad does not use any sort of fragrance-emitting devices. The bathroom soaps are scented in all restrooms. If you have a chemical sensitivity that would require unscented soap, please let us know.
Body Euphoria will not have any fragrance-emitting devices active during the event. Unscented bathroom soap will be provided.
While we cannot guarantee a fully scent-free space, we encourage participants to limit their use of scented products.
From BUTCHVoices’ “Scent-Aware Policy”, a good resource regarding being scent-aware:
“We understand that perfumes, oils and hair products can be part of one’s gender identity, ethnic identity or spiritual practice. In addition, we understand that it may not be feasible to completely abandon your daily practices. Don’t worry, no one will be policing anybody’s use of cologne, skin, and/or hair preparations. All we ask is that, when you know you’re going to be in the communal space of the conference, you consider how using certain products could diminish someone else’s ability to enjoy the same panels or workshops that are of interest to you.”
Service and support animals are allowed in both Persad and Body Euphoria. If any attendees have severe allergies that might become activated by the presence of animals they are encouraged to contact our accessibility coordinator before the event.
No smoking is allowed inside of either PERSAD or Body Euphoria.
There will be a smoking area on the back patio of Body Euphoria on Saturday only.
Transportation and Parking
PERSAD has a large parking lot, with dozens of spaces located in the main entrance area and even more around the side. Both lots are paved, and the side lot has a paved path wrapping around to the front entrance.
Our accessible spots are located in front of the entrance to PERSAD in the main parking lot. People parking in the side lot will need to go around the building to get to PERSAD’s entrance—not necessarily a far trek, but farther than the walk from a normal accessible spot.
We have carpools being arranged for people who have transportation needs to and from the conference, especially for attendees who will be staying in any of the AirBnBs. If you have any transportation concerns, please reach out to Myla (moodymyla@gmail.com) or Mags (oatesmargar@gmail.com).
THE EVENT
Name Tags
There will be no pre-printed conference badges for this event, but participants are encouraged to make a name tag to share information about themselves, and to accommodate other participants who may have difficulty remembering names and faces.
Name tag making materials will be available at the welcome table. Welcome table volunteers will happily assist participants in making their name tags if needed.
Pronouns We encourage our participants to add their pronouns to their name tag, if they are comfortable doing so, and to pay attention to the pronouns listed on people’s badges and/or to ask what pronouns they should use for someone rather than assuming them.
Color communication badges are a tool developed by the Autistic community that conference participants can use to express the level of social interaction with strangers that they are currently open to. While we won’t have full sets of color communication badges at the event, there will be red, yellow, and green stickers available at the welcome table. Since communication preferences may change during the event, feel free to take more stickers to update your name tag as often as you need!
Touch
In keeping with our community agreements, we expect participants to avoid touching each other unless they have either explicit verbal consent or a previously established existing personal relationship that includes touch.
Food and Water
Food and drinks will be available to participants during both days of the event. We hope to provide coffee/tea and light fare in the mornings, a home-cooked lunchtime meal on each day, and have some snacks available throughout the event. Most food will be served in the Persad cafeteria.
We aim to provide gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, and vegan options, as well as taking into consideration other dietary restrictions shared with us in advance by our participants. We will label all ingredients to the best of our ability. Some food will come from food rescue and community donations, limiting our ability to have complete control, but we are committed to keeping people aware of what we are providing.
There is a water fountain located in the main welcome area of Persad.
Sensory Space
There will be a dedicated Sensory Space at Persad that attendees can engage with throughout both days of the unconference. This room will have comfortable seating and no fluorescent light. This space should be a quiet zone with no talking or phone calls.
While the room can only accommodate about six or seven people at a time, we also encourage attendees to leave the building and take time outside as often as they desire. Conference sessions will be staggered or otherwise scheduled with the intent of providing down-time in between.
People of Color Space
There will be a room at Persad (the Community Room) that is reserved for people of color only. On Saturday from 12 - 2pm, this room will host Black Dream Escape, an intentional, private space for Black and Indigenous folks curated by rest doulas Onika Reigns and Windafire. It is a haven for rest and sleep. During the rest of the event, the Community Room will be available as a social or quiet space for POC participants, or can be used for unconference sessions that the presenter wishes to limit to a POC audience.
We request that conference participants who identify as white be respectful of this private space -- which includes not engaging people of color in conversations where they are expected to explain or defend its presence at the event. Volunteers from the Murmurs of Hope mental health collective will be available to discuss the space; white-identified participants should direct any questions to these volunteers instead.
Sign Language Interpreting
ASL interpreting will be provided by Deaf/hearing tandem teams. Depending on the number of teams available, and the number of sessions scheduled, it may not be possible to have interpreter coverage of all sessions but we aim to have as much content interpreted as possible. We encourage participants who require interpretation to reach out to us so that we can work together to ensure access to as much of the content they are interested in as possible. You can contact our Accessibilty Coordinator, Myla, by email: moodymyla@gmail.com or text: (412) 307-7093
Mental Health Support
Volunteers from the Murmurs of Hope collective will be on hand to provide mental health support to participants. Murmurs of Hope is a collective of certified mental health professionals who provide volunteer support for community events.
Inside Our Minds will also host a Mental Health Cafe at Persad from 4 - 5pm on Saturday. Inside Our Minds is a peer-controlled, radical mental health organization and the Mental Health Cafe is a community conversation on radical mental health, focusing on informal discussions and friendly mutual aid in a welcoming space for all.
Presenter Language and Presence
We ask our presenters and other participants to do the following:
Documentation
Respect for our participants’ privacy and security preferences is a core value of our event. We request that participants not photograph, video, or audio record any participants without their prior consent; and that they also ask for permission before posting images of anyone online or tagging them on social media.
For participants who would like a session they are attending recorded, we have several volunteers who have offered to be notetakers or sketch-noters. Please reach out to Myla or our our volunteer coordinator if you would like assistance with notetaking.
This event will be livetweeted using the #pleasetrythis19 hashtag and you are welcome to follow along and share the content with the world! When doing so, we encourage the inclusion of image descriptions when tweeting photos—ideally both in the "image description" section and also in the tweet itself since some screen-readers miss the image description/rollover/popup text. Here is how to do that. And here is more information overall about how to write captions (and what should/shouldn't go in them, to which we’d also add that people's genders shouldn't be assumed for the purposes of descriptions like these).
POINT PEOPLE
You can identify the PTTAH organizing team by their name tags, which will have stars on them!
Myla Calhoun (they/them) is our accessibility coordinator. Myla is communicating with event participants who have requested accessibility assistance, as well as creating preemptive documentation and accommodations. During the conference events, Myla will be making sure that people with accessibility needs will have the access, seating, and comfort required for them to enjoy Please Try This At Home. They will also be assisting us with language for signs and speakers. You can text them at (412) 307-7093 with any last-minute issues.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests please reach out to our Accessibility Coordinator: Myla Calhoun (moodymyla@gmail.com), (412) 307-7093
THE SPACE
Please Try This at Home will take place simultaneously in two venues: The Persad Center [5301 Butler St #100] and Body Euphoria [5268 Butler St.] These venues are directly across the street from each other. Butler St. traffic can be heavy on weekends, so volunteers will be available to assist with crossing as needed.
Ground Accessibility
Though Pittsburgh is infamous for its hills, PERSAD and Body Euphoria are located in a level area of the city without any inclines. The corners on Butler Street to cross from PERSAD to Body Euphoria have curb cuts.
Persad is fully ADA compliant. The ramp from the Persad parking lot to get into the main entrance has a railing and automatic doors. The majority of PTTAH content will take place at Persad.
Body Euphoria has two stories. The main entrance to the space (left door) is 39” wide and has a folding ramp that is rated up to 600lbs. Body Euphoria does not have an automatic door, but it will not close on its own once opened. The ground floor has two conference rooms, a small bathroom, and a kitchen. Reaching the second floor requires ascending a flight of fairly steep stairs. We will make an effort to keep as much content as possible contained to ground floor spaces and to make sure that people who need accessible spaces are able to get them.
Restrooms
Persad has four ADA compliant single-occupancy bathrooms.
Body Euphoria has one small (52” by 78”) bathroom. Navigating to it involves negotiating a series of tight corners. The door to the bathroom itself is 34” wide. There are plans to install stability bars in the bathroom before the event. The handwashing sink is situated on top of a cabinet which would make it difficult to get close to in a wheelchair.
All restrooms at PTTAH are single-occupancy and will not be gendered.
Sound and Lighting
Space
We are putting up a variety of signs with 14+ font size to help people get oriented to the space and facilities.
Persad has fluorescent lighting in all of its rooms. For the quiet area, we are going to turn off the overhead fluorescent lights and bring in a lighting source that can provide softer illumination. All event activities will conclude before dark.
If there's a fire or some other emergency, the alarm systems have both audio and visual alarms.
Content
All speakers will have access to microphones and sound amplifying devices as parts of their presentations. For informal discussions, we will provide microphones that can be passed around to different speakers if necessary for the size of the group. (More on this in the Event section.)
We do not plan to have any FX like strobes, loud noises, or other such theatrical elements. If your project or presentation will involve these, please give the audience ample notice so they may plan appropriately (those things can trigger seizures in some individuals).
We encourage participants to use ASL Applause (“sparkle fingers”) rather than audible applause (clapping). This helps participants who are sensitive to noise and also allows presenters to continue speaking uninterrupted.
Seating
The majority of seating at both Persad and Body Euphoria is made up of hard-backed plastic chairs. Some cushions, mats, and other seating options will be provided for those who may need them.
The first row or front area of presentations will be reserved for attendees with visual, auditory, size, and/or space access needs.
Participants are also welcome to bring any type of seating material they would find comfortable and are encouraged to rearrange the provided seating in whatever ways will best facilitate their comfort and engagement.
Chemical Sensitivities and Scent-Aware Space
Persad does not use any sort of fragrance-emitting devices. The bathroom soaps are scented in all restrooms. If you have a chemical sensitivity that would require unscented soap, please let us know.
Body Euphoria will not have any fragrance-emitting devices active during the event. Unscented bathroom soap will be provided.
While we cannot guarantee a fully scent-free space, we encourage participants to limit their use of scented products.
From BUTCHVoices’ “Scent-Aware Policy”, a good resource regarding being scent-aware:
“We understand that perfumes, oils and hair products can be part of one’s gender identity, ethnic identity or spiritual practice. In addition, we understand that it may not be feasible to completely abandon your daily practices. Don’t worry, no one will be policing anybody’s use of cologne, skin, and/or hair preparations. All we ask is that, when you know you’re going to be in the communal space of the conference, you consider how using certain products could diminish someone else’s ability to enjoy the same panels or workshops that are of interest to you.”
Service and support animals are allowed in both Persad and Body Euphoria. If any attendees have severe allergies that might become activated by the presence of animals they are encouraged to contact our accessibility coordinator before the event.
No smoking is allowed inside of either PERSAD or Body Euphoria.
There will be a smoking area on the back patio of Body Euphoria on Saturday only.
Transportation and Parking
PERSAD has a large parking lot, with dozens of spaces located in the main entrance area and even more around the side. Both lots are paved, and the side lot has a paved path wrapping around to the front entrance.
Our accessible spots are located in front of the entrance to PERSAD in the main parking lot. People parking in the side lot will need to go around the building to get to PERSAD’s entrance—not necessarily a far trek, but farther than the walk from a normal accessible spot.
We have carpools being arranged for people who have transportation needs to and from the conference, especially for attendees who will be staying in any of the AirBnBs. If you have any transportation concerns, please reach out to Myla (moodymyla@gmail.com) or Mags (oatesmargar@gmail.com).
THE EVENT
Name Tags
There will be no pre-printed conference badges for this event, but participants are encouraged to make a name tag to share information about themselves, and to accommodate other participants who may have difficulty remembering names and faces.
Name tag making materials will be available at the welcome table. Welcome table volunteers will happily assist participants in making their name tags if needed.
Pronouns We encourage our participants to add their pronouns to their name tag, if they are comfortable doing so, and to pay attention to the pronouns listed on people’s badges and/or to ask what pronouns they should use for someone rather than assuming them.
Color communication badges are a tool developed by the Autistic community that conference participants can use to express the level of social interaction with strangers that they are currently open to. While we won’t have full sets of color communication badges at the event, there will be red, yellow, and green stickers available at the welcome table. Since communication preferences may change during the event, feel free to take more stickers to update your name tag as often as you need!
Touch
In keeping with our community agreements, we expect participants to avoid touching each other unless they have either explicit verbal consent or a previously established existing personal relationship that includes touch.
Food and Water
Food and drinks will be available to participants during both days of the event. We hope to provide coffee/tea and light fare in the mornings, a home-cooked lunchtime meal on each day, and have some snacks available throughout the event. Most food will be served in the Persad cafeteria.
We aim to provide gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, and vegan options, as well as taking into consideration other dietary restrictions shared with us in advance by our participants. We will label all ingredients to the best of our ability. Some food will come from food rescue and community donations, limiting our ability to have complete control, but we are committed to keeping people aware of what we are providing.
There is a water fountain located in the main welcome area of Persad.
Sensory Space
There will be a dedicated Sensory Space at Persad that attendees can engage with throughout both days of the unconference. This room will have comfortable seating and no fluorescent light. This space should be a quiet zone with no talking or phone calls.
While the room can only accommodate about six or seven people at a time, we also encourage attendees to leave the building and take time outside as often as they desire. Conference sessions will be staggered or otherwise scheduled with the intent of providing down-time in between.
People of Color Space
There will be a room at Persad (the Community Room) that is reserved for people of color only. On Saturday from 12 - 2pm, this room will host Black Dream Escape, an intentional, private space for Black and Indigenous folks curated by rest doulas Onika Reigns and Windafire. It is a haven for rest and sleep. During the rest of the event, the Community Room will be available as a social or quiet space for POC participants, or can be used for unconference sessions that the presenter wishes to limit to a POC audience.
We request that conference participants who identify as white be respectful of this private space -- which includes not engaging people of color in conversations where they are expected to explain or defend its presence at the event. Volunteers from the Murmurs of Hope mental health collective will be available to discuss the space; white-identified participants should direct any questions to these volunteers instead.
Sign Language Interpreting
ASL interpreting will be provided by Deaf/hearing tandem teams. Depending on the number of teams available, and the number of sessions scheduled, it may not be possible to have interpreter coverage of all sessions but we aim to have as much content interpreted as possible. We encourage participants who require interpretation to reach out to us so that we can work together to ensure access to as much of the content they are interested in as possible. You can contact our Accessibilty Coordinator, Myla, by email: moodymyla@gmail.com or text: (412) 307-7093
Mental Health Support
Volunteers from the Murmurs of Hope collective will be on hand to provide mental health support to participants. Murmurs of Hope is a collective of certified mental health professionals who provide volunteer support for community events.
Inside Our Minds will also host a Mental Health Cafe at Persad from 4 - 5pm on Saturday. Inside Our Minds is a peer-controlled, radical mental health organization and the Mental Health Cafe is a community conversation on radical mental health, focusing on informal discussions and friendly mutual aid in a welcoming space for all.
Presenter Language and Presence
We ask our presenters and other participants to do the following:
- Please use microphones and sound amplifying devices as provided; we have attendees who won’t be able to access the content otherwise.
- Presenters can notify audience whether or not they would like to be photographed along with any materials presented. For more information, please check our Community Agreements.
- Please don’t assume people’s genders or pronouns, or unnecessarily gender any participants or content (e.g. using “hey guys” for mixed groups, using “hey ladies” for groups presumed to be full of women, opening with “ladies and gentlemen,” using “mothers / fathers” instead of “parents / guardians” in situations that don’t require specificity, etc.)
- Alternatives include: everyone, folks, attendees, participants, etc.
- Please refrain from using ableist language, such as “crazy,” “hysterical,” “lame,” “insane,” “psycho,” and so on. Here is a list of ableist phrases. And here is a list of alternative phrases to use in their stead if you’re feeling stuck.
- Please verbally describe any images you post on slides or any items you bring to your presentation for demonstrations.
- Please provide some large-print versions of any printed material you hand out.
- Please provide content and/or trigger warnings for your content. Common content to warn for includes:
- Sexual assault
- Abuse
- Child abuse, pedophilia, and/or incest
- Animal cruelty or animal death
- Self-harm and suicide
- Eating disorders, body hatred, and fatphobia
- Violence
- Sexually explicit material
- Explicit medical imagery
- Kidnapping and abduction
- Pregnancy/childbirth
- Miscarriages/abortion
- Blood or other bodily fluids
- Slurs
- Explicit details about or accounts of oppression
Documentation
Respect for our participants’ privacy and security preferences is a core value of our event. We request that participants not photograph, video, or audio record any participants without their prior consent; and that they also ask for permission before posting images of anyone online or tagging them on social media.
For participants who would like a session they are attending recorded, we have several volunteers who have offered to be notetakers or sketch-noters. Please reach out to Myla or our our volunteer coordinator if you would like assistance with notetaking.
This event will be livetweeted using the #pleasetrythis19 hashtag and you are welcome to follow along and share the content with the world! When doing so, we encourage the inclusion of image descriptions when tweeting photos—ideally both in the "image description" section and also in the tweet itself since some screen-readers miss the image description/rollover/popup text. Here is how to do that. And here is more information overall about how to write captions (and what should/shouldn't go in them, to which we’d also add that people's genders shouldn't be assumed for the purposes of descriptions like these).
POINT PEOPLE
You can identify the PTTAH organizing team by their name tags, which will have stars on them!
Myla Calhoun (they/them) is our accessibility coordinator. Myla is communicating with event participants who have requested accessibility assistance, as well as creating preemptive documentation and accommodations. During the conference events, Myla will be making sure that people with accessibility needs will have the access, seating, and comfort required for them to enjoy Please Try This At Home. They will also be assisting us with language for signs and speakers. You can text them at (412) 307-7093 with any last-minute issues.
