Diverisified Holdings News
Leader Dogs, Airlines Team up to Ease Travel for the Disabled
by Jerry Wolffe of the Oakland Press
(4/21/07) Staff from Leader Dogs for the Blind of Rochester will work with Northwest Airlines, the Wayne County Airport Authority and Checker Sedan on how to meet the special needs of the blind and disabled when they're traveling.
The first meeting is at 8:30am Wednesday at the McNamara Terminal, said Barry Stafford, an orientation and mobility specialist at Leader Dogs.
"We're going to make sure they provide services in a manner that fits the person's needs," said Stafford.
The training could include more that one meeting.
Stafford, 38, teaches basic mobility skills to the visually impaired or the blind at Leader Dogs.
The Wayne County Airport Authority is totally in support of the efforts of Leader Dogs for the Blind to help our contractors and tenants - airlines and ground transportation providers - to be aware of the needs of the disabled," said Michael Conway, public affairs specialist at the airport. He said sky caps are hired by airlines, including Northwest, to help customers with disabilities get to their gates on time or find what they need.
We plan to have some of our drivers at the daylong sessions," said Tim McCarthy, president of Checker Sedan, which provides luxury sedan transportation at Metropolitan Airport.
He said Checker has two converted vans with a portable ramp and wheelchair tie downs that can accommodate those who use power wheelchairs or wheelchairs that don't fold and won't fit in a vehicle's trunk.
"Our hope is that we can train these companies so they can be aware of what they are doing," Stafford said, "It's not hard at all to provide service to a disabled passenger; It's just a matter of information."
Some examples of disability etiquette include:
- Talk to the person, not to the person he or she is with.
- Call a person by name, not by a disability,
- Ask a disable person if he or she needs help and how.
- Don't put a blind person in a wheelchair just "because it makes it easier for you to help them."
- Do not talk more loudly to blind people; their hearing is not impaired.
"Basically, you treat a person with a disability with respect and dignity as you would any other customer," said Stafford.
A former critic oaf the airport, attorney Richard Bernstein of Farmington Hills, said he appreciates the efforts under way by the parties involved to be familiar with how, if necessary, to help disabled passengers.
"Anything that can make air travel easier is always appreciated," said Bernstein, who uses the airport every week. "When dealing with the public who travel a lot, whenever you make things good for disabled people, it improves service for everyone."
