Services Cater to Needs of Disabled

Federal regulations prohibiting discrimination are making travel easier for many of the 43 million Americans with disabilities.

One goal of the legislation, signed into law last year and called the Americans With Disabilities Act, is to require that a wide variety of businesses make their facilities and services accessible to the disabled. These businesses include travel agencies, hotels, bus companies, railroads and many others. Various facets of the law will be phased in over a period of years, with some important deadlines scheduled for Jan. 26, 1992.

Perhaps encouraged by this, organizations are now offering an increasing number of travel plans and services that take into consideration the special needs of people with disabilities.

The variety is impressive. It includes such exotic excursions as a canoe trip in Norway, fishing in the Ozarks or in Alaska, a tour of China, a safari in Africa and cruises and scuba diving in the Caribbean and other romantic places. Here’s a partial rundown of some of the companies that are offering special services and tours:

--The Itinerary, a bimonthly magazine aimed at answering special needs of travelers with disabilities, is an excellent source of such tour information. It is edited by Elizabeth Zywicki and her husband, Robert, a former journalist who is confined to a wheelchair as a result of rheumatoid arthritis. The Itinerary ($10 per year), P.O. Box 2012, Bayonne N.J., 07002-2012, (201) 858-3400. The Zywickis also run a travel agency that caters to the disabled called Whole Person Tours (same address and phone).

--Travel agent Ken Henderson, who operates Uniglobe All Points Travel in Lincolnshire, Ill., specializes in serving the disabled. He says his clientele often requires extra service that some travel agents may not be prepared to offer. Examples include access to a TDD telephone to talk with clients who are hearing-impaired, preparing itineraries in Braille or on cassettes for the blind, and knowing the ins and outs of special regulations that pertain to trains, airlines and other carriers.

Henderson has files listing which national parks have facilities to accommodate the disabled, which cities have rental vans equipped with lifts and which hotel chains offer the most complete special accommodations. Uniglobe All Points Travel, 175 Olde Half Day Road, Lincolnshire, Ill. 60069, (708) 913-9776.

--A few travel agencies or tour companies are run by disabled people who started the business after encountering unpleasant experiences while traveling. One of the oldest, Evergreen Travel, has been a family operation for 31 years. This year’s tours include trips to China and a Christmas trip aboard a Mississippi riverboat. Evergreen Travel, 4114 198th St. S.W., Suite 13, Lynnwood, Wash. 98036, (800) 435-2288.

--Another travel company that caters to the disabled is Flying Wheels Travel, 143 W. Bridge St., Owatonna, Minn. 55060, (507) 451-5005.

--Special types of travel experiences for the disabled are offered by both the Outward Bound organization and a company called Mobility International, a nonprofit organization supported partially by government funds. Mobility International conducts exchange programs with disabled groups in other countries. Last year, it sent a group of 22 people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and hearing and visual disabilities to the Soviet Union, where they met with disability organizations in three cities and stayed part of the time in the private homes of disabled Soviet citizens.

Next July, Mobility International will sponsor a similar group of disabled people on a tour to Mexico. The Soviet Union tour cost $2,500 per person, but $1,000 per person was paid by the U.S. Information Agency. Cost for the Mexico exchange has yet to be determined.

Mobility International also runs a travel referral service available to members ($20 a year). It provides information on accommodations available in other countries, as well as on how to contact disability organizations abroad. Nonmembers may subscribe to a newsletter for $10 a year. Mobility International, P.O. Box 3551, Eugene, Ore. 97403, (503) 343-1284.

--Voyager Outward Bound, one of the Outward Bound organizations that runs a special wilderness education school for the physically impaired, conducts 15-day canoe trips on Minnesota lakes every summer for groups of disabled people over the age of 16. Voyager Outward Bound, 10900 Cedar Lake Road, Minnetonka, Minn. 55343, (800) 328-2943.

When booking a trip, it is a good idea to find a travel agent who specializes in the unique needs of the disabled or is willing to research the subject. Kay Howard, a staff member of the American Society of Travel Agents’ committee on travel for the disabled, admits that ASTA members may avoid booking trips for the disabled because of the extra time it takes to make the special arrangements.

Once a qualified agent is found, it is important to be specific about exactly what the traveler’s special needs are. Among considerations to list, for example: Bathroom doors need to be large enough to accommodate a wheelchair; cruise ships should offer access to ports of call for those confined to wheelchairs; train trips should have wheelchair lifts at every stop, and hotels need bathtubs and beds that are low enough to make transfer from a wheelchair easy.