Inauguration looks to include guests with disabilities

Josh Solomon and Gideon Resnick, Medill News Service | USATODAY

For the first time ever, hearing-impaired attendees at the 2013 presidential inauguration will be able to watch closed captioning of the event on their smartphones, one of several innovations that organizers say will make this inauguration more accessible than any before.

To improve accessibility this year, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) — one of the organizations planning the event — is deploying more manpower and technology to help people with disabilities get around and to inform them about what services will be offered.

With hundreds of thousands of people coming to Washington this weekend for the inauguration, getting around will not be an easy task for people with disabilities.

"The sheer force of humanity makes it challenging," said Jonathan Young, chairman of a council that advises the president and Congress on disability issues.

Young, who is partially paralyzed from a spinal cord surgery, said his own biggest challenge four years ago was dealing with the rush of the crowd. He used a walker in 2009 that provided little lateral stability and he worried about getting knocked over.

The Washington Metro recognizes this concern. Metro is expecting 600,000 to 800,000 riders over the four-day weekend, according to Caroline Lukas, manager of media relations, and 200 volunteers are being brought in to support the Metro staff and assist riders with disabilities as they get on and off trains.

Beyond the closed captioning, the JCCIC has also for the first time created a consolidated page designated specifically for all accessibility information about the Capitol grounds and the event. By Friday morning, the page had already been visited 12,000 times, according to committee spokesman Matt House.

Also new in 2013, accessible seating for guests using wheelchairs in the inner perimeter of the Capitol's West Front – right in front of where the president is sworn in – will be marked by blue flags, which will be clearly visible above the crowd. Near the flags, sign language interpreters will be stationed translating the Inaugural Address.

As in prior years, there will also be audio FM devices for individuals with visual impairments so that they can hear a description of the parade.

Young is optimistic this year. He said he thinks the JCCIC and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which oversees the parade and all other inaugural events, are trying to go "above and beyond in the spirit of the American Disabilities Act."