Making the Cincinnati Zoo More Inclusive for Families with - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Making the Cincinnati Zoo More Inclusive for Families with Developmental Disabilities

Valerie Miller M.S., OTR/L, Jessie Richard, M. Ed., Meghan Wolken, Teresa Farmer, PsyD., and Jennifer Smith, PsyD., BCBA-D

• It is estimated that 483,467 or 17.8% of Ohio’s

children have a special healthcare need (National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2009-2010)

• 7.84% of children with disabilities ages 3-21

receiving special education services in Ohio were reported as having autism Spectrum Disorder (Easter Seals Inc., 2015)

• Families of children with developmental disabilities

seek “typical family outings” that are meaningful, enjoyable, and interesting to their child (Langa et al., 2013)

Background

Background

• Families that have children with developmental

disabilities usually experience decreased participation in community activities due to:

• Negative emotions while participating (Lam, Wong,

Leung, Ho, & Au-Yeung, 2010)

• Feelings of criticism and judgment from the general

public (Kulik & Fletcher, 2016)

• Feelings of isolation due to lack of

understanding/empathy from general public/staff (Thompson & Emira, 2016)

SOAR Program

• SOAR- Starting our Adventure

Right

• Started with the Cincinnati

Airport

• Now includes:
• The Cincinnati Children’s Theater
• Duke Energy Children’s Museum
• The Cincinnati Ballet
• SOAR provides staff training

and resources to community agencies to better serve families

• f children with developmental

disabilities

The Cincinnati Zoo

• The Cincinnati Zoo and

Botanical Gardens is the second oldest Zoo in the country

• Rated as a top family

attraction in Cincinnati

• Currently the Cincinnati Zoo

recognizes a need to reach families of children with disabilities but is unsure of how to approach this task

Goals of the Study

• To understand the experience
• f families of children with

developmental disabilities at the Cincinnati Zoo

• To understand barriers and

supports to attending the Cincinnati Zoo

• To provide information to the

Cincinnati Zoo to help with future efforts to be more inclusive

Project Method

• Three focus groups with 5 to 8 non-paid primary

caregivers who self-identified as caring for a child, adolescent, or adult with a Developmental Disability

• Ages 2-10 years
• Ages 11 and up
• Mixed ages
• Each group lasted approximately 90 minutes
• Each group facilitated by one of the LEND trainees
• f the research team
• Video and audio recording were utilized and

transcribed and themes were developed

Recommendations by Group

2 to 10 Years 10 Years & Up Mixed Ages

• Security of Physical

Space

• Staff Training on

Disabilities

• Improvements to

Nursing Station

• Calming Space
• Disability Friendly

Events

• Inclusive Camps
• Additional Family

Bathrooms

• Sensory Friendly

Bathrooms

• Identification System
• Staff Training on

Disabilities

• Sensory Maps & Kits
• Renaming of Nursing

Station

• Calming Space
• Accessible Bathroom

Equipment

• Developmentally

Appropriate Camps

• Membership

Accommodations

• Disability Friendly

Events

• Entrance Flow
• Educating Staff on the

Challenges of Caring for a Child with a Disability

• Accessible Playground
• Disability Attendant
• Calming Space
• Accessible Viewing

Options

• Accessible Bathroom

Equipment

• Membership

Accommodations

• Interactive

Technological Resources

• Employment

Overall Themes

Universal Themes

Facility Improvement s Staff Training Programmin g Improvement s Safety Concerns Aids and Supports

Discussion

• Feedback for the Cincinnati zoo was overwhelmingly

positive across all three groups, and it should be noted that data was only analyzed regarding improvements to the zoo

• Similarities between the groups focused on the need for

disability-friendly events, the need for calming spaces, and the need for staff education

• Differences identified between the age groups including the

younger aged groups discussing concerns with safety while the older-aged groups focused more on accessibility and employment opportunities with the Cincinnati Zoo

Next Steps

• Information from the focus

groups will be provided to the Cincinnati Zoo

• Surveys will be provided to

families who were not able to attend the focus groups but wanted to participate, and survey data will be analyzed

• Cincinnati LEND will continue

to work with the zoo to identify reasonable next steps to implement change

Thank you!

Contact Information: Valerie Miller, M.S. OTR/L Valerie.Miller2@cchmc.org

References

• Easter Seals, INC. (2015). 2015 Ohio State Autism Profile. Retrieved from

http://www.easterseals.com/explore-resources/living-with-autism/profiles-

• hio.html?referrer=https://wwww.google.com/
• Lam, S.F., Wong, B.P., Leung, D., Ho, D., & Au-Yeung, P. (2010). How parents perceive

and feel about participation in community activities: the comparison between parents of preschooler with and without autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 14(4), 359-377.

• Langa, L.A., Monaco, P., Subramaniam, M., Jaeger, P.T., Shanahan, K., & Ziebarth, B.

(2013). Improving the museum experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders and their families: An exploratory examination of their motivations and needs and using web-based resources to meet them. Curator: The Museum Journal, 56(3), 323-335.

• Kulik, T. K., & Fletcher, T.S. (2016). Considering the museum experience of children with
• autism. Curator: The Museum Journal, 59(1), 27-38.
• National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN) (2009). 2009-

2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Retrieved from http://wwww.childhealthdata.org

• Thompson, D., & Emira, M. (2011). ‘They say every child matters, but they don’t’: an

investigation into parental and caregiver perceptions of access to leisure facilities and respite care for children and young people with Autism