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"Our mission is to support providers
of travel instruction for the purpose of
teaching people with disabilities and seniors
to travel safely and independently."
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2010-2011 Association of Travel Instruction Officers: |
President
President-elect
Secretary
Treasurer |
Mary
Riegelmayer
Peggy Schmidt
Susan Olsson
Rosanne Bopp |
To contact any of
the above ATI Officers or the eight additional ATI Board of
Directors members, please
CLICK HERE.
E-news Editor: Terry Moakley E-news Designer: Terry
Massie |
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IN THIS ISSUE: |
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1.
President's Message by Mary Riegelmayer
2.
Nominations Open for
ATI's Highest Honor
3.
TCRP Issues Request for Proposals for Travel Training of Seniors
Handbook
4.
Attendee Evaluations Show 2010 Baltimore ATI Conference a Smash Hit
5.
U.S. Access Board Completes Major Wheeled Mobility Study
6.
Forward this Newsletter |
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE BY MARY RIEGELMAYER
It’s hard to believe
that almost a year has gone by since our last conference.
As we prepare for this year’s conference in Philadelphia, it’s also
time to think about renewing your membership for another year. Aside
from conference fees, our membership renewals provide one of our
greatest income sources as well as serving as an indicator of the
growth of our organization. With the advent of federal New Freedom
grants, the field of travel instruction/training has exploded, and
as it continues to expand, so we hope will our membership. The
larger our membership, the more effective ATI becomes to better
provide and advocate for the training and support needed by our
members to provide the best services to our customers, clients and
trainees. And as our field grows, new venues for instruction and
arenas of best practice are developed. Throughout the years we have
maintained our membership, but we still need your support to
continue to grow, and to achieve our goals. So please consider
RENEWING your membership NOW if you have not already done so, and
invite a friend to join as well! Members have the added benefit of
lower conference fees and the advantage of meeting other trainers
with whom to network and to resolve problems. Please consider taking
a minute to mention ATI when you have an opportunity to meet with other professionals and
encourage them to join as well! CLICK
HERE to renew your membership or to join ATI, either through the
mail or online using PayPal. |
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NOMINATIONS OPEN
FOR ATI'S HIGHEST HONOR
We think that experienced travel instructors/trainers would
acknowledge that our profession might not exist were it not for the
care and compassion of Jack Gorelick, who first suggested and
demonstrated way back in 1961 that individuals with significant
cognitive disabilities could be taught how to use public buses and
trains safely and independently.
The
dignity and self-assurance gained by a number of individuals with
such disabilities, and their parents, was very evident at this past
winter’s 50th anniversary celebration of the AHRC of New York City’s
travel training program, where Mr. Gorelick was employed when he
founded travel training. It is befitting that ATI announces that
nominations are now open for The Jack Gorelick Award, our
Association’s highest honor. The deadline for submissions is Friday,
July 15, 2011. Please
CLICK HERE for the guidelines and criteria for the 2011 Jack
Gorelick Award. |
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TCRP ISSUES REQUEST
FOR PROPOSALS FOR TRAVEL TRAINING OF SENIORS HANDBOOK
The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), a program of the
National Academies' Transportation Research Board, has released a
Request for Proposals (RFP) for a project titled: "How to Create,
Implement, Sustain, and Evaluate Travel Training for Older Adults: A
Handbook."
This handbook should address the primary components of an effective
program of travel training for older adults, including but not
limited to the following: (1) defining the target market for travel
training; (2) identifying incentives and barriers to participation
in training programs and subsequent use of conventional public
transit; (3) presenting effective marketing and outreach; (4)
presenting opportunities and techniques for customized training; (5)
identifying and describing methods to monitor outcomes, refine
techniques, and sustain ridership; and (6) evaluating
cost-effectiveness to the provider as well as the recipient of
training. To be considered, Proposals must be submitted by June 15,
2011. View the full RFP at:
http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=3084 |
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ATTENDEE EVALUATIONS
SHOW 2010 BALTIMORE ATI CONFERENCE A SMASH HIT
Recently, we had a
chance to review some amazing statistics from the attendee
evaluation forms filled out by ATI members at our August 2010
Conference in Baltimore.
From collected evaluation forms of six conference presentations, two
sessions received a 98% “excellent” or “good” rating; three other
sessions received 96%, 94% and 93% respectively “excellent” or
“good” ratings; and, a sixth session was rated 80% “excellent” or
“good.” We think that these results make it safe to conclude that
one of our highest-attended recent conferences was also one of our
best-ever conferences. Let’s keep raising the bar as we move closer
to our 2011 annual conference in Philadelphia. |
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U.S. ACCESS BOARD
COMPLETES MAJOR WHEELED MOBILITY STUDY
Several months ago, the United States
Access Board released the results of a major study of people who use
wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
This study was conducted by the Center for Inclusive Design and
Environmental Access (IDEA Center), whose researchers collected
detailed measurements of almost 500 people using a wide variety of
wheeled mobility devices. Also, researchers compared the data to
existing design specifications for accessibility. Key findings from
this analysis include: clear floor space requirements, especially
the length, and knee and toe clearances, do not accommodate many
wheeled mobility aid users; some mobility aids, particularly
scooters, require greater clearances for maneuvering and turning;
and, points at the low end of recognized reach ranges are more
problematic than those at the high end of the range.
The final report is
available on the IDEA Center website:
http://www.udeworld.com/anthropometrics.html |
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FORWARD THIS NEWSLETTER
Know other travel trainers,
travel instructors, mobility specialists, ADA coordinators, ADA
Paratransit eligibility certifiers, travel buddies, human service
agency transportation staff, school transition coordinators,
independent living center or other disability group transportation
advocates—basically anyone who assists persons with disabilities or
seniors to use public transportation, or who is thinking of starting
any type of travel training service, from short and simple group
familiarization programs to intensive, short-term one-on-one travel
training?
If so, please forward this issue to them. Help ATI
build its membership and attract new sponsors |
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P.O. Box 2042 - Madison Square Station
- New York, NY 10159 |
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