EgressII discussion

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Remote Infrared Signage Developmen to Address Current and Emerging Access Problems for Blind Individuals

Part II

Smith-Kettlewell Research on the Use of Talking Signs®
for Use by People with Developmental Disabilities

DISCUSSION

It is clear that persons with developmental disabilities can learn to understand and use messages provided by the Talking signs system. Given only about 30 minutes of training in use of the technology, all participants successfully used Talking Signs messages to make travel decisions such as identifying a particular exit, entrance or side of a transit platform. Six of the twelve participants were also successful in traveling one or more routes using the information provided by the Talking Signs system.

Throughout the experiment, all participants continued to need verbal reminders and occasional physical assistance in holding the receiver correctly. The most common problems were forgetting to use the receiver or forgetting to move it around to get a clear message. It is not surprising that a longer training period is required for persons with developmental disabilities to use the Talking Signs system effectively and independently.

Success at independently traveling new routes appeared to be influenced by a number of factors. Some participants were somewhat familiar with and comfortable in Powell Station, while others were not familiar with any large transit station and were quite uncomfortable. Participants varied considerably in their understanding of station concepts. Some may not have understood that there were separate faregates and platforms for each station (BART and Muni) or that there were actually two different systems. While all participants observed that trains on each side of a platform went in different directions, some seemed to not understand that trains going in different directions went to different destinations. Many were unfamiliar with words commonly used in transit in San Francisco, such as "faregate," "platform," and "outbound." No attempt was made to teach travel concepts during the experiment.

Social and emotional factors as well as fatigue also played a role in success, particularly on the route traveling tasks. One participant traveled routes during a second experimental session due to fatigue and loss of interest.