| PCA/ACA Conference Accessibility |
Overview Accessibility for PCA/ACA National ConferencePCA/ACA members with disabilities and/or accessibility needs should indicate access needs on your conference proposal and registration forms, when applicable, which allows leadership to begin to plan for accommodations. PCA will make every reasonable effort to provide accommodations and assistance, which could include sign language interpreters, assigning accessible presentation spaces, and more. As our annual conference is held in a hotel conference venue, some spaces may not be fully accessible and some of our technology may be limited. We encourage attendees to contact us about accommodations. PCA/ACA staff will offer an orientation session prior to the start of the conference on April 7, 2026, to acclimatize attendees to the conference spaces. If you would like to participate, please contact staff. To request accommodations, please ensure you have fully completed the accessibility accommodations section on the proposal and/or registration forms. If you have needs or accommodations that arise or change after registration closes or you have questions, send an email to contact@pcaaca.org. The Vice President of Belonging, Outreach, and Membership serves as the Accessibility Coordinator for the conference. Adoption and Updates to Conference Accessibility PlanThe PCA/ACA Conference Accessibility Plan was approved by the Governing Board on 21 June 2024. As best practice shift and regulations and reauthorizations of ADA change legal obligations related to accessibility, the Vice President of Diversity, Outreach, and Inclusion will be responsible for updates to the plan.
PCA/ACA 2026 will be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis (located at 265 Peachtree Center Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30303). Because the conference is held within the Atlanta Marriot Marquis, we recommend utilizing the conference hotel for overnight accommodations for proximity and other accessibility concerns. The following vendor for wheelchair and/or electric scooter rental have been recommended by the Atlanta Marriott Marquis or have indicated that they service Atlanta hotel venues: Scoot Around https://scootaround.com/en/atlanta Scoot Around, Scoot Around If you encounter an accessibility concern at the annual conference, please notify your area chair immediately, if it is related to your presentation session. For all other onsite accessibility concerns, send an email to contact@pcaaca.org, Vice President for Belonging, Outreach, and Membership Amanda Hobson (amanda@pcaaca.org), and Vice President for Area Chairs Nicole Freim (nicole@pcaaca.org) to ensure we are able to address the concern as quickly as possible. PCA/ACA will provide ASL interpreter services for attendees who request interpretation in advance of the annual conference. To request interpreter services, complete the accessibility accommodations section on the proposal and/or registration forms. We ask that you indicate ASL dialect and any other specific instructions at the time of request. PCA/ACA staff request notification of sessions the member anticipates attending fourteen (14) days prior to the beginning of the conference and a copy of the requestors paper and/or presentation materials to PCA/ACA seven (7) day prior to the start of the conference to help facilitate interpretation services. Attendees who need PCA materials in alternative formats should send an email to contact@pcaaca.org, as soon as possible to share format needs. Attendees may contact the session presenters directly to request session materials in alternative formats. Please note session presenters may deny the request for a myriad of reasons. Session presenters’ contact information can be found in the program guide or on the membership web forum online. While PCA/ACA strives to ensure all sessions are held in spaces accessible to attendees using wheelchairs or scooters, some of the hotel conference spaces may be difficult to access for individuals with mobility issues. We encourage members to communicate with PCA/ACA staff and their Area Chair about accessibility needs related to mobility and assistive devices. PCA/ACA staff will work to schedule sessions in the most appropriate locations. Attendees who need a sighted guide or mobility assistance to navigate the annual conference should indicate their request on the proposal and/or registration forms. For members who are bringing a Personal Care Assistant, indicate the name of the Personal Care Assistant on your request, and communicate with the organization at contact@pcaaca.org. To best support our participants, we are providing a Quiet Room, which will be indicated in the conference program. The Quiet Room is intended to provide a safe and calm room to step away from the bustle of the conference. We ask participants to respect the space and others, keep the noise level down, and clean up after oneself. Any participant may use this space for a variety of functions, as long as they respect the intended atmosphere of the room. Attendees that cause disruption in the Quiet Room will be referred to the Ethics Committee. We ask our PCA/ACA Annual Conference attendees to be mindful of others. If you have symptoms of any viruses (such as COVID, RSV, the Flu, etc.), please take appropriate precautions by following the CDC guidelines related to respiratory viruses released on March 1, 2024. Also note that some members of our community may continue to wear masks and practice other cautionary measures. Be respectful of our colleagues’ space. PCA/ACA’s Accessibility Plan was adapted from accessible conference guides by Special Interest Group on Accessible Computing (SIGAccess), the American Academy of Religion, the Council of Ontario Universities, and NASPA. We will continue to make efforts to address accessibility, and if you have any suggestions, please send them to contact@pcaaca.org with the subject line Accessibility Suggestions.
To best support our participants, we are providing a Quiet Room, which will be indicated in the conference program. The Quiet Room is intended to provide a safe and calm room to step away from the bustle of the conference. We ask participants to respect the space and others, keep the noise level down, and clean up after oneself. Any participant may use this space for a variety of functions, as long as they respect the intended atmosphere of the room. Attendees that cause disruption in the Quiet Room will be referred to the Ethics Committee.
Microphones and Speaking:
Limited Fragrance Environment:
Service Animals:
Interpreters:
Personal Interactions and Physical Contact:
Pronouns and Names:
Use Microsoft 365 Suite (Word, PowerPoint, etc.):
Presentation Slides:
Utilize Captions and/or Subtitles:
Creating Sharable Content: |
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