Episode 7: Transportation Resources for Spanish Speakers with Disabilities

Welcome to the 7th episode of NARIC’s Spotlight podcast! I am Marta Arnold, NARIC’s Spanish-language Reviewer. In today’s episode, NARIC’s Bilingual Information and Media Specialist, Marta Garcia, discusses evidence-based consumer products related to transportation for people with disabilities, including NIDILRR-funded products. Many of these products include factsheets, guides, articles, and other documents. Marta will also discuss many consumer products related to transportation that are in Spanish or aimed at Spanish speakers with disabilities. I hope you find this episode informative!

People with disabilities have the right to move around their communities, their states, their countries, and around the world, just like people without disabilities. This includes Latinx/Hispanics and other Spanish speakers with disabilities. However, Spanish speakers with disabilities may have difficulties getting around in their communities due to transportation being inaccessible or even unavailable. Inaccessible transportation may include buses without ramps or accessible seating, a lack of curb cuts at intersections, a lack of reliable public transportation, and a lack of transportation information in Spanish, among others. Features of accessible transportation include ramps, level boarding surfaces, peer-to-peer service platforms in Spanish, audible and visual announcements in Spanish, and more.

For Spanish-speakers with disabilities, accessible transportation and its availability in all communities helps them to participate in their communities independently and to travel to new or familiar places around the world. Curb cuts help wheelchair users and those with visual disabilities to step off the curb and cross the street. Audible announcements in English and Spanish may alert people with visual disabilities that their stop is coming. Multilingual wayfinding systems at airports may assist people with disabilities around the globe in finding their way in unfamiliar airports.

NARIC’s information specialists are often asked for information and resources about accessible transportation by Spanish-speakers with disabilities, their families, and the service providers that support them. Today we are highlighting evidence-based resources from the NIDILRR community on accessible transportation.

The following items are just a few examples of evidence-based transportation resources in Spanish from the NIDILRR community:

  • Are you a Spanish speaker with a disability, a family member, friend, or service provider interested in accessible transportation? NARIC’s series, Ask A Librarian, tackles this topic with What is Accessible Transportation? (in Spanish). To answer this question, NARIC provides a definition, examples of accessible transportation, and resources that readers may use to learn more.
  • The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC) creates factsheets in Spanish related to spinal cord injuries (LME), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and burn injuries. These factsheets include: Driving after an SCI (in Spanish), which discusses what Spanish-speakers with SCI need to know as they decide to return to driving after their injury, such as the factors to consider when returning to driving after an SCI, information on assistive technology (AT) that makes vehicles accessible, and how to pay for the AT. Continuing on the driving front, the MSKTC also has a factsheet for people with TBI, Driving after a TBI (in Spanish). This factsheet discusses how a TBI may affect a person’s driving ability, what to consider when returning to driving a car, vehicular accommodations, and more.
  • The ADA Network Knowledge Translation Center and its ten regional centers , including the Pacific ADA Regional Center, help people with disabilities and other stakeholders learn about their rights and responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This includes factsheets in Spanish related to the ADA and accessible transportation, such as:
  • NARIC’s Research In Focus series features reader-friendly summaries of the latest research from NIDILRR-funded projects and covers a variety of topics related to disability, rehabilitation, and independent living, including accessible transportation and the benefits of transportation for people with disabilities and their communities.  Summaries on transportation-related research include Independent Transportation Can Lead to More Opportunity for People with Disabilities and For People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Managing Transportation May be Key for Employment Success.

These are just a few examples of resources on accessible transportation available in Spanish from the NIDILRR community. If you would like to learn more about these and other accessible transportation resources, please contact NARIC’s information specialists via chat, phone, or email. 

This is Marta Arnold, and I would like to thank you for listening to today’s episode. I would also like to thank Marta Garcia for sharing the informative research-based consumer products related to transportation for people with disabilities, including those products for Spanish speakers with disabilities. All the resources and links mentioned in today’s episode may be found in the episode’s description. Transcripts in English and Spanish for this episode may be found on our website at naric.com. If you would like to learn more about transportation-related and evidence-based consumer products or have an idea for a future episode, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at naricinfo@heitechservices.com.