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Julie Hapeman, MPS Special Services Center, Milwaukee Public Schools
7/12/2010 1:19:01 PM
I teach orientation & mobility to students with visual impairments. One of my biggest obstacles has been communication with the Milwaukee County Transit System, a service that my students will likely use frequently. I began discussing my problems with Don Natzke from the Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities, who set up a meeting, which included the 2 of us, a travel instructor from the county, and an administrator from MCTS. At the meeting, I discussed my frustration with trying to orient my student with visual impairments, particularly those with multiple disabilities, to the bus, as previously the bus company would send a bus to a school for orientation purposes, but that program had ceased. I also expressed my concern over drivers improperly locking down passengers' wheelchairs. From that discussion came a mutually beneficial program: New driver trainees would bring buses to a school with a large populations of students with disabilities. Students would be allowed to explore the buses, learn how to board, pay the fare, ask for a transfer, and find a seat; drivers would learn how to interact with people with disabilities and how to properly lock down a variety of different wheelchairs. At our first training, over 200 students from Gaenslen School and 7 new drivers participated. Everyone found it very beneficial -- and very enjoyable.