Accessibility at CEC Events
The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) strives for access to all activities—to the fullest extent possible—at our events based on an awareness of participants' needs and appropriate planning. CEC's events and meetings include, but are not limited to, in-person or “live”, virtual events and the CEC Convention.
For CEC events, you are asked while registering to indicate the area(s) in which you will need assistance. Once the registration process is complete, a staff member will follow up with you to review your survey responses and discuss your needs.
We ask that all requests for reasonable accommodations at our events be made as early as possible and at least two weeks in advance of the event, so that we may best meet individual needs and provide outside services, if necessary. On-site requests will be met to the best of our ability; however, available resources may be limited or unavailable.
If you are participating in a Division or Unit meeting, which are held independently of CEC, the organizer of the meeting will ask participants if accommodations are needed and will facilitate securing services.
Mobility
Due to the size of most of CEC's live events, especially the CEC Convention, venues for sessions and activities are often spread out over a wide area, and distances between locations can be considerable. CEC provides multiple motorized wheelchairs or scooters during the annual Convention. To ensure availability, please make your request for these items at least two weeks before the Convention. Onsite, scooters are available on a first come, first serve basis and must be signed out by the user. Each session room at our live events has a priority seating area set aside for wheelchairs or scooters.
Hearing
We recognize that captioning preferences, communication preferences, hearing needs and hearing-related accommodations span a wide spectrum. Upon completion of the event registration detailing your accommodation needs, A CEC staff member will contact you to discuss your requests and obtain additional information. Captioning and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting are both provided at the general sessions at the CEC Convention. Captioning is provided at CEC’s virtual events.
Vision
Priority seating can be found at sessions and activities that take place during the CEC Convention. If requested in advance, CEC can provide digital files that may be enlarged and/or printed for easier reading.
Food Restrictions and Allergies
We ensure that our large live events offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free food options. At CEC sponsored events, all efforts are made to ensure items are labeled with the appropriate dietary restrictions. For food items not provided by CEC (i.e., those purchased from an outlet in the convention center, please confirm ingredients with outlet staff. CEC may accommodate religious or medically necessary food restrictions and ask that you indicate your dietary needs in advance as early as possible.
Service Animals
Please let us know in advance if you have a service animal. Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
Priority Seating
A limited number of priority seats are set aside for those with disabilities, including end-cap seating, in each session room as well as the General Sessions. Seats will be located in different areas to accommodate different needs. Wheelchair and scooter spaces will be created along the aisles for easy access.
Seats marked as priority will be held open at all times if not being used by an attendee with a disability. Priority seating at all events is limited and will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees are encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early for popular sessions and events.
Housing
At all CEC live events that also involve housing, ADA-designated hotel rooms are set aside for individuals requesting them. Please make your hotel reservations as early as possible, as there may be a limited number of accessible rooms available at each property. Please refer to the CEC Convention housing webpage for more details about ADA hotel rooms.
Personal Consideration Rooms
At the CEC Convention, several rooms are typically set aside—as available at the venue-- for nursing mothers, those with sensitive personal health needs, prayer and meditation, etc. Please inquire at the nearest CEC Information Booth where you may inquire about availability and request a key—staff will direct you to where the room is located. Please note that these rooms are not staffed, refrigerators are not provided, and CEC is not responsible for items left in the rooms.
Other Accommodations
If you require additional reasonable accommodations that are not already being provided or listed above, CEC is happy to work with you to provide such accommodations with at least two weeks of written notice prior to the event. Requests can be made by emailing the CEC team at accessibility@exceptionalchildren.org.