Did you know that, on average, about one out of seven of your attendees at a given event has a disability of some type? With 35 million adults in America dealing with a disability, planners must engage attendees ahead of time to understand the limitations they have, and then account for those limitations as they plan the event experience.

That was the message from Stephen Cutchins, senior manager–accessibility at meeting-technology company Cvent. To get planners to better understand and plan for the challenges that some attendees face, he delivered a varied menu of advice in a recent MeetingsNet webinar.

But the most important lesson, he said, is for planning teams to use a philosophy of “ask and act.” Encouraging attendees to present their challenges and needs during the registration process allows the planning team to act on what they learn, and then to communicate the actions they’ve taken to all attendees—some of whom might not have spoken up about their limitations.

To learn more insights from Cutchins, click here to access the full article from our sister publication MeetingsNet.