Last updated 10.24.2023

We welcome everyone to our programming and are committed to making our events accessible, and to making arrangements that allow all attendees to participate in the conversation. With questions about access, or to request any disability-related accommodations that will facilitate your full participation in ALTA's programming, such as ASL interpreting, CART captioning, wheelchair access, etc., please contact Program Manager Kelsi Vanada (520-621-6123). ALTA can best meet accessibility needs when requests are sent at least two weeks in advance of a given event.

We encourage all attendees to continue to check this page as our 2023 planning continues. It will be updated frequently throughout the upcoming months.

Please be respectful of another person’s right to use accessibility resources, and remember that some disabilities are invisible.

ASL Interpretation 

Sign language interpreters are available upon request for virtual or in-person events. Please make requests at least two weeks in advance of a given event, with a list of events you plan to attend (that is, by October 25 for the conference). To request an interpreter, contact Kelsi Vanada by email or by phone at (520) 621-1757. 

cart captioning

CART captioning is available upon request through the University of Arizona's Disability Resource Center, for virtual or in-person events. Please make requests at least two weeks in advance of a given event, with a list of events you plan to attend (that is, by October 25 for the conference). To request an interpreter, contact Kelsi Vanada by email or by phone at (520) 621-1757. 

deaf and hard of hearing services

In addition to scheduling interpreters and/or CART services, all plenary sessions will be equipped with a microphone and speakers. Larger conference session rooms will also have microphones and speakers to ensure that sound carries well for the audience in larger spaces. If it would help you to sit closer to the front / to the speaker, please look for the stretchy blue seat bands with disability access symbols printed on them and take a seat in these reserved spaces. Interpreters and captioners may also use these seats, when present, along with anyone else who needs access to the front of the room. 

blind and low-vision services

Our program book will be available as a printed booklet, and as an accessible PDF. Roundtable organizers and panelists have been asked to provide large-print versions of any printed materials they hand out during their session. Make sure to provide at least five copies in large-print format in boldface, fourteen-to-sixteen-point font size, on white paper stock for those who may be visually impaired.

wheelchair rental

The Marriott does not have wheelchairs to rent. Two rental locations are recommended by the University of Arizona's Disability Resource Center: Mobility Plus and Tucson Safety and Medical.

Recordings

ALTA is unable to record or livestream the in-person events during ALTA46.

For presenters

All presenters and readers are asked to help make our programming accessible by following these guidelines for giving accessible presentations.

If your session or reading will be ASL interpreted, you must agree to provide copies of your notes or translations to the interpreter in advance, so that they may have adequate time to prepare.

Papers and handouts

ALTA is not a paper conference, and participants are asked not to read papers during their session. Referencing prepared bullet points or notes is allowed, and even encouraged, and accommodations will be made for those who need to read their presentation. However, papers are unavailable to be circulated before, during, or after sessions.

If roundtable organizers choose to share handouts with their participants, they are requested to circulate these by email in advance of the conference. Be sure to provide a couple of large-print copies if you share any handouts at the conference.

alta46 health and safety policy

At ALTA, community is our priority, and our goal is to create a safe and positive ALTA conference in Tucson this fall by reducing health risks and acting out of care for ourselves and others. Making the conference more accessible to disabled and immunocompromised participants helps keep all of us safer and healthier. Masks will be required in all ALTA-reserved hotel spaces. Exceptions may be made if a participant cannot wear a mask due to sensory or medical issues. Panelists and readers may choose to unmask when speaking only. Read more in our Health and Safety Policy.

ALTA46 conference hotel

The conference meeting space at the Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel is all on the ground level, and two accessible restrooms are located near the meeting space. All event rooms will include wheelchair-accessible seating distributed throughout the space, and adequate space for aisles/routes. Plenary session spaces will be equipped with microphones and speakers. Accessible guest rooms are available and can be reserved when booking through ALTA’s discounted hotel block link on our hotel and travel page. For more information about the physical features of the Marriott's accessible rooms, common areas, or special services relating to a specific disability, please call 520-792-4100.

visual cues in the marriott

take a virtual tour of the marriott

Accessible areas with accessible routes from public entrance: Business Center; meeting spaces and ballrooms; public entrance alternative; registration desk pathway; registration desk; restaurant(s)/lounge(s). 

Accessible hotel features: Two accessible restrooms near conference meeting rooms; accessible self-parking; self-parking facility, van-accessible spaces; self-parking, accessible spaces; service animals are welcome; valet parking for vehicles outfitted for drivers in wheelchairs; elevators. 

Guest Room Accessibility: Accessible Vanities, Adjustable Height Hand-Held Shower Wand, Alarm Clock Telephone Ringers, Bathtub Grab Rails, Bathtub Seat, Closed Caption TV, Deadbolts on Guest Room and Suites Doors, Electronic Room Key, Guest Room and Suites Doors Self-Closing, Hearing Accessible Rooms and/or Kits, Lever Handles on Guest Room Doors, Lowered Deadbolts on Guest Room Doors, Lowered Viewports in Guest Room Doors, Mobility accessible rooms, Non-slip Grab Rails in the Bathroom, Roll-in Shower, Room Windows Open, Safety Chains and/or Latches on Guest Doors, Secondary Locks on Room Windows, TTY/TTD Compatible, Toilet Seat at Wheelchair Height, Viewports in Guest Room and Suites Doors. Read more at the Marriott's website.

Onsite Accessibility Contact

Requests onsite are best directed to the Registration Table during conference hours. No one is required to disclose a disability, but we can better meet specific needs if we know well ahead of the conference that a reasonable disability-related accommodation will be needed. We will do our best to meet accessibility needs that come up during the conference.

ALTA46 Offsite Event Access information 

ALTA does not sponsor offsite events; offsite event organizers that have listed their event in the conference program book have certified that they verified that the venue where their event will be held is accessible according to standards of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Descriptions of the access features at offsite event locations that sent their information to ALTA will be given in the ALTA46 program book. If you have any questions or concerns about specific offsite events, please contact the organizers of the event directly (contact information will be listed in the program book for offsite events that sent their information to ALTA).