In 2018, Koleczek connected with Sonoran UCEDD Assistant Director Jacy Farkas for information about ensuring all who participate in educational programs and interact with volunteers have a positive experience.  

Farkas brought on Lynne Oland, a retired University of Arizona professor and member of the center’s Community Advisory Council, to co-lead and mentor some of the students who participated in the project.

Over the past two years, students conducted trainings about accommodating for different behaviors and conducted research about inclusion in zoos, aquariums and museums.

“When Oland and the other interns presented to us, they gave us a lot of concrete advice and practical strategies that helped us create a more welcoming environment for everyone who comes to the zoo,” Koleczek says. 

The trainings drew attention from the volunteer program that was looking to have outreach for people with developmental and physical disabilities.

“We continued looking at what could be more helpful,” Farkas says. “Our students did observations at events around access and there was an interest in wanting to make educational and volunteer programs more inclusive.”

COVID-19 ADAPTATION

Originally, Tilicki, Winsten and Hughes were going to create videos of different interactions zoo staff and volunteers may have with people with a disability. But because of COVID-19, they couldn’t physically create the recordings.

Instead, they adapted the scripts into scenarios that they would present in a virtual format.

“We thought about the most common interactions at the zoo and the most common ways a disability might present itself to somebody,” Hughes says.

One of the four scenarios was about a guest with Down syndrome asking a staff member a question as part of a group. The guest speaks slowly and is difficult to understand, and before finishing the question, the staff member speaks to the other guests.

Based on the scenario, the staff and volunteers answered questions such as, “What stood out to you about the staff’s response?” and “How might this interaction affect the person who approached the staff member?

“Their answers to our different scenarios were very thoughtful so that makes me feel very confident that they’re going to apply some of the things we talked about in the training,” Winsten says.

BENEFITTING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

The partnership between the Sonoran UCEDD and Reid Park Zoo will continue as restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic lessen. Additionally, Reid Park Zoo is one of the locations for the center’s Work Based Learning Experience, a program for high school youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities to gain valuable work experience.

“We will continue to partner with Reid Park Zoo and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to expand the work we’re doing with them in the future,” Farkas says.

Hughes says she’s glad Reid Park Zoo took a proactive approach to inclusion and hopeful for other community organizations and institutions to do the same.

“I think when others see how well everyone is responding to the Reid Park Zoo and their projects, it will encourage them to take some of the same steps the zoo is taking,” Hughes says.

If you would like to learn more or are interested in supporting this project, please contact Jacy Farkas at jkbell@arizona.edu