Impact Feature Issue on Meeting Transportation Needs of Youth and Adults with Developmental Disabilities

This document has been archived because some of the information it contains is out of date. (Effective May 2013)

Ask people with developmental and other disabilities to name the barriers they experience to community inclusion and participation, and near the top of that list will be problems accessing transportation. To travel around their communities at the times that meet their needs and to the locations they desire requires that as individuals they have knowledge of the transportation options available and the skills and supports to use them. At the transportation system level it requires that there be an array of options available and that these systems operate in a manner that’s both focused on meeting the needs of users, as well as resource-efficient and coordinated.

In this issue of Impact are ideas and strategies for meeting those needs and removing transportation barriers to community inclusion and participation. In these pages are also success stories from around the country that illustrate the benefits to individuals with disabilities, agencies that support them, and their communities when transportation works well. We hope that these articles will provide ideas for additional exploration by readers in their communities and organizations.