Upgrades include sensory-inclusive services, automatic doors & parking options
New amenities for people with sensory sensitivities are part of an ongoing initiative to make Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities – both visible and hidden.
Alongside many facility improvements, the 1,500-seat Payne & Mencias Palladium is now certified Sensory Inclusive® by the nonprofit KultureCity® organization. An estimated one in four Americans has a sensory processing need or invisible disability, including people with autism, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and PTSD, among others. For such people, common sounds, lights, crowds, and smells can be overwhelming and even physically painful.
The Sensory Inclusive® certification requires annual staff and volunteer training and indicates the on-site availability of:
- Sensory bags, which include noise-canceling headphones, strobe-reducing sunglasses, fidget tools, and other helpful items, available at the West Salon coat check
- Weighted lap pads and message cards for nonverbal communication, also available at the West Salon coat check
- Signage identifying “Headphone Zones” where loud sounds might be encountered
- A designated quiet room off the East Lobby with beanbag chairs, a mobile sensory station and other features.
Touchless automatic door openers have been installed at restroom entrances in the Payne & Mencias Palladium. (Photo courtesy Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts)
Visitors to the Payne & Mencias Palladium can ask any staff member or volunteer about these accommodations for people with sensory needs. A step-by-step visitor guide for Allied Solutions Center is available at kulturecity.org.
“Our mission is to engage and inspire the Indiana community, and that means everyone,” said Allied Solutions Center President and CEO Jeffrey C. McDermott. “These new amenities represent our broader goal to continue making our campus and our events more inclusive and welcoming for the local community and any potential visitor or employee.”
To inform the process, Allied Solutions Center hired a consultant with disabilities to attend events undercover on the three-venue campus and prepare an accessibility report with recommended improvements to facilities and staff procedures.
One result: the number of accessible parking spaces on the loop drive around Carter Green has been doubled to eight, including five new van-accessible parking spaces marked in bright blue paint near the Payne & Mencias Palladium’s west entrance. (With Carter Green closed to traffic for the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, temporary accessible spaces have been designated on southbound 3rd Avenue SW and eastbound City Center Drive.)
Other recent improvements at the Payne & Mencias Palladium include:
- Exterior entrances: relocation of automatic door buttons to be more reachable
- Restrooms: touchless automatic door openers; special door handles on accessible stalls
- Signage: added throughout the building for accessibility and general wayfinding
- Elevators: new high-contrast signage with enhanced Braille lettering.
Available at coat check, Kulture City sensory bags contain headphones, sunglasses, and fidget tools for people with sound and light sensitivities as well as conditions such as autism. (Photo courtesy Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts)
Improvements scheduled in the coming months will include:
- Safety: installing handrails for the stairstep aisles in the Tarkington theater
- Sound: replacing the assistive-listening system at the Payne & Mencias Palladium with new Bluetooth-based technology that can stream higher-quality audio to audience members through their own hearing aids or earbuds, without need for special devices
- Website: continuing an accessibility makeover with the addition of the UserWay widget to give viewers more control over the web experience.
More information is available at TheCenterPresents.org/Accessibility, by calling (317) 843-3800, or by emailing Accessibility@TheCenterPresents.org.