Accommodating Persons with Environmental Sensitivities: Challenges and Solutions

This session will focus on people with chemical, electrical, and/or environmental sensitivities or intolerances. The presenters will address the nature of these disabilities and examine federal recognition and policy development. They will discuss how to accommodate people with environmental illnesses by reducing or eliminating environmental barriers in the public and private sector including housing, employment, healthcare, and in other areas.

Session Objectives:

. Provide background information regarding the nature of environmental sensitivities including how these disabilities impact individual lives.

. Discuss the prevalence of chemical and electrical sensitivities in the general population.

. Review some of the key public policy issues surrounding the rights of people with environmental sensitivities.

. Highlight the importance of indoor environmental quality to enhanced access for people with these disabilities.

. Discuss what policies and practices can improve access for people with chemical and electrical sensitivities.

. Understand how to reduce or eliminate environmental barriers to promote accommodations for people with environmental sensitivities.

. Review advocacy initiatives that promise to advance medical and disability research, enhance understanding, and promote access for impacted populations.