In a previous study of ACCT members, three questions were asked about the participation of people with disabilities on challenge courses. When asked if their courses were designed to provide opportunities for people with disabilities, 48% said yes, and 52% said no (n=276). Next, they were asked if the courses designed with opportunities for people with disabilities are effective at accomplishing this goal. On this question, 31.6% agreed, 18% were not sure, and the remainder disagreed or felt it did not apply (n=221), which would be the case for those without access to their courses. The third question asked if it is important to continue researching, advocating, and reporting challenge course designs that provide opportunities for people with disabilities. A resounding 83.8% of respondents (n=259) agreed that this line of development within ACCT was important.

A participant stops at a resting platform at his way up the climbing tower. Photo courtesy of Bradford Woods.

The responses to these questions helped validate and give direction to the work of the UAD. These results also guided our follow-up study. In summary, the results of the first study were: a) only roughly half of the courses surveyed were providing services to people with disabilities, b) there were concerns about program effectiveness, and c) most respondents want more information on this topic. It was determined that the follow-up instrument would utilize the content of the ACCT Operational Standards as a basis for item development. The reasoning for this was that ACCT members were expected to adhere to these standards and we needed to know if they were providing the guidance necessary to include participants with disabilities.