Sunflower symbol helps passengers with hidden disabilities at Ford Airport
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Some passengers at Gerald R. Ford International Airport may soon be sporting a bright yellow sunflower. It’s part of a program to identify those who may need extra assistance.
The airport announced earlier this month it will be participating in the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program. That means airport staff will be trained to recognize a sunflower symbol and provide assistance and accommodation as needed. Passengers with hidden disabilities can request a free green and yellow sunflower item at the airport’s visitor information desk and security screening checkpoint.
“It’s either going to be a lanyard, a bracelet, a pin, a button, a badge … very bright, colorful, cheery, that’s the intent behind it,” said Ashley Thorsen, operations manager at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. “On the badge, you have the ability to write your disability if you’d like.”
Hidden disabilities are physical or mental impairments that others may not be able to see, like learning disabilities, diabetes, epilepsy, an allergy, low vision, poor hearing, heart disease or chronic illness, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
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“The program is aimed at allowing the people who wear it to give as much information as they want. So our staff is fully trained … to know to ask, ‘How can I help you?’ and just give kindness to people. So we’re not overly-invasive, we’re not getting into people’s business, and they’ll share with us what they feel comfortable,” Thorsen said.
Airport staff as well as workers with partner airlines, concessionaires, TSA staff, parking staff and wheelchair service prospect have all been trained because they interact with passengers. Thorsen says staff receive an overview of the program and an “invisible disabilities index” that includes education pieces on all kinds of hidden disabilities.
“Obviously, we’re not first responders or anything like that, but we can look for the initial signs and if it helps save somebody’s life or helps make them more comfortable, then that’s the goal of the program,” she said.
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Jackson Botsford, an accessibility specialist at Disability Advocates of Kent County, said he believes the program helps create a more inclusive atmosphere for all.
“We think that providing this kind of cue, this symbol, will provide just that little bit more of openness for people operating in the public space. Again, it’s easy to forget that invisible disabilities do exist. And so just providing that extra awareness can help people slow down and think a little bit more conscientiously,” Botsford said.
Ford Airport joins over 232 other airports around the world aiming to make travel more inclusive and accessible for all.
“So, the cool thing about it is if they start at Grand Rapids and then they might go to Dallas/Fort Worth and then they might go somewhere to the U.K., all of us have that program so the whole way, they’re getting that wonderful experience of inclusivity throughout, start to finish,” she said.
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The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program got started in 2016 in the United Kingdom and has since been adopted by businesses and charities around the world. The symbol is recognized in many places including retail, financial services, transportation, travel and tourism, education, government, health care, emergency service and entertainment.
For more information on the accessibility services offered at Gerald R. Ford International Airport, visit the airport’s website.
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