CAREGIVER • SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2019 • 13
RECOMMENDING A ROADTRIP
Ohio company strives to bring travel opportunities to adults
with developmental disabilities through use of video tour
The video opens up with iconic shots
of Pittsburgh: emerging from the Fort Pitt
tunnel, Point State Park, the Strip District,
the sports stadiums and the statue of Mr.
Rogers on the North Shore.
This, however, isn’t your typical video
simply showcasing the attractions of the
city.
Produced by Canton, Ohio-based
company Beyond our Boundaries, the
30-minute “Learning Beyond the Classroom:
A Day in Pittsburgh” video, released
in October, is designed for young adults
with developmental disabilities.
Debra Shumard, who founded the company
18 years ago to provide travel and
social opportunities for adults with developmental
disabilities, said the virtual tour
is a way for individuals to learn all about
the city and see what it looks like so that
they and their families might find a trip to
Pittsburgh easier to make.
“A lot of the folks who go with us on our
trips maybe can’t picture ahead of time
what something looks like and don’t have a
large capacity for abstract thought, so they
have no frame of reference when you say,
‘Do you want to go to Florida?’” she said.
“They may say ‘no’ when what they mean
is ‘I don’t know.’ A virtual tour video can
give them an idea of what it looks like and
could feature the friendliness and accessibility
of those cities. That’s how the idea
got started.”
The video on Pittsburgh is the first virtual
travel video by the company. They chose
Pittsburgh in part because of its proximity
to Ohio and because the videographer is
from Pittsburgh.
And also Mr. Rogers.
“I liked the idea of talking a lot about
Mr. Rogers because he was so good about
people with disabilities and acceptance,”
Shumard said. “That’s how we started looking
at the city.”
One of the two tour hosts is Bob Giust,
who has developmental disabilities. Shumard
said they felt it was important that
the people to whom the video is directed
could see a peer doing what they want to
do and watch the tour being led by someone
similar to them.
“Travelers” will go to the Carnegie Science
Center, ride the Monongahela Incline, look
out over downtown from Mt. Washington,
tour the Cathedral of Learning and other
iconic sites and also learn about the history
of the city, its sports teams, its people and
even how to speak “Pittsburghese.”
Also highlighted are some of the accommodations
available for people with
DESTINATION PITTSBURGH
SUBMITTED
BY KAREN PRICE
FOR TRIB TOTAL MEDIA