How Do You Interact with a Disabled Person?

Communicating with a person with a disability can make people uncomfortable as disabled people are often thought of as being “different”. A person with a disability might not be able to walk, or hear, or see, or talk, but other than that a disabled person has a body, a brain, a heart, and a soul like everyone else. A disabled person wants to enjoy life, set goals, and be treated with respect just like a non-disabled person. But, disabled people are not always treated with the sensitivity they deserve. Read more

Cruising – A Convenient Way to Travel as a Wheelchair User

If you’re wheelchair bound like me, cruising can be a very convenient and relaxing way to travel because you’re able to visit different destinations without the hassle of transferring baggage or checking in and out of hotels. On a cruise ship you literally take your hotel room with you. During my 22 years as a quadriplegic I’ve cruised six times: two Caribbean cruises, a Baltic cruise and three Alaska cruises, all with Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises. I love cruising!  In this article I’ll share some of my experiences and observations. Read more

5 Useful Resources for Disabled Travel

Our tip for the day is on accessible travel.  To that end, we’ve put together a list of sites  – both new and old – on disabled travel that we think are definitely useful. Read more

Wheelchair Accessibility at Environmentally Sustainable Tara Firma Farms

Recently we had the chance to visit a local, organic, and sustainable farm and want to share the amazing experience we had there learning about farm practices and how easy it can be to eat local and healthy. Read more

The Amazon Kindle as Reading Device for the Disabled

Most people take it for granted: holding open and reading a book. But for those without full use of their hands or another similar physical disability, this can be a much more difficult process than for an able-bodied person. Holding open a small paperback book and turning a single page at a time can be difficult for a quadriplegic. That’s why new ebook readers such as the Amazon Kindle have the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of those who otherwise would have a difficult time reading. Read more

Accessibility for People with a Mobility Disability in and around Disney World

Disney World can be an amazing vacation destination as evidenced by the over 40 million people that visit each year. I’m sure there are many people confined to wheelchairs who have never visited Disney World and have some questions about how accessible it really is. Last year, I spent two weeks during Spring – long enough to make a decent accessibility assessment – visiting all of the Disney World parks and I would like to report on some of my personal experiences getting around as a C5/C6 quadriplegic in a motorized wheelchair. Hopefully, some of you confined to a wheelchair and thinking about making a trip to Disney World will be able to pick up a few tips while reading this article. Read more

Fazio, the Beloved Matchmaker Dog, who Brought Shari and Luc Together

The story of a quadriplegic who marries his service dog trainer

When I divorced my first wife 13 years ago, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the rest of my life. All of a sudden I found myself living alone in my house without a partner I could rely on to manage the physical chores that come with running a household and to support me with issues related to my C5/C6 quadriplegia. Luckily I had a very reliable caregiver who had been working for me for several years. She made a commitment to help with my morning and evening routines each day. And when she wasn’t able to make it on a particular day or when she went on a vacation, she would make sure that someone else in her family would fill in.

However, I felt that life had become a struggle as I was basically living in survival mode. All of my closest family was living in Belgium, I had a nine year old son I needed to take care of who lived with me 50% of the time, and I was holding a job that was quite demanding. I barely had enough time left during the week to get some food on the table for my son and I. Living alone like this certainly wasn’t how I wanted to live for the rest of my life. Read more

Interview with Disabled T-shirt Designer Jared Aronson

We recently had the opportunity to get in touch with an inspiring young man who started his own t-shirt company, Madhouse Tees. Jared Aronson lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy every day, but his humor, his art, and his outlook on life are what define him. And considering what he has to live with every day, that is both amazing and inspiring. Read more

Jared Aronson’s Story – an Amazing Young Man with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

GILFORD – It’s one thing in life to find something that you love to do and it’s quite another to find that something only to have it taken away from you. Even more miraculous is when, what was taken away, is restored.

Jared Aronson is an artist and has been since he was a child. Every since he can remember he has had a love for drawing and he has parlayed that love into a successful T-shirt company called Madhouse Tees (www.madhousetees.com). Jared’s T-shirt designs are both whimsical and irreverent, poking fun at society’s norms, the advertising industry, history and everyday life in general. Read more

A Disability is Invisible in a Virtual Work Environment

Today’s technologies have definitely changed the landscape of employment opportunities for persons with a disability. A person with a disability can now be just as productive in several fields of employment as non-disabled persons. In many cases, being disabled has become a non-issue on the job. In fact, in a virtual work environment, you can actually completely hide your disability from your coworkers.  I came to that realization this week during an email conversation with one of my teammates: Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »