The Dream of Becoming a Pilot Can be Reality

“I didn’t really believe it was possible for people who have disabilities to fly airplanes, so I never really looked into it.”

As someone who has taken flying lessons myself, I understand the thrill of being in control of an airplane and the freedom you feel when you are able to go nearly anywhere. Guatam, as a child, had the dream of being a pilot, but when polio left him disabled and requiring the use of crutches, he didn’t think he could make his dream happen.

I’m happy to report that Guatam went after his dream and found a way to take pilot lessons and is on his way to becoming a licensed pilot. I enjoyed this interview of him and the video of him flying – it just shows that you should never make assumptions of what you can and can’t do.

(Skip ahead to 55 seconds into the video to see the start of the story. For the direct video link go here: http://vimeo.com/1524176)

Freedom in the Air – ITV Interview from Gautam Lewis on Vimeo.

Enjoy the Outdoors Off-roading in a Wheelchair with the Mountain Trike

The great outdoors is usually very inaccessible to wheelchair users, but thanks to the invention of a new manual all terrain wheelchair, the gap between wheelchair accessibility and outdoors fun has become significantly narrower. Two engineers from the University of Bath, UK have been working diligently for four years to design this revolutionary off-road wheelchair – marketed as the Mountain Trike.

The wheelchair is propelled by pushing forward on two levers connected to the front wheels and uses an air-sprung suspension to absorb the shocks encountered on rough terrain. This off-road ingenuity allows you to travel through mud, grass, gravel, uneven terrain and modest amounts of snow and, you are also able to climb hills without rolling backwards. The Mountain Trike is built with safety in mind. For example, it has two small front wheels that prevent its user from tipping over forward when braking abruptly or going down a steep descent.

Tim Morgan and John Wardle, the inventors, plan to launch this exciting all terrain wheelchair at the Rehacare disability exhibition in Dusseldorf Germany later in the year. We wish them good luck with the launch as this new off-road wheelchair is certainly going to benefit a lot of wheelchair users who would love to explore the outdoors more freely.

Witness for yourself how cool this all terrain wheelchair really is by checking out this video that provides an excellent narrated overview of its most exciting features.

Or watch this brief off-road journey where the latest prototype is demonstrated.

How to Improve Disabled Parking

For anyone using a van with a lift, listen to this scenario and tell me if it sounds familiar: you drive into a large parking lot for an event (professional baseball game, concert, etc.) and search out the disabled parking spots so that you have a space to lower you ramp. Only, once you find the disabled spots, they are completely filled by regular (non-ramp) cars – meaning there is no safe space to park your van without worrying about someone parking next to you and blocking your life.

If this has ever happened to you, you know how frustrating it can be. Now, I am not saying at all that the people parked in those disabled spaces don’t have a need to park there and shouldn’t be able to park near to stores. I know how important that close parking is to people with disabilities that put them in pain when they walk, or make walking any sort of distance very difficult.  But many disabled spots have protected lined-off areas next to them specifically so that ramps can be lowered. And ramp-vans need those spots. Imagine coming back to your car in the pouring rain only to find a car parked next to you, blocking you from lowering your ramp. You’d have to wait who knows how long until the owner of that car comes back and moves it before you could get back in your car and leave.

So my idea to improve disabled parking is simple. We create two types of disabled parking spaces. The two types of spaces would be: those with marked off hash lines for ramps or lifts, and spaces without. If you don’t need a lift on your vehicle, you get a placard that allows you to park in the close spaces, but does not allow you to park in the hash mark spaces. And vans and vehicles with lifts wouldn’t park in the spaces without marked off areas next to them for obvious reasons.

Does this make sense to you? Would you support such an idea? Share your thoughts, or what your plan would be.

Paragliding in a Wheelchair – an Ultimate Thrill Soon To Become Reality?

Have you ever dreamed of floating through the sky in your wheelchair? Soon this might very well be possible thanks to the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Work has begun on a special chair that allows any wheelchair-bound person to independently take up the sport of paragliding. How cool is that?

This amazing wheelchair underwent its first test last week carrying an able-bodied person and initial tests look very promising. Hang gliding in a wheelchair opens a whole new world for people with mobility disabilities.

Moreover, nothing really prevents a person using a wheelchair from participating competitively alongside an able-bodied person because everyone is equal when “hanging” freely in the sky.

You can check out the entire story at the Deseret News site.

These Disabled Musicians Rock the House

Javier Pena never saw himself working with people with disabilities, let alone leading a 25-member band whose members struggle with Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and blindness. He didn’t really understand what he got himself into at first when he accepted a symbolic position to help socialize disabled folks with music.

But what Pena has been able to accomplish with a group of disabled musicians is extraordinary. Now his band, known as the Spirit of Goodwill, is a group of legitimate performers, complete with a blues-belting lead singer, a well-trained choir, a horn section, keyboards, guitar, and drums. They have become sought-after entertainers and their story has just recently been turned into the award winning documentary For Once in My Life.

You can read the entire heart-warming and inspiring story, a contribution by Jenny Inglee, here.

Healing Through Exercise

We’re always happy to find new nonprofits focusing on helping those with spinal cord injuries. Recently, we heard about Journey Forward, whose mission is to better the lives of those with spinal cord injuries through exercise. Journey Forward’s program is similar to physical therapy regimens, but last much longer, because typically those with spinal cords injuries need long periods of time to develop muscle they have lost and see benefits from therapy.

Just as persons without physical impairments can benefit from regular exercise, persons with disabilities can improve their health through regular exercise as well. Unfortunately for those with SCI, regular exercise can be very difficult, so a program like that provided by Journey Forward can have a large impact on people’s lives.

As a fairly new nonprofit Journey Forward is still working to raise awareness of what they do. Even so, they have helped many people improve their lives, and it was inspiring to hear about some of the positive experiences of people who have worked with Journey Forward. Hopefully, we will see more programs like this all across the U.S.

A Truly Intelligent Wheelchair for Severely Disabled People

Imagine being a multiple sclerosis patient used to driving a wheelchair with a joystick. As your condition progresses, you may loose the strength and control to operate a wheelchair using a joystick. It would be a tremendous setback to lose the independence of freely moving around in a wheelchair.

Soon that thought may become less of a worry as MIT is making good progress designing an intelligent wheelchair controlled simply by voice.

The wheelchair uses two different systems for navigation: it relies on GPS outdoors and is guided by a map of the local environment to navigate inside. What’s really unique about this particular intelligent wheelchair is that it’s completely self-learning. The chair is programmed when it’s taken on a guided tour of an area during which time key locations are identified via WiFi.

Witness this amazing technology by checking out this video that explains how the voice-command robotic wheelchair operates.

Disabled Employment During the Recession

This year, as we celebrate 20 years since the passage of the ADA, it’s important to note the progress that has been made. Truly, passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act was a landmark moment. Since that time, the understanding of the general population for those with disabilities has increased greatly. Restaurants are now accessible to those with wheelchairs. Disabled employment has increased. Special parking spaces allow those whose mobility is decreased to park close to shops, and provide extra space to lower van ramps.

Even with the progress that has been made, the situation isn’t perfect. Employers are still hesitant to hire persons with disabilities, for fear that it will cost them money or that the person with a disability won’t be as productive. So today I’m highlighting and sharing a story by D’Arcee Neal, who talks about some of the difficulties that he is facing as he gets close to graduating with a master’s degree in creative writing.

We frequently like to focus on the triumphs of people overcoming difficulties in their lives, but I think it’s important to focus on the realities of what people with disabilities often face, and the will and determination it takes to succeed.

D’Arcee has a very realistic take on what it’s like to be disabled in this economy. I hope you’ll take a look at it to realize that, although the ADA has been a great boon to those with disabilities, it has only been 20 years and we still have a ways to go.

Disabled Employment During the Recession

Love ‘Glee’? Be Sure to Watch Tomorrow

Nearly Five years ago, a spinal cord injury left Zack Weinstein permanently paralyzed as a quadriplegic and in a wheelchair. But he’s an amazingly resilient young man – not only did he go on to finish college, graduating Magna Cum Laude, but he recently was cast for an episode of the hit TV show Glee.

Not only is Zack a talented actor, but he’s a great interviewee. From explaining what it felt like when he got the call telling him he got the part on Glee, to talking about his feelings on non-disabled actors being cast in disabled roles, his intelligence and maturity show through.

The full interview is definitely a great read and Glee is a great show – check them both out!

A Great Resource for Accessible Gaming and Video Games

Since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved playing video games. I don’t spend as much time at it now as I did back in my teenage years, but I still love playing cooperative games with friends, or escaping into a riveting story and devoting hours into completing an epic quest. For many people under the age of 40 like myself, video games are part of the fabric of our lives. Because I have so many positive memories from playing games over the years, I’m happy to report on the Bartiméus Accessibility Foundation, dedicated to improving the accessibility of the internet and other digital media to all people.

And yes, they have a web site specifically devoted to Game Accessibility.

Included in this site are four focuses: accessibility for the visually impaired, for auditory disabled gamers, for the physically disabled, and for learning disabled gamers. Really, it’s a pretty great resource for those with disabilities looking to find out how they can play video games. And their community forums are active and a great place to post questions you might have on a specific disability and how games can be adapted for you.

If you’re looking into ways video games can be made more accessible, you really should check out www.game-accessibility.com. And if you’re interested in modified controllers for the physically disabled, you might like our article on how modified video game controllers can really make video game playing more accessible for those with physical disabilities.

Happy Gaming!

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