Crossing the Mile High “Swinging” Bridge at Grandfather Mountain in a Wheelchair – A Dream Come True

I remember going on a day trip to Grandfather Mountain near Linville, North Carolina a few years after my disabling accident when I was still living in Charlotte, NC. Grandfather Mountain is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains and it’s best known for its mile high “swinging” bridge that links two of the mountain’s rocky peaks. The panoramic views from the bridge are supposedly spectacular, but I never got to see it because there was no wheelchair access to the bridge when I visited. Needless to say that I was very excited when I read an article about a new structure built at the top of Grandfather Mountain that provides wheelchair access to the bridge. Read more

Scouting with a Disability: A Story of Inspiration, Goals and a Very Worn Pair of Shoes

As with any organization, The Boy Scouts of America have rules and guidelines that must be adhered to. When Nathaniel Schrader of Chantilly, Virginia, joined a local Boy Scout troop, the leadership was hesitant. They werenʼt sure how a boy with cerebral palsy would be able to fit in or even progress within the ranks with all his limitations. The leadership offered information on another troop in the area that served mobility impaired scouts but Nathaniel wanted to stay with his Cub Scout friends, all of whom chose this particular troop. Leadership wasnʼt sure how to teach a scout with so many limitations. Read more

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

How Do You Select the Right Wheelchair?

Greg is a quadriplegic who has put a lot of videos up around his disability and how to modify his home and lifestyle to better accommodate his needs. We’ve found a lot of benefit from watching these, and wanted to share this one on how to select a wheelchair, and Greg even demonstrates his standing wheelchair. We hope you find it useful – and if you have any tips  or experience you’d be willing to share from your own experiences with choosing wheelchairs, leave a comment! We’d love to hear from you!

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

One Person Really Can Make a Difference

When Ken Fredgren moved into a new town, Reston, he found that he couldn’t get around nearly as well as in his previous town. Ken lives with complications related to polio and uses a small scooter to get around in stores and shopping areas. But what he found in his new town was a lack of ramp access and well-positioned disabled parking spaces.

Through his involvement with the Reston Citizens Association, he founded the Reston Accessibility Committee in 2007, and since then this group has printed brochures, visited business, and raised awareness of access issues for the disabled. This effort has paid off and the community is now much more accessible to those with mobility disabilities.

We just wanted to recognize Ken’s work and effort that one person really can make a positive difference for so many others. Thanks Ken.

You can see the full story here: http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=939

The Siyasizana Community Development Program Helps the Physically Challenged in South Africa

Understandably so, many of us would rather not want to deal with the challenges that come with a physical disability. But even though I am disabled as a C5/C6 quadriplegic and have to deal with a lot of those challenges, I consider myself lucky that I live in a country like the US where a lot of progress has been made during the past few decades to improve the quality of life of people with a physical disability. I often wonder what it must be like to live in a country where disability awareness is far behind compared to in the US and where social programs for the disabled are almost nonexistent. I have heard stories of children with a mobility disability living in developing countries that don’t even have access to a basic manual wheelchair. I cannot imagine what that would be like!

Therefore I have a lot of respect for the people who dedicate their lives to improve the situation in countries where the disability movement still has a long way to go. In that spirit I would like to dedicate this post to John Shelembe who recently got in touch with Disabled and Productive and who started an NGO in South Africa, the Siyasizana Community Development program, to help and motivate the physically disabled and other disadvantaged. While I checked out their website, I ran into an inspiring story about a woman living in South Africa who was told she would never be able to hold a job in the open market because of her severe disability and due to her determination proved everyone wrong. You can read the entire story at John’s site. Feel free to check it out.

Videos about Living with a Mobility Disability on DisabledAndProductive.com

Disabled And Productive has added a new category to their website for publishing videos about living with a mobility disability. We will start off with some videos of Luc, a C5/C6 quadriplegic, showing some of the things he does to make his life as normal as possible. But our long-term goal is to also feature videos of other persons living with a mobility disability showing some of their equipment, tips or whatever they do to make their lives more enjoyable. Please, don’t hesitate to let us know if you would like to contribute.

We just posted our first video: the benefits of a standing wheelchair.

Stay tuned for more videos!