TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

John Morris

Chills, Thrills and Spills Roll on at the Extreme Adaptive Sports Weekend in Texas

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RISE Adaptive Sports, a non-profit action sports organization says their mission is to assist persons with physical challenges to recover, inspire, succeed, and empower themselves and others by providing inclusive adaptive recreational sports programs. They neglected to mention heart-pounding adrenaline rushes and Texas-style revelry.

Our take: Organizations like RISE Adaptive Sports are critical, as they give people with disabilities – both young and old – the confidence to actively participate in society and push the boundaries of possibility. With so many sports and activities – including wheelchair skating, rugby, kayaking, handcycling, fishing, swimming, parasailing and more – there is clearly an event or opportunity for everyone!

What’s Your Disability Etiquette IQ? Can You Get A Perfect Score?

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Illustration of a lightbulb inside a thought bubble.

Western University in Canada published a short disability etiquette quiz to help nondisabled people learn to “respectfully interact with people with disabilities.” The quiz is a great conversation starter and an opportunity for teams to learn more about the disability community.

OUR TAKE: The quiz takes only a few minutes – can you achieve a perfect score? Even (especially?) if you don’t, you’ll learn a great deal.

CLICK HERE to take the quiz!

Can this Dreamy Universal Design for Aircraft Cabins Fly Above the Utility Wires?

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Airplane cabin.

For years, disability advocates have called for greater consideration to accessibility in the design of aircraft cabins and that message is slowly beginning to pierce the airline industry bubble.

In exploring how universal design might best be applied to passenger jets, Runway Girl Network identified a number of possibilities, including putting flight attendant call buttons within easier reach of passengers, improving connectivity onboard, the installation of larger lavatories with hands-free doors and the expanded use of high-visibility and iconography-based signage.

OUR TAKE: Air travel has been consistently identified as a major pain point by disabled travelers, so the industry’s increased attention to universal design is welcome. With improved accessibility in air travel, larger numbers will take to the skies to explore new destinations.

To learn more about the dream scenario for universally designed aircraft cabins, click here.

Beach Cruising for All: Check out this new Beach Wheelchair Rental Concession in Florida

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Wheelchair under sun shade umbrella.

Wheelchair users can now rent an accessible ride on the sand in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Crabby’s Beach Wheels opened earlier this year in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The family-owned business provides customers with a wide variety of beach wheelchairs to choose from, including a powerful electric chair known as the “King.”

OUR TAKE: In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of destinations and businesses making beach wheelchairs available for rent to disabled tourists, and the availability of these chairs has become a key consideration for many in the planning of accessible vacations.

To check out Crabby’s Beach Wheelchairs online, click here.

Featured image courtesy Crabby’s Beach Wheelchairs.

Rising Stars: How 20 Disabled Models Got Their Start

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Disabled models wearing all-white clothing who are amputees with prosthetic devices.

As further proof that accessibility has moved into the mainstream, disability  representation in the modeling industry has increased substantially, with disabled models appearing in advertising campaigns for brands like Coach, Diesel Jeans, L’Oréal, Target, Vera Wang and many others. They’ve also walked (or rolled) the runways during fashion weeks around the world and been featured in top magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Vogue.

Every model finds a different path to their career and The Photo Studio recently interviewed 20 disabled models to reveal how they got their big breaks. The 20 models featured include stars like Jack Eyers, Jillian Mercado, Sophie Morgan and Madeline Stuart. Through their hard work and determination, they’ve pushed the industry towards greater diversity and proved that representation is a winning strategy.

To read about how 20 of the top disabled models earned their spot on the cover, click here.