Accessibility

Eagle Mount, the non-profit organization that provides adaptive recreation opportunities for disabled children and adults, recently celebrated the delivery of new adaptive equipment purchased using a $25,000 grant from The Hartford insurance company.

The organization, located in Billings, Montana, has 11 adaptive recreation programs including cycling, climbing, golf, soccer, and swimming.

Emily Bailey, an Americorps VISTA spokesperson,  said that Eagle Mount focuses “on the things that people with disabilities can do, rather than what they can’t do.” 11-year-old Arabelle Laedusaw, who has participated in the organization’s events since she was three, said that “being with Eagle Mount makes me feel like I can do anything and achieve anything. I can do what I want to do as a person, even though I have a disability.”

To read more about the great work done at Eagle Mount Billings, check out this local news story.

One of the biggest costs many disabled people face when traveling is hiring a personal care assistant – professionals who help with transfers in and out of bed, taking a bath, getting dressed, etc. In an effort to attract more disabled tourists, Spain is seeking to lower the cost of these services through a unique training program.

As reported by Disway, Spain’s State Representative Platform of People with Physical and Organic Disabilities (Predif) is “launching an online course that, financed by the Secretary of State for Tourism, will train professionals in the travel sector to specialize as personal assistants of tourists with accessibility needs.”

The 50-hour training course will be offered from July 14-19 and is targeted for people in the cities of Madrid, Valladolid and Palma de Mallorca.

To learn more about this unique program, see the article in Disway.

Julie Jones, the blogger behind Have Wheelchair Will Travel and the mother of BJ, a 25-year-old nonverbal wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, recently wrote about a new gym which caters to people with CP, the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Gym.

Booking an assessment with an exercise physiologist for BJ, Julie wasn’t sure if it would be to her son’s liking. Since he began going to the gym, BJ has gained a number of new skills like throwing a ball with two hands, and he has increased his endurance – increasing the amount of time on a treadmill from 5 to 15 minutes.

Julie attributes the success of this gym to its excellent team members, their understanding of her son’s disability, and the sense of community it promotes.

In speaking to the gym’s benefits, Julie writes that “Going to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance gym has certainly taken persistence and encouragement to keep BJ working towards his goals but he’s gained so much strength, improved his stamina and an added bonus has been gaining better depth perception.”

OUR TAKE: This is an opportunity for gyms in America and the world over to cater to a new audience during low use periods while performing a needed public service that will garner positive P.R. at the same time.

To read more about BJ’s experience at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Gym, read Julie’s full article at Have Wheelchair Will Travel.