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Celebrating Our Unique Abilities
By Adam Farris, Younique Abilities Hello, my name is Adam. I was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in 1994 at the age of six. Later, in July of 2012, I was diagnosed with a form of autism called pervasive developmental disorder. As a child, I didn’t understand Tourette’s syndrome and would ask myself, “What it that?” My…
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Study Poised to Help People who Use AAC
By David J. Hajjar, M.S., CCC-SLP, Ohio University Individuals with acquired neurogenic disabilities and have complex communication needs can experience many challenges with community reengagement. After experiencing inpatient services focusing on restoration and improvement, transitioning to community-based services may seem inadequate. Some therapy services may drop off and individuals may become isolated due to diminished…
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Design Matters: Fall/Holiday 2014
By Stephanie Alves, Founder/Designer ABL Denim Welcome to our Abilities community fashion blog from one of your own. Do you like the title? I love double entendres. But it’s true—design does matter. It affects us in measurable and immeasurable ways. Our environments are so important. And so are our clothes. Because society is concerned with…
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The Joy of Cruising
By Debra Kerper, Easy Access Travel It is often said that taking a child to Disneyland for the first time and experiencing the Magic Kingdom through their eyes is the best way to see it. After sailing more than 80 cruises, I am convinced that taking over 100 people on their first cruise is also…
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Get Your Groove On!
Google “dance quotes” and you’ll get everything from poetic to cliché to biblical. So…to sum up…dance like no one is watching because there is a time to mourn and a time to dance, which is the hidden language of the soul. Hmmm, perhaps not. Abilities Expo fan favorite and Push Girl Auti Angel says, “Dancing is a…
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Lights! Camera! Garden!
By Wendy McPherson, Organic Gardener/Horticulturalist Last Sunday morning, I was up with the birds (the early ones) and buzzing around my backyard turning it into a movie set. This is Los Angeles, after all, and I suspect that the rest of the world thinks that’s what we do in L.A. It was the second morning of our “shoot” (that’s movie…
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The One-Handed Lady Golfer Empowers Community
Meet Gianna Rojas of Oak Ridge, New Jersey, known globally as the “One Handed Lady Golfer.” Yes, you read that right, Gianna was born with no fingers on her left hand, although you would never know it after 30 seconds of meeting her. But there is much more than meets the eye. Ten years ago,…
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Chad Waligura Unites Texans with Adaptive Hunting and Fishing
By Lisa Wells, Cure Medical Anative of El Campo, Texas, Chad Waligura is the CEO/Editor of Able Outdoors magazine that provides adaptive product information and adventure articles for people in the outdoor world who have disabilities. By providing information on hunting, fishing, travel and other activities like adaptive clay shooting, Chad aims to bring the entire accessible outside…
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Adaptive Sailing: BAADS to the Bone
We all can think of times when we’ve made a decision or taken an action that has radically changed our lives. One such time was when I broke my neck snow skiing. In a split second, I was paralyzed from the shoulders down and my life was forever changed. Another time was when I discovered…
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Giving Up is Not an Option
By Amanda Sullivan, New York Metro Abilities Expo Ambassador I was run over by a car over four years ago, injuring everything from my skull to my toes. I’m still recovering from numerous traumatic brain injuries, have herniated and bulged discs poking my spinal cord, extensive nerve damage throughout my body and my right leg…
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The Adventure of a Lifetime
By Christine McMahon, Handicapped SCUBA Asssociation Perched precariously on the edge of a tiny, well-worn dive boat off of Little Corn Island, Nicaragua, on the western rim of the Caribbean is an unusual place for a person with a disability to find herself. This is a new challenge, I think. Looking into the face of…
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Experience the Thrill of the Climb
By Carole Praxmarer, No Limits Mark Wellman, adventure athlete and motivational speaker, a former Paralympian and Park Ranger, will demonstrate his innovative climbing techniques and sports gear adaptation for excited Expo attendees in both Atlanta and Los Angeles. Then, armed with this know-how and outfitted in adaptive equipment, adventurers of all abilities will blaze their…