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Superfest, The Oldest Disability Film Festival, Returns to Los Angeles
By Emily Beitiks and Anna Goose, Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability Superfest International Disability Film Festival is pleased to announce that it will be returning to its home of origin in February for a Showcase at the Abilities Expo! Superfest, the longest running disability film festival in the world, first debuted in a small Los Angeles…
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Get in Synch with Synchronized Swimming
By Tina Boales, Synchronized Swimming Athletes with Disabilities Adaptive Sychronized Swimming will be featured Abilities Expo Bay Area, November 21-23, 2014. Ever wonder how they do it? How they can hold their breath and flip upside down so “easily” and dance in the water? It’s ALL in the magic of the pool! The combination of dance, gymnastics, ballet…
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Target Features Model with Disabilities to Pitch Iconic Disney Costume
Elsa’s exquisite, ice blue gown has been the go-to Halloween costume for little girls since Disney’s mega-hit Frozen graced the silver screen. Retailers nationwide watch happily as they fly off the shelves. This year, Target’s choice to feature a little girl with leg braces and forearm crutches as the ice queen in their Halloween-time advertisements has met…
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The Art of Self Expression
Because disability spans all races, creeds, genders and orientations, Abilities Expo is very much a “slice of life.” While all attendees are members of a very large, but uniquely connected community, their individual diversity is especially apparent in the ways they choose to express themselves. Take the following group of Expo-goers, proudly distinguishing themselves through…
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ACEing Autism Serves Positive Development for Kids with ASD
ACEing Autism a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing our adaptive tennis program to the lives of children with autism. Connecting kids through tennis has been our aim for ten years and counting. Our goal is to provide an hour of fun, adaptive tennis to children and an hour break for parents, during which, they…
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Cannabis Facts: THC, CBD and the Cannabinoids
By Lex Pelger, Bluebird Botanicals Here at Bluebird Botanicals, we loved getting the opportunity to engage with the Abilities community. Two of our bluebirds, Allie and Katie, recently attended the expo in Chicago and fell in love. With everybody being so warm and open, they said it didn’t feel like a work trip but more like coming…
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Dance with the Rollettes in Houston and Los Angeles
By Chelsie Hill, The Rollettes It all started with our very first Dance Intensive in October of 2012. At the time, I was determined to put on a dance showcase for the disability community, but what emerged was so much more. Our Rollettes team came together because of our shared love of dance and, through our…
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Medical Cannabis 101
By Andrew Kuebbing, California Cannabis Advocates Trying medical marijuana for your condition can be a daunting prospect—maybe you had a bad experience in the past, or maybe there’s just too many options and you don’t know where to start. Cannabis medicine doesn’t have to be confusing, and with a few simple pieces of knowledge you can…
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#ThisIsHowI Show What’s Possible
By Brittany Déjean, AbleThrive We all want to see ourselves represented in media and society. AbleThrive’s #ThisIsHowI campaign is bringing visibility to people with disabilities and their families by shedding light on how people are living their lives around the world. AbleThrive’s Curated Disability-Focused Content Shares Know-How Kicked off in December 2016 on the International Day of People…
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How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Heals Children
By Janis Gioia, ComfortingAnxiousChildren.com Looking to enhance your child’s therapies with something that can instantly calm, balance and center her? Would you like to help your child develop: Would you like to: You can, quite easily. Here’s how: Give your child extended periods of uninterrupted, child-directed play in nature. Not on brightly colored plastic playsets. Not…
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Trevair Snowden: Once Extreme, Always Extreme
By David Block It’s 1997 on one of those perfect winter days when the slopes are calling. Hot shot snowboarder Trevor “Trevair” Snowden is poised to decimate the competition. He gets ready to execute a jump. He goes up, but misjudges his landing and everything changes. Well, not everything. Yes, Snowden broke his T12 vertebrae…
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Crossing the Sierras…In a Wheelchair?
By Bob “4-Wheel Bob” Coomber, Abilities Expo Ambassador I woke in a tent on September 17, 2014, anxious to begin what was to have been an epic journey. Though I’ve established quite a few “first summits” for someone in a wheelchair, a 22-mile one-way crossing of the Sierra Nevada mountain range via Kearsarge Pass—at nearly…