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Extreme Accessibility
Brace yourself for this startling series of jaw-dropping Accessible Don’ts. Quick tip: They will be much funnier if you can ignore the larger implications that real people actually planned and executed these travesties of accessibility. We Don’t Recommend the Scenic Route From Spoon & Tamago. Oh, so many questions. For example…why? Wouldn’t it have made…
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Facilitation with Service Dogs: What is it?
By Kristin Hartness, Canines for Disabled Kids Facilitation is when a person, usually a child under the age of 14, is placed in a 3-way service dog partnership. The child, the service dog, and a facilitator work together in public environments as a team. The team can work in public only when all 3 partners…
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Design Matters for Accessible Fall Fashions
By Stephanie Alves, ABL Denim Whether it’s colored leaves falling or Indian summer in your part of the country, Fall inspires hitting that refresh button. New events, new opportunities, impending holidays and future gift giving can inspire some ideas that add dimension to life and relationships. How we dress can reflect on how we feel. People…
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National Fall Prevention Awareness Week: How Tech Can Help
By Maricel Tabalba Coming up on September 22nd to the 28th is National Fall Prevention Awareness Week. This is a time to raise awareness about one of the biggest threats to the health of adults aged 65 and older. According to the CDC, an elderly person dies every 20 minutes due to a fall. This is especially…
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Festival of Abilities to Be Held at Oak Forest Park Benefiting a Playground for All Abilities
By Elyssa Horvath, Friends of Oak Forest Park An action-packed Festival is being held in Houston that will bring a sense of togetherness, inclusion and much needed joy while residents begin to recover and rebuild. The Festival of Abilities on Saturday, October 28, 2017 from 3:00 – 7:00 pm, will benefit a landmark Playground for All Abilities…
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No, I’ll Take the Room I Reserved, Thank You
By Chris Kain, kellisaspath.com My 15-year-old daughter Kellisa spends the night at 20-25 hotels every year. Kellisa has hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, significant developmental delays, and low vision and is dependent on a wheelchair. I always make an online reservation for a first floor room and follow-up with a phone call to the hotel to hopefully guarantee…
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A Functional Home is a Healthy Home
By Troy Farnsworth, Professional Building Designer/Visionary During my childhood years I recall home being my safe refuge. My family was there to support me through the years and we had everything we needed at home. The majority of the rest of my time was spent at school, where my brothers and I met some friends with…
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Crucial Tips to Get Free Funding
By Tamara Simmons, The Funding Guide for Children with Disabilities Parenting a child with special needs is a unique, fulfilling, challenging and heartwarming experience. But, let’s face it—it’s not cheap. And, as we all know, there are devices that your kid absolutely needs to enhance their quality of life that your insurance won’t cover. The Funding Guide…
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Gamers with Disabilities Discuss Accessibility
By Paul Lane, Abilities Expo Ambassador, KMET 1490 AM Radio Host, Tech Zone vlogger I have been a gamer all my life. The first gaming console that my family ever had was The Odyssey which dazzled us with such cutting-edge wonders as pong, tennis and soccer. We thought it was so high-tech when my father bought the…
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Vintage typewriter Art: One Keystroke at a Time
Oregonian Paul Smith was an artist. His medium: typewriter ink. While severe cerebral palsy may have put the traditional tools of an artist’s trade out of Paul’s grasp, his creativity and artistic prowess were unleashed in a surprising fashion—through the strategic placement of the ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) symbol…
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Can Total Underwater Immersion Promote Transformation?
Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Erena Shimoda received her Divemaster certificate in Venezuela in 2005, and began shooting underwater photographs in Thailand, Bonaire, Bahama, Corsica, Cozumel, Cancun, and Hawaii. She pioneered underwater immersion therapy after surviving a car accident in which she lost her father and was severely injured. As a part of her healing process,…
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Design Matters: Will You Be My Accessibly Fashioned Valentine?
By Stephanie Alves, ABL Denim We just put the bubbly away and now we’re worried about blizzards back east and El Niño out west. But let’s not think about that right now. Let’s talk about love. Love of your family, love of dear friends, love of those who are good to you. Valentine’s Day is about…