Tag: Accessibility

10-year-old Ryan King has spina bifida, and when field trips are not wheelchair accessible, she has to miss out. But on a recent trip for school, Ryan got to join in on the fun – because a teacher volunteered to carry her the whole way.

Wheel the World has unveiled a new online travel marketplace to provide accessible travel to those living with disabilities.

Backed by Booking.com, the accessible travel start-up has created a one-stop-shop for travellers with disabilities offering accessible tours and experiences, including accommodations and transportation by partnering with curated local tour operators who are trained and certified Wheel the World team members.

Through an extensive research process, Wheel the World identifies necessary accessibility requirements and equipment and trains its operators to develop inclusive trips designed to accommodate those with disabilities.

From multi-day trips with outdoor activities, such as hiking, scuba diving and kayaking, to single day activities like ziplining in Costa Rica and handbiking across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or through Central Park in New York, the start-up currently offers more than 30 travel destinations through its platform, including accommodations, activities and transportation.

Destinations include Patagonia, Maui, Easter Island, Machu Picchu, Santiago, Mexico, and Costa Rica, with plans to have 150 destinations and tour packages by the end of 2020.

The idea for Wheel the World came from the personal journey of two best friends, determined to see the world together. Co-founders Álvaro Silberstein and Camilo Navarro, both from Chile, embarked on the challenge of completing the W Circuit in Patagonia, with Silberstein, a quadriplegic, in a hiking wheelchair.

“We truly believe adventure is for all and that’s why we are committed to creating inclusive tourism and eliminate the barriers that keep people from travelling,” said Álvaro.

“While people might not think they have the opportunity to travel like this, we believe we can help everyone enjoy our amazing world without limits.

“We started promoting trips to isolated places like our original trip to Patagonia. However, we realised that people with disabilities still struggle to find even more traditional travel experiences that are designed to be accessible. So, we expanded to all types of travel including cultural, leisure, vacation and city explorations.”

Last year, Silberstein became the first quadriplegic to traverse an 11-kilometre section of the Inka trail. You can read more about that here.

A loving dad wanted his toddler son with spina bifida to have more mobility, so he created a device to help.

Accessibility activist Rick Hansen has a new poster to show you. One with adjustable text at an eye level so people in wheelchairs can read it, text in multiple languages, a braille pad and even a recording of someone reading it.

Don’t ever call me ‘wheelchair bound’. My wheelchair doesn’t bind me — it liberates me

The wheelchair represents many different things, depending on the beholder’s personal experience. Many is the time I have been acutely aware that my wheelchair makes me the living embodiment of that blue symbol that adorns bathrooms and parking spaces.

I hadn’t really given wheelchairs much thought myself, until 13 years ago when I fell from a tree and sustained a spinal cord injury (SCI), causing instant and permanent paraplegia.

Chicago (CBS) — O’Hare International Airport now offers a new level of service for travelers with disabilities, and advocates say this is just the beginning.

Located at Terminal 2, the new “Changing Places” restroom features an adult changing table, motorized lift system and a wheelchair-accessible shower as well as a toilet and sink.

Advocacy groups believe it will open up travel opportunities for people with significant disabilities and their families and caregivers.

Half Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to making live music accessible. Our database provides accessibility info on venues to help prepare disabled folks on what to expect before arriving at a show, and will be used by us to work with venues on improving accessibility in their spaces.

In a win-win outcome for patients with spinal cord injuries and Japanese startup tech company Ory Lab, robotic waiters are working full shifts, allowing spinal cord injury sufferers to work by proxy.

Technological innovations, whether nano-sized or full-scale, have been offering a range of surprising capabilities that offer improvements in quality of life or life expectancy.

In fewer areas, the impact has been more dramatic than with people suffering from various spinal cord injuries.

Everyone can benefit from hands-free support when using technology, but for the 62 million people in the U.S. with motor and mobility impairments, it can be a vital requirement. For Stefanie Putnam, a quadriplegic and a para-equestrian driver, tasks like taking photos, sending texts and composing emails could be daunting.

Stefanie was one of several people the Google Accessibility team worked with to test early prototypes of a feature which allowed people to control their Android device using voice-only commands. Her feedback—and that of other testers—was instructional in shaping a new product we’ve just released called Voice Access.

Wheelchair access gets a whole new meaning

Her studies were almost over and alumna, Helen Smith, had plans. Then a single event meant she had to reach her goals via a very different path. Now she’s pushing against the barriers.

In many ways, the bushwalk through Wolgan View Canyon in Wollemi National Park was like dozens of others that Helen Smith (BSc(Hons) ’09 PhD ’15) and her friends had previously done together.