We had a few inches of snow yesterday. I love the beauty of the first few snowfalls of the year. However, once I became a wheelchair user, my affection for snowy days slowly dissipated. Manual wheelchairs and snow don’t even belong in the same sentence. My power chair, with it’s big ol’ wheels, that’s a […]
I was working out using one of the cable machines, it was set at a fairly significant weight, and my eyes were closed as I was exercising. All I was doing was counting the repetitions and, for me, that’s easier to do with my eyes closed. I was at the number 28 when I heard […]
My office is moving in a few weeks and yesterday I was downstairs looking at the space the team and I will be moving into. We had a great discussion of set up and design and we talked about colour and furniture and all felt growing excitement about the move. I mentioned that my only […]
Joe and I have watched Jeopardy, the TV game show, since we first got together. We both enjoy it. Joe is much better at the game than I am, he has a broader range of knowledge being one of those people who like history and geography, so he slays me every time. Sometimes our knowledge […]
He was at a door that had swung shut behind him effectively locking him out. The door had a push bar on the inside which would have allowed anyone to help. The trouble is the anyone was me. I couldn’t get to him. The stockroom was full of boxes and barriers which made it completely […]
It was International Day of Disabled Persons yesterday and I wanted to do something to celebrate. I decided that what I would do that day, to make a difference, was simply: go out. For people with disabilities to come out, we simply need to go out. Existing in a public space is enough to challenge […]
Manda was a woman with Down Syndrome who I met years and years ago. If you read her file it would have said something like, “She was a lovely, kind and patient woman who enjoyed being included in conversations, being ‘one of the crowd’ with family and friends and being listened to when she spoke […]
There is someone that I dread running into. Just dread it. It’s not that she’s a horrible person, in fact, most people just love her. They speak of her kindness and her thoughtfulness and her care and concern for other people. They suggest that there is a selflessness about her that they really admire. I […]
Today is a big day for me. Many of you will know that I am the founder and co-editor of The International Journal For Direct Support Professionals, published in English, French and Spanish, which reaches a broad international audience. Out today is an article written by two miraculous people, Dr. Yona Lunsky and Dr. Anna […]
I ran into a couple of guys with intellectual disabilities yesterday afternoon at the mall. I was there doing a lap around the upper and lower portions, it’s a distance of about 1.6K. I had decided to go because I ate way too much at a potluck meeting and decided to try and wrestle some […]
