Traveling can be stressful for any family. If you’re traveling with a loved one who uses a wheelchair, it can be overwhelming. Recently, I presented to about 160 Hilton Grand Vacations team members on “What I Wish Hospitality Workers Knew about Traveling with a Disability.” It always feels good to educate any community about disabilities. The purpose of the presentation was to give team members a “feel” for what it was like when I was
Category: accessibility
…write them! I remember escaping into the adventures of Ramona Quimby (By Beverly Cleary). As a little sister, I would get excited to read about the next battle she would have with her sister. I could relate to the character and her story, even if it wasn’t exactly like mine. The book expanded my world and my understanding of relationships. It also helped me get excited about reading other books. I was the kid who
If you are talking about traveling, I have no problem butting into your conversation! I love to hear about people’s trips and swap tips. During my daughter’s Miracle League baseball game last week, I talked to another mom about their Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World. I could easily talk about Disney all day, but she had some questions and concerns about flying with her child with a disability. She had questions about the logistics of
The beach is my happy place. It has become a happy place for our family. The sun, the sand, the water, it’s healing. We have always done our best to make traveling accessible and enjoyable for Reagan. There is no way I could enjoy my happy place if Reagan could not enjoy it. Along the way, we have found some beach essentials for wheelchair users. Beach accessibility has come a long way in the last
We were at Walt Disney World about 13 years ago when we realized we needed to get a wheelchair-accessible van for our daughter. It seems like a strange place to have this revelation, but when you’re lifting a wheelchair into the trunk of your van multiple times a day and then lifting your child into the same van, it hits you. This isn’t working anymore! Whatever prompts you to decide whether a wheelchair-accessible van is
Michigan State Parks make sites more accessible. Traveling with a wheelchair can be limiting. The good news is many places are learning they need to do better at accommodating people with disabilities. Kudos to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for adding track chairs to their state parks so people with disabilities can access all areas. There are 11 state parks in Michigan that have track chairs that people with disabilities can borrow. People should