Posts by Adele Brothers
The World Needs You
Twenty years ago, when Jen and Barry dean learned their daughter, katherine, had Cerebral Palsy, they didn’t really understand what that meant. their journey has been marked by both beauty and struggle. read Jen’s words of encouragement in this excerpt from her longer essay, “How I Learned to Navigate the World with my Daughter in…
Read MoreMake Your Voice Heard
An insurance denial can be devastating, particularly when it’s for the Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) that keeps your daily life in motion. But even when you’re faced with a refusal to cover the equipment you need to live life to the fullest, you can take steps to advocate for yourself. be your own hero! Here’s…
Read MoreSeat Elevation
Seat elevation allows the user to raise and lower the height of the seat of a power wheelchair, using an elevation mechanism often controlled by a joystick or button. While wheelchairs help you get from point to point, seat elevation devices help you move through a three-dimensional world with a little more ease, from reaching…
Read MorePro Tips for Protecting Your Wheelchair for Travel
Traveling as a wheelchair user can be very exciting and liberating, but also a stressful experience. Some wheelchair users avoid travel altogether because of their biggest fear—damage to their wheelchairs or other mobility aids, especially when flying. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do prior to air travel to help protect your…
Read MoreMade to Move
Created by Irish sisters Ailbhe and Izzy Keane, these artfully designed wheel covers allow you express yourself in a style that’s all your own. With tons of designs to choose from, these unique accessories turn your wheelchair into a statement piece. Izzy Wheels empower wheelchair users to make a statement about themselves. Having stylish wheels…
Read MoreFinding a Better Way to Pay
Mark Scheler (Ph.D., OTR/l, ATP) is the lead investigator of a federally funded grant seeking to find a better way to pay for Complex Rehabilitation Technology (CRT) equipment, in addition to his work as an Associate Professor and Vice Chair for education and training at the University of Pittsburgh. We spoke with him to learn…
Read MoreMoving Beyond One Size Fits All
CELEBRITY MAKEUP ARTIST AND EDUCATOR CREATES THE ADAPTIVE LUXURY MAKEUP BRAND FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES They say practice makes perfect, but for celebrity makeup artist and instructor Terri Bryant, it was feeling like a beginner again that taught her the most. Bryant has a resume to die for, working both in makeup artistry and education…
Read MoreBehind the Music
HOW AUSTIN WHITNEY HELPS MAKE MUSIC FESTIVALS AND LIVE EVENTS ACCESSIBLE Austin Whitney is the president of Ten Fifty Entertainment, the leading provider of accessibility and guest services programs for event planners across the country. Whitney started the company in 2014, seven years after a car accident that severed the biggest names in live events,…
Read MoreCrip Camp
THE DISABILITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS BORN AT A CAMP RUN BY HIPPIES. I’m very tired of being thankful for accessible toilets. If I have to be thankful for an accessible bathroom, when am I ever gonna be equal in the community? When Judy Heumann poignantly asks that question in the 2020 Academy Award-nominated documentary Crip…
Read MoreIf You Can’t Stand up, Stand Out!
IN 2020, OUR WORLDCHANGED DRASTICALLYDUE TO A VIRUS. But my world changed in 1977when a bullet ripped throughmy chest, punctured my lungsand severed my spinal cord.I was angry and frustrated atGod and my friend for pullingthat trigger. But I wasn’t raisedto quit. When I changed myoutlook, I gained confidencein the power of the humanspirit and…
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