Outdoor Source Magazine

Disabled people need no longer be restricted from the numerous outdoor activities enjoyed by other Americans. They can experience kayaking down the Colorado River? Or even fly fishing at Big Bear Lake in California or on the Everglades in Florida. Not the activity of choice? Well, how about in-line skating, or camping, swimming, rock climbing, horseback riding, river rafting, hiking or water skiing? Yes, even water skiing! Well, these and many other outdoor activities are now available and accessable to the disabled.

Outdoor recreation has long been the bane of wheerchair bound onlookers and other disabled persons. But not any longer. Enjoying the great outdoors and hitting the trails, cliffs, water and snow is now available to everyone.

But you can ask Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Greg Johnston how it used to be. He has written significantly on the subject of recreational activities becoming accessible to the disabled. And has found that Studies indicate that between 12 and 20 percent of the American population -- perhaps 40 million people -- have some type of disability. Considering this fact, he has noted "That's a huge segment of U.S. society that historically has been denied access to outdoor recreation -- by facilities built with only able-bodied people in mind, by a lack of special equipment and by a lack of special consideration." But these conditions are a thing of the past. State and national parks across the country have set up special recreational facilities and are making available unique outdoor equipment and sporting gear for seasonal and year-round use by the hearing-impaired and blind, as well as wheerchair users and other disabled people. In addition, numerous facilities and special equipment rental companies can now be found at public and private beaches on both coasts.

And these days it's not uncommon to catch sight of all kinds of disabled individuals participating in activities like volleyball, frisby, body surfing, parasailing as well as water and windsurfing.

Back in Oregon thirty-four year old paraplegic John Grait can be found year-round either rafting the Rogue River or rock climbing along the Northern Cascades. These and other activities do not require the use of the lower extremities, but just a little upper body strength, determination and an intense enjoyment for forging exhilerating river currents and a uncanny desire to peril steep heights. In fact, these and other rugged outdoor activities are finding increased participation by both old and disabled enthusiasts, with rock climbing almost becoming a national obsession.

Rock climbing--and its close cousin, mountain climbing--are no longer the shy-away-from recreational acitivities they used to be. Many disability and senior citizen centers in cities around the country now offer classes in both vocations as well as training facilities and special exercise equipment to prepare the potential climber and rock climber for his or her first accent.

Grait has gone on rock climbs with other paraplegic and blind friends and has yet to experience any serious obstacles to his monthly grind. Because disable persons possess the same intrepid traits and outdoor interests as able-bodied enthusiasts, having to gaze up towards great heights from their pinned positions below is now a thing of the past. They have learned to employ the real skills and abilities required in reaching a mountain precipice, and can now view the world from what had been for years an inaccessable vantage point.

For people with disabilities there is hiking at Joyce Kilmer Natiional Forest and at the Cataract Trails in Califronia's Marin County; climbing of every sort on Springer Mountain, Georgia and at the Seven Gables in the John Muir Wilderness; sailing, surfing, rowing and windsurfing on Lake Mead or Lake Michigan; camping and picnicking in Zion National Park or along the Grand Canyon in Arizonia; horseback riding and dog carting along the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore or at Connetquot River State Park in Long Island, New York; biking and in-line skating along California's Santa Monica Pier or at Virginia Beach; and fishing--tons of fishing of every variety--as well as hunting, archery, river rafting, swimming and many group sports to experience and enjoy throughout the United States, from sea to shining sea, and at almost all points in between.

Companies like AccesSportAmerica offer a wide range of training and equipment to people with disabilities and even hold special camps and sporting competitions throughout the year. Their professional credo is heartwarming, and certainly inspiring: "Participant benefits are physical, mental and emotional - the sense of accomplishment is unparalleled. We believe anyone of any ability or disability can windsurf, row, kayak or water-ski."

And, as you might imagine, there are a number of high-concept businesses in the States and elsewhere committed to providing special sporting and recreational equipment to people with disabilities. One of these, Achievable Concepts, even manufactures special lines of motorcycles, beach wheelchairs, exercise hand cycles, recumbent tricycles as well as fishing, gardening and snow and water skiiing equipment uniquely designed to fit the needs of disabled individuals here and abroad.

Not just in North America, but in both rural and urban communities thoughout the world, outdoor recreational activities and participant sporting programs are on the increase and becoming the norm for people with disabilities of every kind. At the same time, local and federal legislatures, private enterprise and charitable organizations are working diligently to make access to all outdoor activities and facilities available year round for senior citizens as well as to children and adults with disabilities.

Disabled Sports USA, who provides summer and winter programs for river rafting, camping out, water-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, jetskiing, sailing, and horseback riding for both young and old and the physically and developmentally impaired alike, in conclusion, sums it up best: "...sports and recreation programs are a vital part of the process in which disabled individuals gain self-confidence, mobility, and greater independence. Our programs promote education, socialization, and employment. They help turn tragedy to triumph by instilling in participants the knowledge that it's not their disabilities that count, it's their abilities."

RESOURCES AND CONTACT INFO:
AccesSportAmerica
119 High Street
Acton MA 01720
Email: info@winsurf.org

Achievable Concepts
P.O. Box 361
Moonee Ponds 3039
Victoria , Australia
Phone: (61) 3 9752 5958
Fax: (61) 3 9754 4798
Email: sales@achievableconcepts.com.au

Disabled Sports USA -Far West
6060 Sunrise Vista Dr., #2540
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
Phone: (916) 722-6447 Fax: (916) 722-2627
Email: dsusa@dsusafw.org

Amigo Mobility International, Inc.
6693 Dixie Highway
Bridgeport, MI 48722-0402
Phone: 1-800-MY-AMIGO
Fax: 1-517-777-8184
Email: info@myamigo.com

Independence Technology
a Johnson & Johnson company
1-888-IND-3000
http://www.indetech.com/

WHEELCHAIR SPORTS, USA
3595 E. Fountain Blvd., Suite L-1
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80910 | USA
719-574-1150 | Fax: 719-574-9840
E-mail: wsusa@aol.com

Marketing for the Disabled
1205 Savoy Street
Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92107
Phone: 619.222.8735
Fax: 619.222.8735
Email: jj@blvd.com

North American Riding for the Handicapped Association
P.O. Box 33150
Denver, CO 80233
(800) 369-RIDE (7433), (303) 452-1212
FAX: (303) 252-4610

Department of Recreation and Park Administration
HPER Building 133 - Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone (812)-855-4711
Fax (812)-855-3998

National Park Service
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: (202) 208-6843

National Center on Accessibility
5020 State Road 67 North
Martinsville, Indiana 46151
(765) 349-9240 (voice/tty)
(765) 342-6658 (fax)
Email: nca@indiana.edu