Our New Home at Enables.Me!

To kick off 2015, we've moved all our blogs onto one platform with the name Enables.Me!

We're excited as our team grows to bring you stories and news on accessibility locally and around the world. Join us as we continue the journey at our new site!

‘Not a niche market': Accessibility for disabled business travellers takes centre stage

This articles focuses on the important of accessibility when it comes to hotel rooms. It states that even though the room is advertises as accessible, there is always something that is inaccessible to everyone. Whether it be the shower, closets there is always something.

“They can’t afford not to redesign all facilities for the disabled. Improved accessibility can be a competitive advantage for businesses, opening up a whole new market of travellers”.“It would be nice if when I went to Paris, or Montreal or New York, we all talk the same language when it comes to accessibility,”

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/12/15/not-a-niche-market-accessibility-for-disabled-business-travellers-takes-centre-stage/

Cruise for 1

View from my balcony

I took a cruise on the Norwegian Getaway in December for my 30th birthday, I went alone and managed just fine. I have non-genetic 'Ataxia', right now I can't walk but I have all my strength and consciously my mind is great!. The cruise took us to the Eastern Caribbean- ports were, St. Maarten, St. Thomas USVI & Nassau, Bahamas. I got off at St. Maarten, very friendly people and most stores in port were accessible, maybe 1 or 2 weren't, the 2nd port St. Thomas I did an 'Accessible island Tour Drive'- so it was a shuttle bus that had a lift so I could drive my scooter right on, it was a 'safe' way to see the island, Nassau I did not get off at because friends of mine had been their and told me it was a really busy port and I dislike crowds! All in all it was an okay cruise, accessibility wise it was AWESOME! Here is the video of my room.

Exploring Your City with Access2Entertainment!

Have you heard about the Access2Entertainment Program? The Access2 program was created by Easter Seals Canada in 2004 to provide persons with a disability an opportunity to go out with an attendant without worrying about additional costs. Once you apply to the program you will receive a card (Five-year expiry date) with your name which you just need to show at various entertainment venues across Canada. You can go to their website for a full listing on where the Access2 program is accepted.

Source: easterseals.ca

The Access2Entertainment program has enabled me to enjoy going out to recreational activities and entertainment with my family and friends locally without worrying about payment. For example over the summer my friend and I went to the newly built Ripley's aquarium of Canada in Toronto, where we only had to pay for the price of one ticket for admission. We had a great time seeing all the amazing sea creatures. I also enjoy watching movies, so I usually use the access2 card when I go to Cineplex where I once again pay for one ticket and the attendant is free. If you have not applied for one yet, you should do it today. It's a great program!

For additional information about the program: Click here

Vacationing With A Disability

Source: Alaska Air

Hi this is Connie again.  You may remember me from the article I wrote on this blog about Direct Funding for personal care for people with disabilities.  Right now I would like to give you some information and tips on vacationing and travelling with a disability. First of all I would like to mention that Direct Funding does allow up to three weeks a year for vacationing and travelling with an attendant even outside the province and country.

There are many organizations and agencies, including, travel agents, out there specializing in planning and accommodating people with disabilities.  There are also many articles written by people with disabilities on their trips to various locations (for example, Abilities Magazine). March of Dimes Canada is a great organization for offering holiday packages (including: transportation, hotel, accommodation, day/night excursions, and personal care) within the province, country and abroad; camping holidays within the province; and day trips within the province and city.  Access2Entertainment is another program in which one can obtain a membership card allowing his/her attendants to get free access to different entertainment venues and theatres throughout the country while accompanying the person with the disability (for example, the CN Tower).

There are also various discounts and services available from transportation groups within this country, like Air Canada, Via Rail, and of course private accessible transportation vehicles or taxis both for travelling within a province or state and city.  Many boats and cruise ships are also accessible to people with disabilities.  All Canadian airlines offer free airfare to any destination within Canada to an attendant travelling with a passenger with a disability.  Air Canada also offers a half price discount to the ticket of an attendant travelling with the person with a disability outside of the country.  Upon completing a medical form Air Canada offers you total assistance from checking in your luggage, to using the airplane aisle chair, to being escorted through baggage and out the airport upon arrival to your destination.  Via Rail which travels to many Canadian cities also offers free travel tickets to an attendant accompanying a person with a disability.  Once within the destination of your choice para transit or bus or accessible taxi can easily be accessed and often discounts,  like ADA discounts in the U.S., or discounts for attendants can be given; however, making these arrangements along with any necessary applications should be done well in advance of the travel date.  You may also want to consider travelling with a folding manual wheelchair for easier access to a vehicle without a lift or ramp.

Prior to arriving at your destination you must ensure that your accommodation, for example, a hotel is accessible to the standards that you need.  In the U.S. major hotels are required by law to ensure that a wheelchair accessible or ADA room meets all necessary standards, for example, roll-in showers, elevated toilet seats, grab bars, wide doorways, etc.; however, in whatever country you are travelling in it is always a good idea to describe to management what you are looking for before booking the room.  You can also inquire if you can bring additional items of your own, like portable lifts or bed grab bars, or if they can be rented out from a place nearby the hotel.

The two most recent trips I took were to Lake Muskoka and New York City.  The Lake Muskoka trip was on a steamship and was a trip arranged with fully accessible accommodations for all events by March of Dimes.  The day trips and holiday vacation packages arranged by March of Dimes, although fairly priced, can be costly because all travel, accommodations, and excursions are arranged by them to include accessible access and can include attendant care (for the holiday vacation packages).  To be more cost-effective, you can plan trips as outlined above, as I did for my New York City trip. You will find that travelling within the U.S. to be very accessible because of their ADA law and disability discounts for you and your attendant are often offered in many entertainment venues that you can inquire about.  Wherever and however you do decide to travel you will find it a very worthy endeavour and a chance to learn more about the accessibility of different societies.   

RV's Streetcar Adventure!

I made two trips on the new streetcar, both were on Sundays when I expected the crowds to be less.

Trip 1: I boarded the streetcar at Spadina. I then headed southwards, disembarking at Spadina and Dundas. I re-boarded after two hours and went further to Union. From Union I took the subway home.

Highlights of my first trip: The main thing was that it all worked quite smoothly. The only difficult moments were: 1) disembarking from the streetcar on the ramp. I felt the incline was too steep. 2) I disembarked in the middle of traffic, which is what all passengers do. However able-bodied passengers are able to walk across the traffic signal when the lights favour them. In my wheelchair I found I had to wait 2 or 3 lights to get a break and feel safe enough to cross. The general speed to cross in a wheelchair is slower than on pavement, because of the embedded metal streetcar tracks. I should think that people in manual chairs will find it more difficult to cross the road in time.

Trip 2: I boarded the streetcar at Union heading northwards to Spadina. Halfway through the journey at Spadina and King, the streetcar developed problems and the driver announced that it was going out of service. We all had to disembark and he left in an empty streetcar. The able bodied passengers boarded the next streetcar and went on their way. I was the only person left waiting on the street. It was a cold Sunday evening, and a uniformed TTC employee informed me that no other accessible streetcars would come that way since it was getting late on a Sunday evening. He offered to ring up Wheel-Trans and get them to come and pick me up. I waited about 30 minutes, but no Wheel-Trans showed up. The TTC  employee then asked me to cross the road and go to the other side and wait for a return streetcar which was soon to arrive. After an hour after the first streetcar, the second streetcar came and I headed back to Union station.

Positive comments: On the first trip I disembarked at Chinatown which I had not seen in several years because of the lack of previous accessible routes. Since it was Sunday, the crowds were less and I was able to easily navigate the sidewalks and even managed to find a suitable restaurant which had accessible doors. I am hoping that more establishments will make themselves barrier-free as more streetcars become wheelchair accessible and more customers show up who need accessibility.

Negative comments: Getting stranded in the middle of traffic. Although the TTC employees did try their best, the whole process took longer than it should have. Therefore I do not think the streetcar is a suitable method of transportation for any person who has an appointment to keep, especially if you cannot simply take the next vehicle that comes along.

Also as I said earlier, a manual chair will present more issues than a powered wheelchair, especially for travel in winter using the streetcar. The internal controls are all geared to people who are sighted and any person with a visual impairment will find it difficult to disembark at a particular stop. Right now the TTC people are friendly and attentive and I hope this remains the case even when the new gen streetcar has become more common.

Adventures in Scotland!

For those of you who are thinking about traveling to Scotland, and are worried about the level of accessibility, there is no need. Scotland is VERY accessible.  It is so much more accessible than Toronto is.  A few years ago, I went on a vacation to Glasgow and was extremely pleased.  In this article, I will outline all the things that I was impressed with.

First of all, all of the sidewalks are ramped.  You never have to worry about going on the road or popping a wheelie to get onto the sidewalk.  Also on the sidewalk, when you are getting close to the curb there are little bumps.  I asked why they were there.  I was informed that the sidewalk was made like that to let blind people aware that they were getting close to the curb. The only thing people have to be careful of is walking on them in they are wet.  Some of them are brass so they get extremely slippery when they are wet.  Even the wheels on my wheelchair slipped when I went over them.

Secondly, everywhere you go, an accessible washroom is not hard to find. If there is not an accessible stall within the washroom, there is a separate accessible one right next door.  If it is a separate one, it is like a room.  It is very spacious so a person in a wheelchair has plenty of room to get around.  In most washrooms in Glasgow, there is a red cord you can pull in case of emergency.  If a person is by himself or herself in the washroom and something goes wrong (if they fall), they can pull this cord and someone comes to help them.  And when the sign says accessible, it means accessible. The washrooms are not like here when they say they are accessible when in reality they are not. The toilets are at the right height, the toilet paper dispenser is at the perfect height and easy to reach. The sinks and soap dispenser is low so you don’t have to strain yourself to reach it.

Lastly, the transportation is unbelievable.  In Toronto, when you want to go somewhere, you have to call ahead to get a ride, whether it be Wheel-Trans or a cab if need be.  In Scotland, ALL of the taxis are accessible.  Like Toronto, there are mini-vans in Scotland.  However, they have regular sized taxis that are accessible.  That’s right, anyone in a wheelchair can be on the side of the street and hail a taxi and not have to worry.  So, if you have to be somewhere in a hurry, there is no need to panic.  You don’t have to call ahead and order an accessible cab ahead of time. The other form of transportation that is more advanced than Toronto are the buses. Anyone with a mobility issue can get into a bus.  The floor lowers and a ramp comes down.  The only thing I would caution is that there is nothing there to tether you in place.  You are on your own.  The last form of transportation I was extremely impressed with was the train.  I went on a train ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh.  To gain access to the train itself, there is a portable ramp available.  Once you enter the train, there are special places designated for people in wheelchairs. Again, the only thing I would caution is that, like the buses, there is nothing there to tether you in place.  However, unlike the bus, the train ride is extremely smooth so it is unlikely you would move.

So I will say it again, anyone who is thinking about taking a trip to Scotland, there is NO need to worry.  They are very much more ahead of Toronto as far as accessibility goes. I would highly recommend people take a trip there.  Even though I travelled with my family, I would not hesitate to go there by myself!