International Adaptive Recreation trends

August 14, 2016 

More and more Parks organizations are promoting inclusion into their mandate. As I have gotten more involved with Alberta Parks as a Push to Open ambassador, I see similar mandates cropping up in Australia and in Europe. Not only is the focus on camping, hiking and experiencing the forest, but also on access to beaches and oceans.

Natural areas, whether on land or in/ around water, are there for everyone to enjoy. It seems that governments and organizations are becoming aware that a larger number of people have been excluded and are interested in experiencing and enjoying these places.

In order to address the accessibility issue in and around water beach wheelchairs have become available at many beaches in Europe and there have been boulevards built to get wheelchair users closer to the water’s edge. In Canada, PEI and Nova Scotia have beach wheelchairs at select beaches. This information can be found on the Parks Canada website PEI beaches 

Vancouver has also listed their accessible beaches and where to find beach wheelchairs. That information can be found here:Vancouver accessible beaches

Calgary has recently revamped Sikome Lake and also has a beach wheelchair available. Sikome Lake info 

So, you don’t have to travel to the far ends of Canada or overseas to enjoy squishing sand through your toes. Whether you want to stroll through a forest or enjoy the sand, there are ways you can get out there.

  

The word "handicapped" debated

Some colleagues and I recently had a debate about whether the word handicapped is offensive or not. They asked me whether I was offended. I replied that there are usually two opposing sides, one strongly against it and the other indifferent. I am more for the latter.  I think we should go a little old school and remember the adage “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” People can say many unkind things, but if we give power to the word, are we are proliferating its strength? In a utopian society, there would be no classifying, no hierarchy, no segregation, and no inequality. But, let’s face it we are not one.

Where does this word handicapped come from? It isn’t used negatively in golf or horse racing. So, is this a word from the sports genre? I did a little digging. As I suspected, this word had nothing to do with disability or impairment at all. This word goes back to the 1600s. It is a name of a lottery game. As a living language does, this word morphed from hand-in-cap to hand i’cap and finally handicap. Even after the lottery game was lost; it was used to level out the playing field in horse racing by making the stronger horse bear more weight. So, it means to equal out the contest. This sounds pretty positive to me, making things equitable. We attach meanings throughout history to words and often focus on the negative way they are being used without thought to their origin. This is something I think the new generation is really missing out on by using the abbreviated, text version, advertising’s word creation, and just plain un-interest in the English language. They are missing out on the richness of meaning.

Anyway, I digress. Let us go back to the debate. I told them, I have had people say things to me using seemingly innocuous words that were offensive just because of the intent in which they used them. I had a woman call me “dear” and not the rest of my group or the people she served later. I felt like I was being patted on the head and about 2 years old. It isn’t always the word itself, but the intent of how it is used that offends. I am not easily offended, but let’s face it some people are offended no matter what.

You can scour the internet and find people giving their opinion on the word handicapped. Some are so fanatical it offends me (this time it does) that they are speakinng for ALL the disabled community. So, let me be clear. This blog post is my opinion and I don’t speak for anyone but myself. If I started speaking for everyone, I would be doing what society often does and lump everyone in one category without regard for diversity.

Travel and Mobility Scooter Rentals in Canada

This summer I visited Halifax, Nova Scotia. I knew that it was a rather hilly city as most coastal towns are. I last visited approximately a decade ago, so I was not sure about what strides had been made to  create accessibility. I decided to play it safe and rent a scooter for the duration of my trip.
I travel a lot and in most countries I have been able to rent the equipment rather than trying to transport it from my home country. In Canada, I found it very easy to rent and arrange delivery of the mobility devices at my destination prior to my arriving. That is on the one hand, but on the other, even with a mobility device rented it  does not mean that all places will be accessible. So, as you plan your trip realize that it is not always possible to get everywhere you would like to go. For those of you who use mobility devices, I know this is not news.




I rented this scooter from MediChair Halifax . They were very accommodating and dropped off the scooter as promised in one of the suburbs of Halifax and picked it up as promised at a different location. I was visiting 3 different places, so this was perfect for me. I did not have to worry about getting to a specific place and picking up, transporting, making sure of a drop off before my flight. It was very simple and reasonably priced. I was travelling for 3 weeks, but had to take a contract for one month. Even with having to pay an extra week, it was well worth it as I was able to come and go at my own convenience. There is a caveat that I had friends that transported the scooter when we were being tourists. It was too heavy for me to handle , but my friends or the concierge at the hotel were more than able to quickly assemble it for my daily outings. While I was at the hotel downtown, it saved me the cost of cab fare that more than covered the rental cost.

As in most travel, I had to plan ahead to rent the scooter, but it worked out so seamlessly that I would recommend this to all of those people who may need a scooter temporarily at their destination.

Things to consider:
1. How long are you staying in one place?
2. What modes of transportation are you using during/ throughout your trip? ( some do not allow batteries )
3. What have you budgeted for transportation? ( rental vs taxis etc.)
4. What type of terrain is at your destination and how much sightseeing will you be doing?
            note: terrain may include- hills, cobblestone, no curb cutouts, slippery material when wet,       steep sidewalks, entrances on slopes, stairs going into establishments, etc.
5. Do the tourist attractions you want to see already have mobility devices for use?
6. Will you be reliant on public transportation or do you have private means of mobility?
7. How much independence will you have/ want to have at tourist sights?

Some of this may be old news for you seasoned travelers, but it is just a recollection of things I did on this particular trip.