United Spinal’s Accessibility Services team is fielding access questions for New York’s new state-of-the-art major league ballparks.
By Rob Ingraham
“Our challenge is doing the right thing by the disabled community and our clients. Other consultants don’t have that dual obligation. That’s the tightrope we walk.” Tightropes notwithstanding, Dominic Marinelli, director of United Spinal Association’s […]

The American National Standards Institute includes criteria to make new homes visitable by people with disabilities.
By Jennifer Perry
“Visitability,” a growing movement focusing on making individual homes accessible by targeting the most fundamental, inexpensive features––getting in and out of the house and being able to use a bathroom––has gained important support from the American […]

Chicago’s Focus on Accessibility Could Be Key in Bid for 2016 Summer
Olympics
By Tom Scott

Linda Mastandrea, Paralympian and
Chicago 2016 VP of Sport & Accessibility

While the Windy City is famous for a lot of things, one of the least mentioned is its good accessibility. But Chicago is making great strides at offering […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD
After a spinal cord injury, where we go and who we visit become more limited. Since my injury in June 1998, I can no longer go to any of my neighbor’s homes and ring their doorbells. Even the two brand new homes a few doors down from me were built with […]

By Linda Stango, AIA

The kitchen is one of the most interactive rooms in the house and is often the gathering place for family and friends. Planning is essential since this room cannot be “rearranged” as other spaces can. If you are considering remodeling or building new kitchen; a good place to start is […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD

In July 1998, when I first came home from the hospital after my spinal cord injury, I realized that my wheelchair would never fi t into our bathroom’s 3’ x 5’ toiletting area; with the door attached, the door clearance was only 26 inches. I looked at the glass-enclosed shower and […]

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and time to remember that even women with spinal cord injuries are at risk.
By EM Treston

I try to follow guidelines set up by the medical community so when I turned 40, it was time for a mammogram. The only time I saw a mammogram machine was on […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD

I remember coming into my kitchen in my wheelchair for the first time after my spinal cord injury nine years ago. I was wearing a neck collar and body brace to stabilize my spine after surgery. I went to the kitchen sink to get a glass of water. The glasses were stored […]

Compiled by Peggy Hathaway
Keeping the Promise to End Unfair Employment Discrimination
Four Congressional leaders have introduced a bill to restore the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to its original intent.
The ADA Restoration Act was introduced in the House and the Senate on July 26, which was the seventeenth anniversary of the ADA with […]

September is National Preparedness Month. Are you ready in the event of an emergency?
By Kelly Rouba
The devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the coastal areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana in the late summer of 2005 is something many of us will never forget. Yet as time passes, the public’s […]

Tripping the light fantastic can be good for your health and for your social life.
By Kelly Rouba

Cleveland’s Dancing Wheels modern dance company. People of all abilities can use any or all parts of their bodies to move to the music. (Photo by Dale Dong, courtesy of Dancing Wheels)
As a young man living in […]

Whether you want to grow healthy vegetables, a beautiful bed of flowers, plants to attract butterflies, perennials, tropical or desert plants; a garden is a worthwhile endeavor and can reap great rewards.
By Linda Stango, AIA

A computer generated image of a raised garden bed demonstrates just how easy and accessible gardening can be for wheelchair […]

By Rosemarie Rossetti, PhD

Coming home from the hospital after a spinal cord injury is a traumatic experience. Chances are that the home you left prior to your injury won’t work for you in the short- or long-term because of your need for wheelchair access. Modifications and remodeling may be needed.
My homecoming in July 1998 posed […]

Vincent Laffaille

Vincent “Vixente” Laffaille, 29, of Agos-Vidalos in southwestern France, is president of his local Wheelchair Rugby Club. Action recently asked him about his life as a person with spinal cord injury in France. Here is his story:

I am paraplegic at T-7–8 from an accident. I did my rehab at the rehab center of Bagnères […]

Compiled by Peggy Hathaway

Recent Congressional Action
Congress has been busy on legislation affecting people with disabilities. United Spinal Association is working on the following issues:

• Medicare Independent Living Act of 2007 Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (RMN) have introduced H.R. 1809 to help Medicare recipients obtain the mobility devices they need. […]

When it comes to the fight for mass transit for people with disabilities, United Spinal has always been a leading participant.

By James J. Weisman

In a ceremony at Grand Central Terminal, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo signs a settlement agreement outlining specific steps to make New York City’s transportation system more accessible to people with […]

You can help your local cab companies find accessible vehicles, so they can help you find accessible rides.

By Terry Moakley
Recently, while listening to a conference speaker from the Taxi, Limousine, and Paratransit Association, a national trade group that represents these industries, I was surprised to learn that nearly two-thirds of the taxi companies in […]

For those who can’t use accessible mass transportation systems, the ADA requires localities to make available paratransit services. How have they been performing since the ADA became law?
By Terry Moakley

Charles Roman (in chair) is mostly satisfied with the paratransit service he has received. Is he typical or unusual?

In June of 2005, […]

By Bob Nunn

Dealers mingled at the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) show in Tampa, Florida where new products making personal transportation more accessible to drivers with disabilities were exhibited.

When Carol Hawkins needed a rear-entry wheelchair van to transport her 37-year-old daughter, Joella, from Rhode Island to Florida, Hawkins turned to eBay. […]

How does someone with limited resources find an affordable adapted vehicle? Here’s one person’s story…
By Tiffiny Carlson
Note: Some of the terms used in the following article are specific to the state of Minnesota.
Four wheels. We can get them for free from the government if they’re on durable medical equipment, but when […]