Breaking Down Barriers
By Spader, Nicole Deters; Sports 'N Spokes, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 24-27Publication Date: May 2010
Article features No Barriers USA, a nonprofit organization that provides information on, and hands on experience of, adaptive sports equipment for people with physical disabilities. International No Barriers Festivals offer a combination of (1) a technology symposium where breakthroughs in adaptive equipment and prosthetics are presented; (2) an equipment fair where state of the art adaptive products are displayed and demonstrated; and (3) interactive outdoor clinics on horseback riding, rock climbing, off road biking, kayaking, sailing, scuba diving, and swimming with dolphins. Information from the festivals can also be found at the group’s online educational resource center (http://www.nobarriersusa.org/). The article includes the profiles of two festival participants, one woman with paraplegia following a riding accident who participated in a horseback clinic and went on to compete in wheelchair tennis; and a woman with spinal cord injury who enjoyed hand cycling, kayaking, and deep sea fishing. The latter participant runs the Denver based Chanda Plan Foundation (http://www.thechandaplanfoundation.org/), which educates people with disabilities about integrative therapies and provides funds for access to alternative therapies.
Published by: PVA Publications (Website:http://www.pvamagazines.com)
Paralyzed Veterans of America (Web Site: http://www.pva.org )
