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Q: What if the wheelchair breaks while traveling? A: This is what every parent dreads, isn’t it? It’s good to know that airlines have loaner chairs for just such an emergency. They don’t have custom or pediatric options. They’ll give you more of a bare bones option like you would use in hospital halls. These chairs won’t
By Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen Jennifer Allen is the writer behind Wonders Within Reach, a disability travel blog for families. She travels with her three children, all of whom have disabilities, including her middle son who is a wheelchair user. The failure Seven years ago I packed my three kids into the minivan for our first
At home, I am queen in a kingdom of chaos. We have a nearly exact routine from the moment the kids wake up in the morning right up to the moment we collapse in bed at night.
I noticed the question was worded as “when,” not “if,” because in real life it’s inevitable that something will go wrong. I’m not sure if our roles as disability parents make us more flexible, knowing that we need to hold each day with open hands
This winter was a season of caring for family needs. This provides me with the unique gift of time. Instead of rushing to share all that we’ve done, I’d like to use this issue to take a step back and share some of our absolute favorites.
Q: How have real families navigated mixed-access needs?
A: “It’s utter chaos!” responded Amy Tarpein, of Elijah’s Baby Bucket List, but of the best kind. In some ways, it’s no different than traveling with any family with varying ages and interests.
You may be familiar with the Emily Perl Kingsley short story, “Welcome to Holland.” It’s a beautiful analogy that compares the disability journey to a flight to Italy that unexpectedly delivered travellers to Holland, instead.
Traveling to Japan with a wheelchair can feel overwhelming. Figuring out where you can and cannot go is hard enough when you can research in your own language and time zone, not to mention making follow-up calls to confirm accessibility needs.
As a disability travel writer, I have a lot of unique experiences exploring accessible destinations and attractions with my family. Every once in a while something sticks out as exceptionally fun and accessible – we share those here.
Responses from readers included things that the travel industry can do to remove barriers, while all suggestions for travelers focused on sticking with known quantities.
By Jennifer Allen What do you remember about your family vacations as a kid? I remember my dad driving late into the night because he refused to pay more than $50 for a hotel room and we simply weren’t in a $50 per night part of the world. He would get off at each exit and
