Accessible Recreation & Beyond

Posted by Andrew Leibs Nov 3, 2008

Hello--

I’m Andrew Leibs, Suite101’s Feature Writer for Accessible Recreation, which includes sports, games, leisure activities, and travel for persons with disabilities.

I’m legally blind since birth due to ocular albinism, but have enough vision to get around, play sports, even drive (with a bioptic lens). The blindness system labels me a “high partial,” a term I dislike, as it connotes “top-of-the-line incompleteness.”

My disability, however, provides an ideal vantage point for understanding accessibility; my life straddles that Rubicon separating the able-bodied from the handicapped. I play Frisbee in the park and a friend is shocked to learn I’m visually impaired; another sees me reading the bus schedule inches from my face and wonders how I ever leave my house in safety.

Like many disabled people, my impairment both hinders and motivates, depending on information, accessibility, and whether a goal incites barrier-breaking desire.

More than anything, though, I’ve learned that ongoing cultivation of organizations and opportunities is the surest way to connect with life-changing resources. In my book, A Field Guide for the Sight-Impaired Reader, I discuss how integrating the myriad resources can do more than level the playing field—it can give you the high ground.

The same is true for sports, recreation, and travel. The Disability Movement, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Internet avail us of more information on opportunities for participation than most of us will ever use, but if you don’t explore possibilities or reach out, you may miss something that could enhance your life immediately.

My hope is that Suite101’s Accessible Recreation articles and this blog will inspire you to think of what you’d like to do and provide information on how you can do it.