Abilities Expo- San Jose

Ever since I was a kid I looked forward to going to the Abilities Expo. The Abilities Expo is a fun and resourceful event that attracts many people whether they be people with disabilities, people working in the field of special populations, or those that are just curious about what is out there.

This is a 3 day weekend event where people can find resources like the newest wheelchairs, get medical supplies, find out about local adapted sports programs, learn about agencies that advocate for people with disabilities, look at some assistive technology, watch some AMAZING demo's, and meet some incredible people who contribute to the disability community.

This year the local Abilities Expo for the northern California region will be held at the Mc Enery Convention Center in San Jose, CA, November 16th-18th.

Link to this years expo: http://www.abilitiesexpo.com/sanjose/index.html

I will be there this year working at the Colours Wheelchairs booth and also doing a fun Wheelchair Lacrosse Demo. See you there!

Bike trails for Handcycling

*Update* Thank you so much Bicycling Monterey for being a strong advocate for handcycling. On their website www.bicyclingmonterey.com  they have pictures of a handcyclist and a mention of a handcycling race at an event called the Sea Otter Classic. It would be great to round up a group to do a race like that!
Also, CSUMB does have a handcycle to rent. I believe that to use the handcycle you would need to go through the Student Disability Services on campus.

Handcycling is a great exercise and even people with relatively weak hands can try it. It is also good for those who have balance problems or people who are recovering from strokes.

Monterey has really nice, accessible bike trails. It is safe and the views are spectacular. It is a fantastic area to ride a handcycle (a bike that is used for people with mobility disabilities/wheelchair user). Unfortunately, none of the bike-rental places in the Monterey area offer handcycles but they are a great purchase if you can get that opportunity. There is a foundation called Challenged Athletes Foundation that offers handcycles to individuals with disabilities. I have the link for that in the fourth paragraph :)

Some cities (ex. San Diego) offer handcycling sessions through the Parks and Recreation programs. I for one would be very excited to see something like this happening in Monterey. Unfortunately, handcycles are quite expensive; much more costly then regular bikes. Even handcycles for kids cost about $1,500.  Some foundations can help people with disabilities  to obtain bikes. Kids (younger then 18) can apply to  Athletes Helping Athletes for funds for a new handcycle. Heres is the link to Athletes Helping Athletes: http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/content/content.jsp?parentContentId=1800024&contentId=2400098

Adults with disabilities can try to obtain a grant for a sports equipment through Challenged  Athletes Foundation www.challengedathletes.org.
 Mountain biking  (mostly downhill) is also a possibility. It's a bit scary, but loads of fun! I tried it at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado http://www.nscd.org/, but  probably there is some place closer in California where someone could do it and if there is PLEASE let me know, I am dieiing to try it out again!

Dance opportunities-MPC, Monterey Sports Center

Dancing is a great activity for someone in a wheelchair. You do not need a big team, the rules are pretty flexible, and there is so many different styles of dance out there that people can try. The hardest part is to find an able bodied partner who is a really good but flexible dancer.

 In Europe, wheelchair ballroom and latin dance dancing (wheelchair dancesport)  is very popular.

 Here's is an example of a  Wheelchair Latin dance called the Jive performed by a couple that held the first place title in Wheelchair Latin Dance for at least 8 years!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCsdgCNFhjg.

One of the best wheelchair dancesport couples in the world

I have always been a competitor and am looking for opporunities to compete in events but the great thing about dance is that it can be done competitively as well as recreationally.

In Monterey, a great place to try dancing is again MPC. MPC offers many dance classes; anything from ballet and jazz to ballroom and salsa. They are designed for an able bodied dancer but the teachers are great and very welcoming when it comes to accomodating for a wheelchair user who has the desire to just dance (been there, done that! and boy did I get a good workout!).  It took me a while sometimes, to "adapt" some movements to "wheelchair language" but once I got it down, the class was a lot of fun for me and best of all wasy a good challenge.  The dance program at MPC almost got cut last year but it was saved and I hope it stays because the classes were a lot of fun and I would recommend anyone with a disability to take a class there. The best advice I can give in starting that experience is to sign up early and be sure to get in with the eagerness to dance! The teachers will feed off your passion and I have even had the opportunity to work one on one with some teachers to work on some steps!

Another possibility is to try something called Zumba. In Monterey, there is a lot of places offering Zumba classes. My favorite is Sports Center because I have a friend who teaches there and has had some experience with dancing with me so it makes it easier and more comfortable for me to just go for it and dance!

Also, dancers with disabilities who are interested in modern dance can participate in the workshops called "Dance Intensive"  organized every summer by Axis Dance in Oakland.(www.axisdance.org)

Axis Dance show at the Northern 

 California Wheelchair Sports Camp

Wheelchair Sports (San Jose area)

Monterey has a small community and organizing teams sports for people with disabilities is difficult.

 However, there is a light! The real wheelchair sports enthusiast can participate in programs organized by All Access Sports in San Jose with collaboration of Far West Wheelchair Sports (www.fwwaa.org). I have been actively involved in the wheelchair basketball program as well as a youth program called 'Wheels On Fire'.

The basketball program takes place every Monday night from 6:45-8:45 at the Camden Community Center. This is a fantastic program for any wheelchair basketball enthusiast that loves a challenge is ready to have A LOT of fun and also get a great workout in!

Basketball Tournament held at the Camden Community Center

The Youth programs  include Wheels on Fire, a weekly sports practice in Camden Community Center, that takes place every Saturday from 1:30 to 4 and the Northern California Adaptive Sports Camp at San Jose State University which is one of the few overnight sports camps for kids with physical disabilities. This year the camp will take place on July 7th – 13th

You can see the pictures for some of the previous year's camps at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6sUSTd3JEw. If you know a kid with disability that wants to be active and try wheelchair sports please let them know about these programs!!                           

One of our fearless leaders relaxing after practice

 San Jose has hosted regional wheelchair games and when I was a kid we traveled every summer to  junior national wheelchair games. I was lucky to be able to do all that, and would be very excited to see that this remains a tradition. In the last few years, every summer our group attends San Jose City Council budget meetings to stress the importance of sports programs for the disabled and to prevent further cuts.

Adapted P.E- via MPC

 Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) has a wonderful Adapted Physical Education program that I myself have been going to for as long as I have been a student at MPC. Because MPC is a community college, anyone in the community is allowed to attend MPC which means that anyone who wants to sign up as a student at MPC can take the Adapted Physical Education Course. APE at MPC is offered Monday- Friday from 8:00-12:00. The facility is run by one teacher who gives his students the opption to work on weights/cardio independently or join a group where he will primarily work with free weights, therabands, and balance boards. He works with groups for an hour at a time and is very skilled at working with the individual needs of a student. He has a very good idea of how a person functions and encorporates his exercises to improve their quality of life.

Physical Therapy- Wellness Center

In Marina, CA there is an incredible facility called the Wellness Center which is very close to Cal State Monterey Bay.

The Wellness Center is divided into a few different segments, There is an Urgent Care Facility (which is sort of like Doctors on Duty), There is a Rehabilitation Center where Physical Therapy. Occupational Therapy. and Speech Therapy are offered. Next door to the Rehabilitation Facility is a Kids club where parents of children can drop there kids off to let them play. in the Rehabilitation Facility are also a Cardiovascular center where patients/clients can work out on cardio machines, free weights, medicine balls, and weights. This center is huge and whatever physical activity a client is looking for will definitely be at the wellness center. There is also an area with pools. There is a regular sized pool as well as a small therapy pool which is where most clients looking for physical therapy go.

Adapted PE via MPUSD

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District offers a program for children K-12 who have any type of disability.

For the last month I have been working with the APE group at MPUSD at a swimming pool in Seaside, CA. This program serves children as young as 18 months to teenagers. There are groups that come in that work with kids that just have autism but there are also groups that serve different populations. There have been children with, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Autism, Down Syndrome and other disabilties that have come to the pool. This program is only offered to those children that go to school through MPUSD and is phenomenally organized.