Beyond Disability

We came back to campus Wednesday afternoon. Thursday we went to the Pilalis computer lab to work on our final project. At 10:30, we Face-timed with Katie Samson from Philadelphia, who is a quadraplegic. Katie attended Middlebury college, and as a lacrosse goaltender, she helped her team capture the Division III National Championship and was named MVP.

The next winter, she suffered a spinal cord injury in a sledding accident. She is now paralyzed from the chest down. She has function in her arms so she can do daily activities with modifications by herself. She started the Katie Samson Foundation, which puts on the Katie Samson Lacrosse Festival. The KSF has raised over 1.3 million dollars since it began in 2001. The money goes towards research and rehabilitation treatment to improve function, provide independence, and improve quality of life for those with spinal cord injuries. Katie enjoys Wheelchair Rugby and skiing.

Yesterday afternoon we watched a movie called Warrior Champions From Baghdad to Beijing. This movie was about several American soldiers that were severely wounded in the war and ended up being in the Paralympics in Beijing. It was amazing to see how much will power and heart these soldiers had after losing legs or arms or both and still want to be athletic and even go to the Paralympics.

Today we are finishing up our final product!

Chatting with Katie Samson

Therapeutic Recreation Hits the Slopes

Hey!!!

Last night, we had a great dinner at Flatbread. We all placed our phones in the middle of the table so we could have great reflection and bonding time. Afterwards, we went to the movies and saw Safe Haven; which got pretty emotional (Church).

Today, we started our morning with a bonding and reflecting breakfast at the Friendly Toast. We brainstormed thoughts about our final project. Friendly Toast was a great experience with amazing food because it was like Tilton Diner and made us feel like we were close to school.

After we ate, we had a nice two hour drive to Loon Mountain. At Loon Mountain we visited the New England Disabled Sports (NEDS) section. One of the people that the group met was Geoff Krill. Geoff has a physical disability and is still accomplishing his dreams in skiing and biking. NEDS is similar to Northeast Passage. NEDS is a place where people of all ages with not just physical disabilities but mental disabilities are able to get back into skiing, snowboarding, biking, hiking, shooting, and many summer activities. We were able to watch a couple videos about NEDS and what they do. Also, the group was able to get a tour around their facility.

On the tour the group ran into Bob. Bod had a Traumatic Brain Injury and has a new lease on life because of NEDS. He told us how NEDS gave him a new opportunity on life and how he was able to experience different things; he was now able to go to the mountain and ski and not sit on the couch all day. After this, we saw all the equipment that is used to help people with disabilities get back to being independent with their activities; wether it was on the mountain or on the road. After, we had a nice lunch at Loon Mountain. We are now back on campus trying to gather all our information and put together our final project.

NEDS with Geoff Krill

Therapeutic Recreation in Action

Hey ya'll!

We are LOVING Project Week so far! Right now, Beyond Disability is at Portsmouth Middle School helping them learn how to use wheel chairs! We are trying to show the students and young athletes that even if you have a physical disability you can still participate in sports! It is really cool to watch them adapt and see all the smiles on their faces. This morning we attended Rehab 3, a gym where athletes with physical disabilities are trained, and learn how to do things in life that they did not think they would be able to ever do in a wheel chair. The group got trained this morning by Bill Stewart who works at Rehab 3; the center for athletes. We saw what it was like for him, and what he did to help people and athletes who have physical disabilities. 

Yesterday, Chandler Bullard, program specialist at NEP gave us a tour of Northeast Passage and described the focus of their organization. We were able to take a look at all the equipement that is used and all the different type of wheel chairs, and chairs for different sports and outdoor activities. After our tour we headed over to the UNH gym, with a trailer full of wheel chairs! All 12 of us were strapped into the wheel chairs and played games such as, "fishy fishy cross my ocean", handball and other tag games in the chairs. It was a really cool experience and after so long being in the wheel chairs, we came to a conclusion that it did not even feel like they were something holding us back. We were laughing and having fun and the competitiveness was high. 

After people are in accidents, Northeast Passage helps them get back into their old routines and it gives them the ability to learn how to get around the easiest way in life. After playing games and being familiar in the wheel chairs and getting to know Chandler, we had the opportunity to meet Taylor Chace, Rossli Chace's brother. Taylor is also a program specialist at NEP and Sled Hockey Paralympic Gold Medalist! We had the chance to hear all about his experiences and see many of his medals, one being a gold medal from the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics. In the evening we attended the Chace's house for dinner and the chance to sit and get to know Taylor. We watched videos of other athletes that were recognized for their performances. We also watched interviews of Taylor's teammates and got to see what happened to them and how they overcame their disabilities. 

Tonight we are looking forward to a group bonding/reflection dinner and a movie! Hope you're all having a great week and learning all about your projects, enjoy the next few days! 

Love,
Beauties and the Beast
(written by @yoyoslick) 

At the Chace's with Taylor and his medals

At UNH gym playing around in wheel chairs

Gear

Taylor's Accomplishments

Beyond Disability With Northeast Passage

We are so excited for next week's project week! 

Our group will be exploring the following essential question: 
How do those with physical disability achieve their goals through therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports?

We will be searching for an answer by:

• Talking to people with physical disabilities
• Exploring the difference between able-bodied and disabled way of life
• Seeing what it is like to live and play with a disability
• Educating other about therapeutic recreation and adaptive sports

Our first meeting as a group!

We are all looking forward to blogging more about our adventures!