If you use a wheelchair or travel with someone who does, you know how quickly your day can go downhill when a destination has no ramps or accessible restrooms. That’s why Elysia Everett and Dave Jensen co-founded the Friendly Like Me app — so people could know this vital info before they go.
“People are more than just one thing, and accessibility means something different for everyone,” said Everett, CEO of Friendly Like Me, in a statement. “Disability is very individual, sometimes temporal, always in front of us, and yet–continues to surprise us.”
The folks at Friendly Like Me helped us put together this list of the 10 most accessible national parks in the United States. Now, let’s all go out and explore.
As summer arrives, many people yearn for a beach trip. But what if you use a wheelchair? Sand hardly seems your friend. However, accessible adventures are out there.
Outdoors Wire teamed up with Friendly Like Me for this list of the most accessible beaches in the United States. The Friendly Like Me app helps people assess whether a place will be welcoming and accessible before they go.
“People within the community have been asking for an app like this for many years, enabled with the ability to look up specific accessibility needs – to discover at their fingertips whether a place can accommodate them or not,” Dave Jensen, Friendly Like Me co-founder and chief technology officer, said in a statement. “For people with disabilities and access needs this platform can mean the difference between staying at home or being able to get out and enjoy life.”
So grab your beach towel and get ready to roll. Here are the country’s top 10 most accessible beaches.
Get active during Autism Awareness Month (and year-round).
Not every person wants to participate in every sport. But shouldn’t there be lots of opportunities for all sorts of people to try new activities? That’s what Tom Hart thought when he decided to teach autistic kids to wakeboard.
“We can introduce something super awesome to kids and give them opportunities that other people may not have ever allowed them to have based on a diagnosis,” Hart explains in a video interview on his website Above the Wake. “So we’re looking past the diagnosis and allowing kids to just be awesome.”
Photo courtesy of Above the Wake
Hart founded Above the Wake in 2014 and serves as executive director. This year will be the company’s ninth season, and Hart has some big activities planned.
“We are Michigan-based so we don’t technically start until June,” Hart told Outdoors Wire. “However, April is National Autism Awareness Month and it was important for us to host an event.”
On April 2, more than 60 participants showed up at the Orlando Watersports Complex in Florida. You can see Above the Wake’s summer schedule here. Some events are part of Cable4ACause, an initiative Above the Wake started in 2016 to promote inclusion in the sport. Cable parks in other states participate as well.
As the website puts it, “Our kids are able to do the activities that neuro-typical children do, sometimes an invitation is a powerful tool.” Upcoming events at Action Wake Park in Hudsonville, Michigan, and West Rock Wake Park in Rockford, Illinois, only cost $10 to participate.
Photo courtesy of Above the Wake
Two factors planted the seed in Hart to start Above the Wake: a lifetime of summer water sports at his family’s lake house and five years working with children in summer camps. “I have coached and been involved in youth sports since I was a teenager and well into adulthood with my own children,” Hart told Outdoors Wire. “During college, I did an internship teaching swimming lessons to children with autism. It was one of my most memorable times in college.”
Later, he learned about a program teaching autistic people how to surf. “The light just clicked that this was something I could do on lakes with kids and adults living with autism. And I have not looked back since.”
Photo courtesy of Above the Wake
Of course, wakeboarding is not the easiest sport for anyone to learn. And neurodivergent folks face extra challenges. Hart’s most useful teaching tool turned out to be the ZUP Board— an all-in-one board that you can kneeboard, stand, and surf on.
“It was a game changer for Above the Wake,” Hart said. “I can build confidence, create positive experiences, and then transition to wakeboarding. The ZUP Board has been the secret of our success getting our people on the water. We introduce children to water-based activities through paddle boarding as well. It is low intensity and a great start to the other services we provide.”
