As the year turns toward warmer seasons, thoughts turn toward vacation. And after months of COVID-19 travel restrictions, long-distance travel is particularly popular now—notwithstanding the extra work and planning involved. With disabilities in the picture, planning gets even more complicated.…
Category: Special Needs Family (page 10)
What’s So “Different” about Down Syndrome?
This Tuesday (March 21) is World Down Syndrome Day. You likely know that Down syndrome, the result of an “extra” chromosome in one’s genes, is associated with low IQ scores. Unfortunately, that’s all that many people know—and, for far too…
Traveling with Mobility Impairments, Part I: Preparations and Journey
In autumn 2022, BridgingApps team member Andi Fry visited New York City with her husband and daughter Megan, a University of Houston graduate student. Typical leisure travel adventure, except for one thing: Megan has extensive physical paralysis and limited verbal…
Surviving the Loss of a Companion Animal
“Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” wrote the poet Alfred Tennyson, processing his grief after the death of a close friend. While mourning has its regrets, these rarely include, “I wish I’d never…
Coping When You Have a Disability: Natural Disasters
Wherever you live, chances are that natural disasters interrupt your business-as-usual from time to time. You don’t have to suffer direct injury or property damage: schedule disruptions, power outages, and evacuations impact everyone in the area. Even breaking-news bulletins can…
The World of Recreational Therapy
February is Recreational Therapy Awareness Month. Never heard of recreational therapy? Or assumed it was just another name for physical therapy? Read on! Do you believe having fun is good for everybody? If we’re talking about “everybody under a certain…
Introducing Tech to Rural Areas: A Digital Navigator’s Perspective
In September 2022, Easter Seals Greater Houston/BridgingApps became one of 18 organizations in the new Digital Navigator Corps, a national program formed under a $10 million investment from Google.org. The purpose of the Corps is to help rural residents gain…
Consumer Electronics Favorite 5: Badger
Roughly every other weekday from January 20 to January 27, BridgingApps will publish a blog post featuring one “Favorite 5” item from our recent article “Consumer Technology, Assistive Technology, and the Latest in Electronic Tech.” (For the full list, see…
Top Ten Things Not to Say to Someone with a Disability
Today’s post is dedicated to all lovers of “what not to do” lists—and to every person or family member who lives with a disability and is weary of hearing the same old clueless, unhelpful comments. For clarity on what actually…
Enjoying the Holidays When Someone Has Autism
The winter holidays are tons of fun … until they aren’t. Until you have one of those days when the weather is miserable, every store on the internet is sold out of the gifts your children want, you’re seeing more…