Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all the best in the year to come!
I want to take time to thank you for being there as I entered my newest experience. Blogging. Back when I first had the idea, I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, what disability positivity would stand for, or how much interest I would get. However, at the end of 2025 my site has been very successful and has way more action then I ever thought possible. I wouldn’t be where I’m today without the great support from this community.
In the coming year, I hope to continue writing posts that help people shift their perspectives, make people who are part of this community feel not so alone and help others feel like they have a space where they can connect, express feelings and be themselves!
I’ve always liked the idea of traveling, but because I am disabled and have physical limitations, I use a power wheelchair to get around. As a result, my parents and I need to make sure that the different cities and places we go to are accessible.
There are many things to consider when my parents and I go somewhere, such as how long we plan to be there, how we are going to get there, what we will do, and where we will stay during our trip. It’s also always important to keep my needs in mind in every part of the planning process.
In September of this year, my parents and I made the decision to drive to the city of Montreal for a few days. As part of the planning process, I decided to make an itinerary with all the details we needed to make our trip a success. One big part of this was doing different kinds of research to see what we wanted to do, what hotels and restaurants were accessible and more.
Luckily, we were able to navigate the city with ease and enjoy our time away from home. On the first day, we got there and immediately drove to one of the most famous markets in the city for lunch and to pick up food to have in our hotel room. After that we relaxed back in our hotel, and then went on a walking mission to find a Montreal t-shirt for me. Following that we went back to our hotel to prepare and have dinner. After eating, we went for a little walk near our hotel to explore the area. Then, we decided to head back to our hotel for the night and watched some TV before going to sleep.
The next morning, we had breakfast at our hotel before heading for a walk to an art museum where we saw a mix of paintings, old and new technology furniture and much more! We all saw some very interesting things there. After that it was time for lunch. We walked around the area to try and find a restaurant we liked. Some time had passed, and we were finally able to agree on a restaurant. Following lunch, my parents and I headed back to relax and plan our day tomorrow. After a few hours, we headed to pick up a side of sushi to have with some leftovers we still had from when we went to the market. During our meal, we got to watch TV, which never happens when we are home. We spent the rest of the night in our hotel watching TV and playing Uno. Uno is my favouite card game.
On the third and final day, we had breakfast at our hotel again, before going for a drive in the city of Montreal, to buy 4 dozen bagels. We also checked out of our hotel before driving. These bagels are so popular that my Dad lined up for 45 minutes to get them!
After shopping, we headed outside of Montreal and slowly started on our way back home. On the way, we made a few stops for gas and food. Overall, it was a great trip, and it will be a memorable one for years to come!
I live in a neighbourhood where I can walk and drive my wheelchair to any store or restaurant I want to go to. However, because I use a power wheelchair to get around, I also require a ramp to get into places safely. Most stores and restaurants offer a ramp, but those that don’t, I often have to wait outside while my parents go in to get what we want or need. These types of situations make me feel sad and excluded.
A brand new Tim Hortons opened up on Roncesvalles with a 6-inch step and no accessible ramp for people like me and strollers.
When my Dad went in to get me some donuts, he asked the owners why they didn’t have a ramp. They said that due to building codes, a ramp is not required for the restaurant. My Dad said, “Can you please explain that to my daughter, who has tons of gift cards for all of the volunteer work she does with March of Dimes?” Their response was, “Oh, would you like anything else?”
After that interaction, my Dad and I decided to go to the media with the story. Two days later, someone from City News came to my house to interview me and my Dad about this story. The interview was quite long and detailed.I am famous for a good reason. Advocating for accessibility and inclusion is sometimes challenging, but it’s worth it in the long run.
I used to do a lot of things that sparked my interest, including camping, hiking, zip-
lining, making letters for Santa and making bracelets. However,as I have gotten older, these interests have changed. Now, in my spare time, I like to go sailing, write, swim, go out for coffee with friends, go to overnight camps, and, more recently, look for volunteer opportunities.
I’ve spent many months wanting to volunteer, but I wasn’t quite sure where to start. I want my volunteer experience to impact others because of my disability. From my experience, finding somewhere to volunteer is challenging when you have physical limitations like mine. Luckily, there are places like Holland Bloorview that support kids and youth with disabilities with their healthcare and recreational needs. Besides those services, Holland Bloorview also provides young people who want to volunteer with the opportunity to do so.
You can volunteer within the hospital as a client program volunteer, a research institute volunteer, a family leadership program volunteer, or a support program for youth with disabilities. I didn’t necessarily want to volunteer with kids and youth. I was more interested in volunteering with young adults who had disabilities. As of now, I’m in the process of trying to find an opportunity that sees me for the person I am, and that would be to work and volunteer like everyone else.
I was lucky to find the Let’s Grow organization, which saw my limitations as a gift. This surprised me and made me feel included and supported. Behind Let’s Grow is a group of parents of disabled young adults. After their sons and daughters left high school, these families found that most existing day programs could not or would not accommodate their children with complex needs. The ones that do exist have either limited operating times or significant travel times from downtown Toronto.
Faced with the possibility of their family members becoming isolated and disconnected, the families decided to build their own program. Let’s Grow is dedicated to creating a fun, nurturing and engaging environment for adults with complex developmental and physical needs.
Throughout this experience, I have learned two important things. One is that disabled people should be treated the same in the workplace. Another is that there needs to be more places like Holland Bloorview and Let’s Grow that show that disabled people want to work and volunteer. However, it’s hard to find employers who want to hire people like us.
Everyone looks forward to the summer months, going to cottages ,vacations, hanging out with friends, and not having to go to school. Whatever age you are, you want to make sure everyone(disabled or not) is included in this decision. We all deserve to have a fun summer, no matter what! Having lived experience myself, I know how challenging it can be to find things to do once you reach disabled adulthood.
Throughout my life so far, I have tried and tested many camps. However, most aren’t for my age group, or don’t spark my interest. Luckily, I was able to find some day and overnight camps that fit my needs. The main activity I found were the Easter Seals Camps.
Easter Seals has two different overnight camps for people with disabilities. One is Camp Merrywood and the other is Camp Woodeden. Camp Merrywood is located in Perth Ontario,on a beautiful peninsula stretching out into Big Rideau Lake. Some of the things you can do at Merrywood include fishing, canoeing, sailing, arts and crafts, and life skills . Woodeden offers programs such as swimming, arts and crafts, pottery, music and drama, life skills and sports such as sledge hockey, archery, wheelchair basketball, lacrosse, badminton, a nature trail with Yurts for overnight sleep-outs and an accessible high ropes course
Each one is known for special programming with one offering water activities such as sailing and canoeing and the other offering a climbing wall and a high ropes course. I like both of these Easter Seals camps for different reasons, so I can’t choose a favourite!
Besides those two camps, Holland Bloorview offers two day camps, which I went to when I was younger. One was the Access Boom sailing program, and the other was Spiral Garden.
When I got too old for the Holland Bloorview sailing program, I asked the organizer if they knew of another program like this in Toronto, and she said there was one in Hamilton and West Toronto. After that, I looked into the program in West Toronto, and it turned out I was eligible for the Able Sail program.hen my parents and I visited the club, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they considered accessibility needs. They even have electric lifts to help get people into boats!
Even when it’s not summertime, it’s important to stay active and get outside as much as you can, whether you have physical challenges, like myself or not. Going for a walk, roll sail or bike ride are all good ways to get your daily exercise. It’s not just important for your physical health, it’s equally important for your mental health as well, and you can make it as boring or fun as you want.
Throughout my educational journey, I have faced different barriers that prevented me from engaging fully in the traditional High School experience, This is when I first heard of special education. Special education programs and services are designed to meet students’ individual needs. These programs support students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism and more I have a physical disability which impacts my ability to function everyday.. My weakest subject in school was math, and it was because of the dedicated staff supporting me at the time, that I was able to pass the class. . The teacher and support staff were able to change the way they were teaching in order to get me to learn the material better.
In 2015,I graduated from Park Lawn, the school I attended before looking into the different High Schools I could go to. One of the main reasons I chose Park Lawn was because that school had an integrated special education program for students with physical disabilities. I would still go to regular classes, but would go to the ISP Room when I got off the bus for extra help with my schoolwork, educational needs and personal care needs, like using the washroom.
When it came to finding a High School, my parents wanted to find a similar learning environment to Park Lawn since that seemed to be successful in the past. We had quite the experience trying to find one that would work. My parents had to talk to lots of people about what we were looking for, do some research and go on school tours. After a lot of time and research, my parents found and toured Monarch Park Collegiate.
Monarch Park Collegiate worked similarly to Park Lawn, but the biggest difference with Monarch was that it was semestered and had lots of ways for me to get involved. I was part of the Accessibility Team, Student Council and Jazz Choir. Monarch was a great school, and I was happy that I could learn like every other student with support from the integrated educational program in the Mobility Resource Room.
After graduation, I wasn’t totally sure what next steps would look like for me or how I was going to get there. I was still used to having the everyday structure of going to school. All that changed when I completed High School. I went through a transitional period where I took some personal time to reflect and wonder if I could put my strength of helping people to use.
Hello, I am a 24 year old young adult, who lives in Toronto’s West end, and I have Cerebral Palsy which impacts my ability to function everyday. Every person who has a disability needs support with a variety of tasks, but for myself the support is mainly related to physical tasks such as transferring from my wheelchair to bed, toileting, eating, going for walks or dressing for everyday life. This support may also include getting me out to just have a good time in my community. Regardless of my physical limitations, I enjoy doing a variety of activities such as having coffee in parks, going for a walk down to the lake, traveling, watching movies, volunteering with multiple organizations and making iMovies.
Why blog?
When I graduated High School I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. However I have always had a passion for helping people with disabilities. This is when I started volunteering for multiple organizations like March Of Dimes Canada and Let’s Grow, a day program for disabled adults. Even though these opportunities are on-going I felt there was still something missing, so that’s when I came up with the idea of creating my own blog. People think being disabled is a negative thing but the truth is that it’s not. I want to be able to focus this blog on all the positive outcomes you can create when being disabled.
Disability Positivity 