BLOGGING On

We don't have a blogroll around these here parts (for anybody not in the know, that would be a list of blogs that I read and/or recommend posted on the sidebar) - the main reason for that being there are very few Canadian legal-disabilty blogs out there, or at least very few (read none) that I'm aware of.  Which is a large part of what led me to start this endeavour in the first place.

But I digress. 

I've just been introduced to a blog I would like to heartily recommend.  It's called Kilometres for Communication.

What's it all about you ask?

This blog is about communication. It’s about a special kind of communication called AAC. (I personally struggle with this term; it stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication, which is too much of a mouthful for me. AAC is simply an alternative way to communicate when someone has limited or no speech.) This blog is about disability, and navigation of disability in a society which orients itself towards people who are able-bodied. But this blog is also about ability, diversity, capability, possibility, hope. It is about our humanity, and about our connection–one person to another. It is about community and inclusion, and about how wrong it is for any of us to exclude and to make the decision that someone does not belong because he or she is different. So this blog is also about the importance of accessibility, because accessibility is a key to inclusion, belonging and community.

A family affair - the 17-year-old younger brother of "an artist, educator, social activist, writer, story teller, gardener, community facilitator [who] happens to travel in a wheelchair and communicate with AAC" proposes (family in tow) to cycle across Canada to ... well, how about if I let them tell you?

We would meet with people who speak in creative and diverse ways, and with the help of the media, introduce them to Canadians so that never again could they equate not being able to speak with not having anything to say. We would invite people to wheel, walk, run and cycle with us, and we would invite organizations, small groups of people and individuals to host events across Canada to raise public awareness and funds to empower voices and to make accessibility and inclusion a national priority for the more than 3 million Canadians with disabilities.

I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty nifty.

When my youngest daughter read this, she said it sounded a lot like the Terry Fox Run. 

I pointed out that although a lot of people have walked, ran, biked, etc. across Canada to raise money and awareness on issues like cancer and for other "good causes" and the man in motion is back at it (actually I'm not sure he ever really stopped), I've never heard of anybody doing quite this. I've never heard of anyone giving a voice to people who struggle to communicate in our world quite this way.

So. Company's coming. 

The plan is to leave BC on May 19th and head East.  Which, really, is the only way to go.  It seems to me  that we best be plumping the pillows and airing out the guest house.  Perhaps some fresh cut flowers on the table.  And to really show our Maritime hospitality maybe, just maybe, we could organize an event for Kerr and Skye when they get here?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an aside (and with my apologies to Dave for making it an aside), as long as we're here there's probably one more blog I should throw out there.

Many Most of us have probably heard of Dave Hinsburger, actually he's one of the authors of my latest book reviewed (Sexuality - Your Sons and Daughters with Intellectual Disabilities - a most excellent book, by the way and yes, it's yet another opportunity for me to remind you of the Book Reviews tab at the top of the page) but I, for one, wasn't aware that not only is a Dave a most-excellent resource on many disability issues, he also faces his own challenges. Dave uses a wheelchair to navigate his way through life in Toronto (and the rest of the country) and if you would like to know more about that, he welcomes you to join him, Rolling Around in My Head.

So there you have it, my little (blogging) community post - just trying to do my part to brighten up said community.  Because, despite it's many, many challenges, most days it's a pretty good place to live.