Meet the How Accessible Team

Paola: 

Hi, my name is Paola and I am part of the how accessible team. Currently I freelance as a social media manager and I also design small websites for businesses. If I’m not working you can usually find me crafting or exploring my city like a tourist. I was born with CP, also known as cerebral palsy and that affects my muscle strength my balance and my coordination so depending on the day I used a manual chair or crutches to get around. Right now, there are two other members of the how accessible team Maria and Samantha.

Maria: 

Hey, I’m Maria Paola’s twin sister. I have a BA in English a minor in Spanish. I really love books, especially the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. The skinny on me as far as my mobility is concerned is, I mainly use a scooter to get around. I used to use a walker in the past but right now I’m only using it for exercise. I also have dexterity issues which are more noticeable in my left hand then in my right.

Samantha:

Hi I’m Samantha. I have an AA degree in Information Technology I’m pursuing a BS in Cyber Forensics. I’m interested in technology, especially how it can advance assistive devices. But during my down time you can find me listening to music or just watching TV. I was born with cerebral palsy and also have hand dexterity issues.

The right side of my body is weaker than my left. The strength that I lack in my lower extremities is offset by my upper body strength. I got stronger because I had to navigate places that weren’t accessible growing up. When I was younger, I used a wheelchair, then forearm crutches. But then I started using a four-wheel walker in high school. I still use a four-wheel walker today, but I’m considering adding other mobility aids to help me navigate obstacles when there isn’t another person with me. I live in my own apartment and travel around my town independently.

Paola:

How Accessible is a blog that provides helpful resources and how-to guides for people with different mobility needs. In the future, we hope to become a nonprofit organization to be able to provide help for even more people in the community. How Accessible actually got started on my trip to Disney. Despite my best efforts to plan and research the trip, the place I stayed at wasn’t accessible for me. In fact, it was actually quite dangerous.

I was lucky that I had a friend there with me who was willing to help out. But it got me thinking about what I would’ve done without my friend there. In the beginning, I wanted a Yelp for accessible places. But I quickly realized that there was a need for a lot of information on accessibility- for homes for venues for education and for employment resources.

And it’s true that these things exist on other sites but none provide a comprehensive collection for all aspects of living with different mobility needs. Most often the information is corporate, technical, or impractical. We want to give our readers a first-hand account of what we’ve experienced, what is worked, and what we’ve learned when things haven’t gone as planned.

Maria:

What I hope to do for How Accessible is to share with you guys some things I figured out that help me overcome my daily obstacles. I also want to make accessibility information more a part of the mainstream.

Samantha:

I share the same desire for How Accessible to become that comprehensive place that readers can go whether they have mobility needs or they just know someone else that does. I believe between our shared experiences this is possible.

Paola:

To start, we’re gonna write about three main categories; home, transportation, and public venues. We’ll create resources and how-to guides on ways to make your home more accessible. We’ll find transportation resources and write an adaptive driving series. And we’ll post first-hand accounts as we explore different venues and find out just how accessible they are or what hacks you can use to make them easier to navigate.

Samantha:

I’ll be guiding the transportation content at first. For most of my adult life, I had to rely on public transportation to get me to and from places. This includes buses, door-to-door transportation and medical transport. Not too long-ago Uber and Lyft were added to the list. Recently, I’ve learned how to drive with hand controls, and I would like to share my experience with readers and the resources that I had to use.

Paola:

Even though the How Accessible website is our first step, we have big plans if we find that it develops a following. Some ideas involve location reviews for members, an adaptive cooking section, and a How Accessible app.

Samantha:

Not only would be like the How Accessible team to share their experiences, but we would like our readers to share theirs as well by submitting post ideas or photos in their own surroundings that we can upload to the website.

Paola:

If you are interested in following our journey you can sign up for content updates. Thank you for watching.