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Eileen Ogintz, Los Angeles Times Syndicate
If the DeVault kids had any gripes about last summer's big cross-country car trip, they
couldn't blame their parents. They'd helped work out all the logistics.
That 10-year-old Colin DeVault and his 8-year-old sister Bethany were born with spina bifida,
a birth defect that left them partially paralyzed, only makes their parents want to encourage
their independence more.
"We want them to figure out how to accomplish what they want to do so that when they're older
they'll be able to do it themselves, " explains Elizabeth DeVault. "Travel helps foster that
kind of independence."
That's true for any kid.
If last summer's trip is any indication, their game plan is working. In fact, car trouble
hampered the family a lot more than two kids with assorted crutches, leg braces and
wheelchairs as they made their way from Niagara Falls to Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone and
Yosemite national parks, California beaches, the San Diego Zoo and back to their Pennsylvania
home near the college where James DeVault teaches economics.
"We do what any other family would do on vacation," says Elizabeth DeVault, who also has a
12-year-old son, Michael. "It just takes us longer to get there."
But the memories are worth the extra effort.
"The kids talk about the trip almost every day," she says. "They have done something their
friends haven't, and that's not always easy to say for kids on crutches."
Not an easy road.
This year, Colin and Bethany DeVault will have a chance to strut their travel stuff even
more. As the Easter Seal Society's national child representatives, they will be crisscrossing
the country, giving speeches for the nonprofit organization.
Their presence in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, among other places, demonstrates
what millions of American families are learning every day on the road: Having a family member
with disabilities - be it a child, parent or grandparent - doesn't mean forgoing trips.
"Everybody is traveling these days," says Dr. Phil Ziring, chairman of the pediatrics
department at Chicago's Cook County Hospital and chairman of the American Academy of
Pediatrics' committee on disabilities.
That doesn't mean it's easy. Parents say they travel with specialists' names and phone
numbers in the area they're visiting as well as a synopsis of their child's medical history.
They plan meticulously, calling ahead to make sure accessible hotel rooms are available.
Helpful sources
Now, at least, there are more resources than ever to help:
Fodor's Great American Vacations for Travelers With Disabilities ($19.50) not only tells you
where to go, from Orlando to the Outer Banks, but also the most accessible places to stay,
where to find skiing and snorkeling adventures and even wheelchair repair shops.
Exceptional Parent Magazine's March issue is devoted to family travel. Call 1-800-372-7368.
The newsletter "Emerging Horizons" lists and reviews accessible hotels, including inns and
B&Bs;, and offers other travel ideas around the world. A four-issue subscription is $11.95;
(209) 599-9409.
The National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colo., has been offering winter
and summer outdoor adventures for nearly 30 years. Learn to ski or snowboard in winter; camp
at the totally accessible campground in summer to raft, mountain-bike, rock-climb or sail.
Call (970) 726-1540.
The Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped publishes a quarterly magazine,
Open World, and is a good resource for everything from rights for traveler with disabilities,
to where to plan a sailing trip. Call (212) 447-7284.
Take along the Department of Transportation guide "New Horizons: Information for the Air
Traveler With a Disability." It's free from the DOT's Consumer Information Center,
1-888-8PUEBLO.
Growing numbers of travel agents, including Flying Wheels Travel in Minnesota (1-800-535-6790)
and Accessible Journeys in Pennsylvania (1-800-TINGLES), specialize in trip planning for
travelers with disabilities and their families.
Worth the effort
"Travel is a way to show you're a normal family, like everyone else," says Carol Randall, who
has MS and oversees the comprehensive Web site for travelers with disabilities that lists
about www.Access-Able.com 35 specialty travel agents.
"People think if they can travel, they can do anything."
The Lawsons, for example, have taken their wheelchair-bound 3-year-old daughter camping in
Michigan.
The Chrystals have headed to the Florida and North Carolina beaches with their severely
disabled 20-year-old foster son, driving from Ohio.
"Sure it's a lot of work to schlep the wheelchair through the sand. But then you should see
him smile when he's in the ocean," Deb Chrystal says.
It's the law
The 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act certainly has made it easier to travel for the 54
million Americans - one in every five of us - who are disabled. The law requires, among
other things, that hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, transportation systems and public
buildings be accessible.
But as Ms. Chrystal learned in the Florida Keys, accessibility isn't always the way the law
dictates.
"All it takes is one 3-inch step to cause problems," she warns.
The law also hasn't stopped rude families from staring or pulling their kids away from a
child with disabilities.
"It's OK to be curious," says Julie Hacker, associate publisher of Exceptional Parent who
often takes her 4-year-old disabled daughter, Brielle, on business trips.
"I wish parents would realize it's not embarrassing if their kids ask questions. Sure, she
looks different," Ms. Hacker says. "But what people need to teach their kids is that
differences aren't bad."
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 03.07.99
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