MOUNT AIRY, N. C. – Taking a hike on a trail or casting a line into a creek is something many people take for granted, but it's a luxury for thousands in the state who live with a disability. Thanks to state and federal funding, that's changing in many parts of North Carolina, as the state works with communities to create accessible areas for people who have mobility challenges.

Kin Hodges, District 7 fisheries biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, says the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant areas provide a meaningful experience for people who lacked access for years.

"It gives us all the ability to step away from our daily troubles and stresses, and kind of recharge our batteries,” says Hodges. “But certainly, I'm sure that feeling is even more magnified for folks that have much more limited opportunities, and they probably appreciate it even more."

The state works with the nonprofit Resource Institute to identify government funding, and Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Grants, to pay for many of the ADA projects. More than 50 areas in the state now offer recreational access for people with disabilities – including features like paved pathways, accessible parking, and ramps to and from parking lots and docks.

The City of Mount Airy just completed more than six miles of ADA-compliant trails – with Resource Institute assistance to locate funding. Darren Lewis, assistant director with the city's Parks and Recreation Department, says the project receives accolades from residents and visitors alike.

"A family member, or sometimes it's a caregiver, have just praised the City of Mount Airy in general on the offerings that they provide, and being able to have this facility or service out there that everyone can use," says Lewis.

Other recent projects include work at Tumbling Rock Reservoir and Hanging Rock State Park, where accessible piers were built for people to fish and enjoy the water. Hodges says the benefits extend to parents, who are able to bring children in strollers, and older people with mobility issues.

"There was a fellow down there with his 92-year-old father, and just seeing him out there really just put a smile on our faces,” says Hodges. “These accesses do get used."

Hodges says creating ADA-compliant trails and lake access is somewhat easier than building more direct access to streams and rivers, where the landscape can be difficult to shape into wheelchair-friendly terrain.


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Wayne State University has received a $1.25 million grant to prepare adapted physical education specialists to serve students with disabilities.

The program, called Project SUPPORT, will train instructors to address a critical shortage of special education instructors, in Michigan and across the nation.

Leah Ketcheson, associate professor of health and physical education teaching at the university, said teachers will customize the physical education curriculum to help students improve their motor and social skills, self-esteem and sportsmanship.

"We are really trying to build that core confidence for children with disabilities but we're also trying to build a model where all children are feeling included, in a more inclusive setting," Ketcheson explained.

She pointed out Project SUPPORT will provide funding, training and support for 37 individuals to become adapted physical education teachers over the next five years.

Ketcheson noted the persistent shortage of special education personnel, particularly adapted physical education specialists, affects the quality of services available to students with disabilities. The project will prioritize urban school districts across Michigan and in other states, where shortages are most often severe.

"Ultimately, if we can train teachers better, we can have greater educational outcomes for our Pre-K-12 students in Detroit public schools, in Dearborn and our urban partners," Ketcheson emphasized.

Ketcheson added Project SUPPORT will prepare a diverse group of teacher-scholars including multilingual and racially and ethnically diverse candidates to serve students from ages 3 through 26 who have disabilities and high-intensity needs.

"We are an urban institution in an urban city, and now, we have this platform to extend our reach even greater," Ketcheson stressed. "Ultimately improving the educational and health outcomes of children with disabilities in Detroit and surrounding communities."

Disability groups in New Hampshire are calling for an end to the word "special" to describe people with disabilities.

They said terms like "special" or "special needs" imply people are somehow broken and undermine the long-term fight for disability rights.

Isadora Rodriguez-Legendre, executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, said when people ask not to be called a certain word, it should be reason enough not to use it.

"It really is a label that kids and adults with disabilities found to be alienating," Rodriguez-Legendre explained. "Because it kept them apart and separate."

Rodriguez-Legendre pointed out a new public awareness campaign encourages people to visit the website stopspecial.org and read a more appropriate language guide. Nearly one of every eight New Hampshire residents has a disability.

Backers of the "Stop Special" campaign said language is evolving and such euphemisms as "special needs" or "special education" need correction. Rodriguez-Legendre emphasized students should simply be called "students," or even "students with disabilities." She understands it will not be an easy change, especially for those who work with laws and regulations but added the goal is to ensure equitable access to education and public spaces.

"Communities actually are better when people with disabilities are participating in them, because they bring awareness about how to make things more accessible for everybody," Rodriguez-Legendre contended.

The "Stop Special" campaign is backed by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.


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The U.S. Office for Civil Rights has issued a ruling ensuring that an Iowa man with disabilities is able to live in his home and receive round-the-clock medical care.

Advocates for people with disabilities hope the move sets precedent for other people in Iowa and around the country.

When he was about five, Cedar Rapids resident Garret Frey suffered the same spinal cord injury that Superman star Christopher Reeve did in an equestrian accident.

Reeve lived for about a decade after his accident.

Frey is closing on 40 years, and sued the state, claiming it violated his rights by failing to provide the 24-hour home-based support and services he needs to live at home, where he said people with disabilities want to be.

"It is truly where most of us are happy, healthy," said Frey, "and it's most cost-effective."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to raise the provider reimbursement rate for in-home caregivers, allow for respite services, expand the health-care provider base - and help secure overnight, in-home nursing care for Frey.

HHS will monitor Iowa's progress for a year. Frey said he wants this ruling to set precedent for other people with disabilities in Iowa and across the country.

"It's one baby step in the right direction," said Frey, "because there are many other disability-related concerns and issues that are ongoing."

The ruling requires Iowa Health and Human Services to work with federal officials to ensure Frey's needs are met during that year, and report on their progress monthly.