Education and Outreach

Focus on Abilities

Education and information continue to provide the best vehicle for overcoming many of the issues and problems facing people with disabilities of all ages. Each year, as the number of disabled individuals grows, it becomes more evident that we must educate the generations of tomorrow about creating expanded horizons and independence for disabled individuals and erasing social barriers.

The key elements in disabled education programs are similar to elements in programs that address other forms of discrimination or motivational speaking. The first is for parents and role models to talk with children from an early age about making healthy choices. The more young people are able to talk about and understand individuals with a disability the more likely they are to have compassion and understanding of the situation of others. Once children are of school age, they are exposed to a variety of experiences relating to people with disabilities. Programs that provide hands on, accurate information about the disabled community are an integral part of developing an understanding at a young age.

The Adaptive Adventures Education and Outreach can be broken down into 3 primary areas:

- Outreach Presentations -= Through presentations at schools, rehabilitation centers and disabled support groups, we educate people of all ages, with an added focus on youth and adolescents, as to the truths and realities of being physically challenged. We try to provide and recruit teachers and role models to exemplify the positive impact disabled individuals can have on the community in which we live.

- Adaptive Adventures Spokespeople - Either through motivational speaking for our sponsors, media interviews at events or in working with our community partners, Adaptive Adventures has a set of speakers, who are role models with extensive experience in the field. Several of these individuals have had a profound impact on the lives of children with and without disabilities.

- Train the Trainer - Another facet of our Education and Outreach effort is the Adaptive Adventures Train the Trainer program. We work hard to share our expertise to educate other qualified individuals to share our mission. Click here for more information on the Train the Trainer program.

Joel Berman, Executive Director of Adaptive Adventures, spoke to all the gym classes at the local elementary school in the Chicago area. It was enjoyed by kids, teachers as well as parents. Co-founder, Matt Feeney, speaks to kids in and out of the classroom in Denver, CO.