Traveling with a Disability-Tips for a Safe and Enjoyable Trip

Traveling these days is anything but simple, especially for the handicapped. Add a disability, a major or minor disability or disabilities, to travel plans and traveling becomes immensely more complicated. A person with a disability who travels has to do much more than call for airline or hotel and restaurant reservations. A person with a disability who travels must consider handicapped accessibility.

Getting to and from, up and down isn't always easy for a person with a disability who seeks to travel. There are many, many considerations a person with a disability who plans to travels must consider-handicapped rooms, handicapped accessibility, transportation, medication. For some with a disability, even a too steep incline can make something in-accessible.

Several years ago when my family planned a family reunion in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, my sister checked out the resort where we'd be staying, including the handicapped suite where my husband and I, our daughter and a friend planned to stay. She saw the ramp to the door and a few other handicapped accommodations and concluded the accessibility factor would do. We reserved this handicapped room, fully expecting it to have the handicapped accessibility I needed for my disability.

Once we checked the so-called handicapped room I was dismayed. The suite was not all that handicapped accessible-at least for me. The bed was too low, the bathroom too small for maneuverability and, worst of all, though there was plenty of room and a pullout couch in the living room area, before we'd arrived, the handicapped suite had been designated a two person suite. This left our daughter and friend without a place to stay. I wasn't sure how this even passed as a handicapped accessible facility.

Though other family members offered to take the girls in, my daughter felt unwanted. So did I since the so-called handicapped suite did not have the accessibility factors needed for a person with a disability.

This was not the only time we ran into the problem of a handicapped room being designated for only two. If you travel with your children or other family, make sure the handicapped room you plan to reserve allows children or more than two occupants.

Though the resort where we stayed was a distance from Eureka Springs and was where all the family were staying, I knew we could not continue to stay at a place that lacked proper handicapped accessibility. That evening as the family met as a group for supper to get re-acquainted, my daughter and her friend were calling to find us other accommodations, accommodations with real handicapped accessibility.

The next day we checked out of the resort and into a motel in Eureka Springs that was much more handicapped accessible for me. We began enjoying our vacation. Once we explained our problem, firmly but politely, to the owner of the resort, we were released from our reservations for the week. Do not be afraid to ask for money back when accommodations aren't not as handicapped accessible as they need to be for you.

I made several mistakes in our travel plans to Eureka Springs. I made assumptions I shouldn't have made. Knowing my sister was checking out the accessibility of the handicapped accommodations, I should have provided her with a detailed list of my needs rather than expecting her to know what I required. She would have been glad to check the accessibility of the handicapped accommodations according to my needs. As a person with a disability who travels, I should have doubled checked by calling the resort and asking specific questions. (Like the height of the bed and configuration of the handicapped bathroom.)

Often the clerk at the desk may not know the specifics of a accessibility of the handicapped room, but they can put you in touch with the room cleaners or maintenance person who will know or will check Don't be embarrassed to ask specific questions. The answers may mean the difference between an enjoyable or a miserable travel situation.

I learned my lesson. Before our trip to Indiana, I called several motels in the city where we were headed. One maintenance man told me honestly, after I explained my accessibility needs, the motel would not have the best handicapped accommodations for my needs. His honesty helped me move on to find the perfect motel for my husband and I that was handicapped accessible and did fit the needs of my disability.

It is important to ask questions and keep asking questions until you get the answers you need. Because so many travel locations have an online presence, often you can actually take a look, a head of time, at the handicapped room you want to reserve. A look on line may not answer all your accessibility questions, but it is a good start.

Don't assume anything. Ask questions. If possible, get confirmation of specific conditions in writing by regular or by email. Double check the information just before traveling. Had I double checked before traveling to Eureka Springs, we would have known about the change of policy that excluded our daughter and friend. When making reservations, it is a good idea to make note of the names of those with whom you speak in case there is a problem.

Be prepared. After several not so positive handicapped accommodation and accessibility travel mis-adventures with my disability, I've learned to expect the unexpected as I travel. When we travel, I usually pack my own toilet riser in the car trunk. A motel's bathroom situation may not be quite what I, a person with a disability, may require. If we're visiting or staying with family for any length of time, I will need the riser.

When a person with a disability travels, stairs can be a problem. Stairs complicate the idea of accessibility and are problematic for those who travel, like me, with a disability. A few years ago, I was asked to speak at a writer's conference being held an hour away from where I live. The conference was being held in a new motel just off Interstate 80. Because it was new, I made an assumption.

The day of the conference my friend and I entered the motel. At the front desk we asked where the conference was being held. The clerk pointed behind us. I turned around to find a flight of stairs. OK. Smiling I asked, "Where do we find the elevator?"

"There isn't one."

I looked at my friend. She looked at me. Too late to back out as featured speaker.

She assisted me as I slowly, one-by-one, made my way up the flight of stairs. I announced who I was, met those I needed to meet, found a place to leave my books and handouts, and went to find a restroom.

You might have guessed. No handicapped restroom. In fact, no public restroom at all on that floor. Hardly an accessible location. Handicapped accommodations couldn't have been worse or accessibility. As a person with a disability who often travels, you'd think I'd stop making assumptions. No way was I going down those stairs again right then. I was exhausted from climbing them and the conference hadn't even begun.

(Thankfully the writer's guild president had a room on that level with facilities he allowed us to use.)

Unlike me, never take things for granted. Always check if a location is accessible for those with a disability.

As for luggage. Take as little as possible. Make sure what you have is easily portable, using luggage with wheels.

When traveling with a disability make sure to take more than the required medication in case, for whatever reason, you end up staying longer than planned. If you are to travel by air, keep the medications in their original containers. Labels will need to match what is on your ticket. Make sure to keep all medications with you at all times. You never know when you might get separated from your luggage.

For travel, always have a list of your medication, medical conditions, including allergies and sensitivities, in case of emergency.

For me, security devices are a problem. I am metal from the waist to my ankles. If your disability includes artificial joints or other metal pieces parts, make sure you tell the security officer before going through a metal detector. I always carry a card from my doctor, which explains my disability and metal parts. Usually the security officer then simply uses a hand wand.

During security procedures, make sure to ask for any help you need, like in getting shoes on and off.

You can travel with a disability, do so safely, if you ask questions, confirm your needs, and use these practical suggestions.