People always ask us what we use to travel when we do, and here's a comprehensive list of the devices, tools, and must-have items for Access Anything when we travel!  This is meant to both answer the questions of our readers, and also be a learning tool for the travel industry.  What many ABs (Able Bodied people) don't think about are these additional weighty items that PWD must travel with, and why travel is so daunting for this niche. 

1. Wheelchair - Craig uses a Ti-Lite titanium chair worth over $6000. This is important to note because of its incalculable value to Craig. If it's damaged, he's not only lost his mobility, but then needs to worry about it getting replaced. With the price tag out there publicly, the industry can realize its irreplaceable value.

2. GADA Belt - A vital tool for Craig's mobility, this seating device is good for protecting his clothes, maintaining good posture, safety in his wheelchair, and advanced mobility use (bending, stretching, etc). For more on this tool, view the video here.

3. Cameras - we don't leave home without a still and video camera to document all aspects of our travel as learning devices, examples, and more. If you have these tools and take good documentation, you can use it for years to come by sharing it with us and your own network, and as a learning tool for both sides of the industry.

4. Bathroom devices - Craig travels with a toilet seat and occasionally his shower chair, which we are very protective of because of its lack of durability, and prefer to leave behind if the hotel or home we're visiting has an alternative for us. This is also why hotels that have padded fold-down benches in the shower are ideal for Craig.

5. Smartphones -  We often get to leave the laptop behind these days and travel with our Samsung Omnia (Verizon) smartphones. Using windows mobile we have the ability to check our email and other social networks, write, transfer, or store various files, and bring Powerpoint displays to meetings, exhibitions, and workshops. The Omnia also has a 5mb still and video camera on it, so we always have a way to document our travels and discoveries in access.

6. Handcontrols - Although we can rent vehicles with hand controls on them with nearly every company these days, we occasionally still travel with the portable, light handcontrols for driving for Craig. This is a fading "must-have" tool for us, but it's still a good one. 

7. Paperwork - We often encounter flight attendants that don't know our rights, so we always travel with the FAA rules on handling PWD in the air (The DOT's Air Carriers Act). It's come in handy to store our wheelchair onboard, protect the rights of traveling with our service dog (RIP), gained us faster access to the airport CRO (Complaints Resolutions Officer), and protected Craig against damages incurred to his chair or medical devices.  In addition to the FAA rules, we also make sure we travel with photocopies of our Drivers Licences, Passports, medical needs, insurance, images of the contents of our suitcases, and all backup documents for all types of reservations while away (air, hotel, car, tickets, etc). Having backups of all these things has saved us from many headaches on the road.

8. Extra medical supplies - As with the usual planning for the worst (EG: extra clothes in the carry on), Craig always brings about twice the amount of medical supplies he plans on using for the trip in case of emergency, delay, or incident.  For him these don't take up all that much room, but even if it did, we'd plan accordingly.  Worth note is that all PWD get to include an extra bag of medical supplies free of charge on all US airlines (including those leaving the country).

9. Positive Attitude - We've learned over the past 10 years of traveling together that maintaining a positive attitude always gets us what we need.  The old addage that you get more with sugar isn't a wives tale; we've watched meltdowns from disgruntled employees several times, and as soon as we "buy into" their fear or anger, we've lost.  Everytime we maintained our good will and charm and asked politely, the issue always resolves itself to the best of everyone's ability.  To assist us with this, we always travel with Life Is Good stickers.

10. Backup Plan - We always have a backup plan. A place to stay overnight, a network of support, an extra set of clothes, medical supplies, etc., you name it, we've thought of it. And when something comes up that we haven't thought of, we use #9 and our previous experiences with #10 to get through it.

Many PWD don't travel because of a fear of the unknown, a bad experience, or the lack of adaptations or adapting experience.  Everything is adaptable, if you have the will to try.

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