Author Sheri Denkensohn-Trott Accessibility and inclusion have improved greatly on the screen and stage. I’m thrilled to hear of the latest TV show starring individuals with disabilities, movies with parts that are not disability specific or star individuals with disabilities telling their story, and stage productions with an actor who is disabled playing a role. That’s the way it should be. Thirty-plus years post the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it’s about time that disability and the arts seamlessly co-exist. I recently saw a play and was a wheelchair user in the audience. I travel ..read more

Author: Tony Trott Most people who know me know that I am a pretty big sports fan. That probably comes from not being physically able to compete in the sports I grew up watching in an unadapted way, however, this blog won’t be about that! I enjoy most sports that easily come to mind like basketball, football, hockey, etc. Recently, I’ve branched out a bit. My wife recently attended a men’s lacrosse game for her undergraduate school and while not a prior lacrosse fan, she said it was fun. In mid-April, a friend who happens to be an assistant coach for Georgetown lacrosse, invited me to a game a ..read more

Author: Sheri Denkensohn-Trott It is not often that I get to write about a successful trip. Whenever I travel there are usually frustrations, accessibility drama, and other events that make the travel less than perfect. In fact, very far from perfect. When a trip works out, it is important to give credit where credit is due. I don’t like being a constant complainer who is always fighting battles. It is more favorable to commend those that contribute to a positive experience. As my father would always say, “A pat on the back is always better than a slap on the behind.” A couple of weeks ago I t ..read more

Author: Tony Trott Remember that scene in Titanic (1997) where Leonardo DiCaprio stands on the bow of the Titanic and yells, “I’m the king of the world!” as the wind blows through his hair? Sometimes it seems to me like it’s some kind of personification of Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) that believes it is the king of the world because FA thinks it can do anything it wants to. I can just be living my life as best I can when FA decides to throw me a curveball. In this case it was my ejection fraction. Ejection fraction is a measurement of how much blood the left ventricle of the heart pumps out with ..read more

Author: Tony Trott Sometimes if feels as if pretty much everything is going against you; some issues can be minor, and some can be major. A lot of times you can decide for yourself what is major and what is minor (you don’t always have a say in the matter, but sometimes you do and that is because you are you). I’m starting to sound like a Dr. Suess but I guess I can definitely think of worse things. And sometimes what you think is major to you might be minor to someone else. I suppose we all understand that there are plenty of ‘big picture’ issues around the world today and if I thought about ..read more

Author: Sheri Denkensohn-Trott I try to take advantage of the amenities of Washington DC. And that was the focus of a one-month advanced planning session with my friend Rosemary to attend an exhibit called ARTECHOUSE D.C. This innovative, immersive, cutting-edge technological art exhibit exists around the country and opened in DC this past summer. Schedules took over a month to coordinate but we were able to go ON the birthday. I purchased the tickets on the site called Goldstar that I use often. It provides discount tickets to a variety of arts and related events around the city. I find it to ..read more

Author: Tony Trott I really don’t like writing about my specific shortcomings or problems that I have, but they are part of having a disability and maybe I need to write about them a little more to let the world know firsthand that while my life is far from perfect, I can still be happy. Recently, I slipped on the floor of the bathroom which is all tile (as the people who did the renovation in 2010 said, “It’s almost a wet-room!”). Fortunately, I have become pretty good at falling, and my hands never let go of the grab bar I was holding, so it was basically my feet sliding in front of me and j ..read more

Author: Tony Trott As I look out on the terrace and I see all flowers have died and some plants have entered winter mode, the main thing I notice is a lack of color; and it’s kind of depressing. Then I think of a poem I learned from my mother. Now, I don’t pretend to be an Oliver Herford scholar, so I can’t really say what compelled him to write this or was it written with any deep meaning in mind. I can tell you what it means to me though: it gives me hope for the future and we just need to have a little patience to get there. Along those lines, I was happy to see some fresh green growth out ..read more

Author: Sheri Denkensohn-Trott I hope I don’t sound like an old curmudgeon in this blog, but I find myself becoming increasingly frustrated with television news flashing “breaking” in big red, all capital letters at the bottom of the screen. It continues for the rest of the day. “Breaking” becomes meaningless. When I was younger, the networks stopped regular coverage for an issue that was truly breaking news. Now our 24-hour news cycle, social media blitz, and limited attention span, has made news a two-minute soundbite. I am willing to admit that I’m not as thorough in my reading of news as I ..read more

Author: Sheri Denkensohn-Trott I stay away from political conversation in my blogs, especially because we are a business and I feel it is important to be open to all views. But I want to express something that I don’t think is political. I’m tired of people waiting until something terrible happens to them or someone they know until they act. That applies to so many things in our world. Gun violence, women’s rights, immigrant rights, civil rights for those in underrepresented groups including disability, and prejudice because of a certain aspect of who you are. I hear individuals talking all th ..read more