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This article was in the April 2005 issue of Budget Travel magazine. It has some helpful tips and includes specialized travel agencies for the disabled. I've included the introduction with a link to the full article....
Americans with disabilities are the largest minority in the country, over 54 million persons. Yet until recently, and especially before passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, they were not well treated by the travel industry, and numerous vacation possibilities were effectively barred to them. And even when travel industries were friendly to people with disabilities, many times a lack of money destroyed a person's chance of taking part (a recent census survey found that 28 percent of people with a severe disability were below the poverty rate). With a growing, national sensitivity to their plight, reflected not merely in words but in legislation, the situation is today improving, though much remains to be done. Enforcement of the law is spotty, implementation is slow, and a great many travel facilities have not yet been adapted to the needs of our fellow citizens with impairments.
The key advance has been in the creation of travel organizations and tour companies for those with disabilities, a movement that is still in its very earliest years. These fledgling firms, many of them actually headed by persons who themselves are affected by disabilities, have already enabled thousands of others to enjoy the rewards of travel, and they are capable of assisting even greater numbers if their existence becomes known. Below are short-cuts to specialized listings for disabled travelers:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/c...060400784.html
Americans with disabilities are the largest minority in the country, over 54 million persons. Yet until recently, and especially before passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, they were not well treated by the travel industry, and numerous vacation possibilities were effectively barred to them. And even when travel industries were friendly to people with disabilities, many times a lack of money destroyed a person's chance of taking part (a recent census survey found that 28 percent of people with a severe disability were below the poverty rate). With a growing, national sensitivity to their plight, reflected not merely in words but in legislation, the situation is today improving, though much remains to be done. Enforcement of the law is spotty, implementation is slow, and a great many travel facilities have not yet been adapted to the needs of our fellow citizens with impairments.
The key advance has been in the creation of travel organizations and tour companies for those with disabilities, a movement that is still in its very earliest years. These fledgling firms, many of them actually headed by persons who themselves are affected by disabilities, have already enabled thousands of others to enjoy the rewards of travel, and they are capable of assisting even greater numbers if their existence becomes known. Below are short-cuts to specialized listings for disabled travelers:
http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/c...060400784.html