Presentation given at an ATRA seminar on Adventure Tourism in Sheffield

1. Disability and Adventure Travel:
The Double-Edged Sword
Dr. Diana Maynard
University of Sheffield, UK

2. Who am I?
●
I wear many hats!
●
Research in Social Media Analysis - automatic detection of
opinions in blogs, tweets etc.
●
I don't consider myself disabled, but....
●
Registered blind since 2008
●
Type 1 diabetic
●
Co-founder of Insulin Pumpers UK - helping people with
diabetes lead “normal” lives
●
I blog about travel, adventure and life and write the odd
article for magazines etc.

3. How do I see the world?

4. What do I do in
my spare time?

5. I like to have fun!I like to have fun!

6. Didn't you just say you were blind?
●
Blind people don't all just sit at home listening to talking
books
●
I can still do all kinds of crazy things, I just do them a bit
differently.
Never judge a
book by its cover
Seeing the world a bit
differently

7. My first “view” of Everest

8. A view of the Peak District I never saw

9. Why is adventure travel difficult?
●
Difficulty persuading a company or convincing friends to let
you go on the trip with them
●
Feeling like a burden or liability to others
●
Frustrating not being able to do things as well as
other people
●
Needing help for even stupid things
●
Others may not treat you appropriately (under- or
over-compensation)
●
Others may tailor the trip to what they think are your
needs / limits
●
Others may feel resentful

10. There's always that nagging doubt
●
No matter how confident they appear outwardly,
ALL disabled people have moments where they feel
like a burden to others
●
And that's just in everyday life, let alone up a
mountain or in the middle of the desert
●
And it's somehow worse when you're trying to be a
serious adventurer

11. Finding the loo vs. climbing Kilimanjaro

12. And if something does go wrong
●
It's almost impossible to get over the fear of being
labelled as “trouble”
●
This might actually have dangerous consequences
if it leads to unsafe behaviour
●
Trying to cope yourself instead of asking for help
●
Not notifying others of a problem, which is then
exacerbated

13. Little bundle of trouble

14. Perception and Reality
●
Very often, the issues are more mental than physical
●
Worry about the problems that might occur puts people
off
●
As a disabled person, you have to learn to be resilient,
but also not to be afraid to ask for help
●
The latter is often the hardest
●
This all sounds a bit doom and gloom
●
But with careful preparation and a thick skin, these
problems can all be resolved

15. Unnecessary worry?
●
Helping other people is part of being on a trip: everyone has
strengths and weaknesses
●
Everyone contributes in different ways
●
The person that gets annoyed or frustrated by other people's
limitations is the least worthy person to be on the trip
●
Group adventure travel is about teamwork
●
If you're soloing, you are the whole team
●
Then you just have to worry about your own safety
●
Requires realistic assessment of your limitations (harder
than it sounds)

16. How do leaders benefit?
●
Learn new skills
●
See things from another point of view
●
Get a sense of satisfaction at helping
●
Often the help needed is actually minimal, but crucial

17. What do the guides have to say?
Amar Latif (founder of Traveleyes):
“Sighted guides get so much out of our trips. It makes them
look at their lives differently as well. They realise that blind
travellers are out here on the other side of the world and
they can’t see but they are not letting that hold them back.
A lot of our sighted travellers go back to their normal lives
with renewed inspiration.”

18. What do the guides have to say? (2)
Ben Fogle, on “Extreme Dreams”:
“As an experience, it was tough to be responsible for people
with such disabilities or problems, but incredibly mentally
rewarding to be responsible for changing their lives.”
Andy Kirkpatrick, on leading disabled people on climbs:
“I don't lead trips because I want to keep climbing the same
wall. I do it because I want to help other people experience
what I experience.”

19. How do the other clients benefit?
●
Learn new skills
●
See things from another point of view
●
Inspiration (e.g. the Paralympics)
●
Satisfaction in helping others
●
Makes them think about their own problems
differently
●
Other skills brought by disabled person might enrich
their own experience

20. Most people don't use all their senses
●
Being blind can make
you more aware of
tastes, smells, sounds
and textures
●
People with diabetes
know lots about nutrition
●
People with limb loss are
often incredibly dextrous
with remaining limbs
●
All leads to a richer
experience

21. Disabled adventurers have exciting lives

22. Kidney beans in custard?
+

23. No one wants to help a grumpy person

24. It's a hindrance, not an excuse

25. Thank you for listening!
http://expandyourlimits.wordpress.com
http://www.insulin-pumpers.org.uk
http://gate.ac.uk
Twitter: @dianamaynard