Diana Palmer Speaking at the Access Tourism NZ conference

Our wonderful Managing Director, Diana Palmer, spoke at the recent Access Tourism NZ Conference on the 4th of October 2010. As our organisation is branching out into the Accessible Tourism Industry this was a very interesting Conference for us to take part in.

We pride ourselves on our ability to find the information needed for people to have accessible holidays, in terms of accommodation, travel, equipment, resources and services, etc. Please check out the video of the speakers below. Well done to Diana for your great work!

The Traveller - Diana Palmer

The feature of my day has been catching up with our international informative, Diana Palmers. She has been regularly sending her blog posts my way and it is again interesting to see that she is finding alot of similarities and also differences between Australia's disability services and services from overseas.

I am looking forward to recieving the feedback and information she has about how disability information can grow in Australia. The places she has visited are plentiful and fabulous (and yes I am very jealous). So far she has visited:

• San Francisco
• New York
• Texas
• Phoenix
• Montreal

Check out one of her recent blog posts:

Keroul - Wednesday 28th April

Back to work....I spent the day with Andre leCLerc and his team at Keroul in Montreal today. What a great day. This organisation is doing a number of the things that we can see IDEAS doing....we can learn a lot from them. Keroul have specialised in supporting accessible tourism for people with disability in Quebec for 30 years and have a wealth of experience and knowledge. I spent time with the executive team, Research and Development team as well as peopel working on their Äccessible Road project. The dedicated staff of 8 people were wonderful hosts and I can't thank them enough for their time. I came away from the day armed with a mountain of papers, reports and tools to research and review as well as a genuine hockey puck. Great ambassadors for Quebec; it was so nice to connect with colleagues in our field.I will meet again with people from Keroul at the Transed Conference in Hong Kong. If you would like to see what they do visit either http://www.keroul.qc.ca/ if you would like to see what they do or http://www.larouteaccessible.com/ which is another of their websites.

I am looking forward to finding out more about her travels and will keep you informed of her movements. There are a lot of nice photos up on her blog, so check them out!

Attitude, Attitude, Attitude!

Rich Fabend

I can only speak from my own personal experiences, sharing what I have learned and what I believe to be important.
Attitude, Attitude, Attitude I have become convinced over the last eleven years that attitude is much more important to individuals who are physically challenged than ability. To look on a new situation not as a problem but as a challenge needing to be met, may actually set one’s mind free of the mental restraints which prevent one from finding a solution.


Attitude towards the future will play a great role in how one adapts to any new lifestyle. I am sure there are many people who would look at me confined to a wheelchair and think that it is probably one of the worst things that could happen to anyone. It doesn't matter what other people think, what is important is what I think. I had little control over what happened to me but I have almost complete control over how I deal with my situation, and feeling in control is critical to progress and recovery. What I believe and how I handle the results of my accident will determine how I live and enjoy the rest of my life. I have good days and bad days but ultimately the control of my situation and attitude rests within me.


I know I have the ability to cope with what has happened to me, and I can decide how I will handle this and subsequent challenges I will face. The strength to deal positively with any challenge is in every one of us. I do not see myself as a person with a disability I see myself as being challenged. Christopher Reeve said "I refuse to allow a disability to determine how I will live my life. I don't mean to be reckless, but setting a goal that seems a bit daunting actually is very helpful toward recovery."

Welcome to DisCo: Disability Conversations

DisCo – Disability Conversations is a blog specifically designed for all things disability - people with disability, older people, carers, supporters, family members, service providers are invited to share there feelings, thoughts and voice in a collective online forum.

What experiences do we share? How can we change the face of society and spread the many voices within the disability sector without being muffled by culture?

I am the host of this blog, but I invite you to be my exceptional guests in an online venture to break the very barriers that restrict the speech of all things disability.

I hope to encourage a larger, more diverse dialogue. With the resources of the many minds that contribute to this online vision, these Disability Conversations may change the very face of tomorrow through information and story.

I work for a generic information service, IDEAS. It is easy for us to bring information to the people to enable independent living, but it is an aspiration of ours to hear as many stories and thoughts that circle around the word ‘DISABILITY’ as possible.

I welcome you to argue, match or approve of my many ramblings and should you have your own story to tell DisCo provides an optimum outlet. To share your story with the broader disability community contact me on 1800 029 904 or prmedia@ideas.org.au.

I would like to pay thanks to all the wonderful guest bloggers who have and will contribute to this blog. Your words are an inspiration and a wonderful starting point for a unique Disability Conversation.

Alyssa