Editor’s note
By Debbie Austin
As the crisp air and vibrant colors of fall settle in, we’re excited to bring you our November issue, perfect for cozy reading as the charm of this season unfolds. On our cover is the remarkable Jen Bricker-Bauer, who shows us how to embrace our strengths and dream big, defying every limit life throws our way.
Cover Story
How Jen Bricker-Bauer rewrote the rules of success
Jen Bricker-Bauer: a name that soars high in the realm of possibility and inspiration. A gymnast, aerialist and motivational speaker, her life is one big, beautiful contradiction to the word “impossible.” Born without legs and adopted into a loving family, Jen has lived a life far beyond what most would dare to imagine. Her journey is a story not only about overcoming obstacles but about redefining them.
Inclusive employment
Inclusive employment transforms lives
Armando is a person with an Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD), but his job at American Express Dining Department infuses purpose into his days which he approaches with passion and enthusiasm.
Advocacy
Kristen DeAndrade is championing inclusion
Kristen DeAndrade is the walking and dancing proof that perseverance can break barriers and rewrite stories, especially when it comes to dwarfism and disability. Born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism, Kristen’s life is her canvas, and she’s painting a whole new picture of what it means to live with differences.
Health & Wellness
A hug for your Port. Introducing Port Protect—the heartfelt invention that's changing lives
Jamie Shultz’s inspiration for her innovation starts where many others do: with frustration. But she did not tinker away in a garage, dreaming up the next shiny gadget. Her pain and discomfort, the kind that makes the simplest tasks seem monumental, was raw, real and human—stealing comfort from an already difficult life. An urgent solution was necessary.
Race for a reason
At The Axis Project, we empower people with disabilities and seniors to lead active lives through adaptive programming and innovative equipment at our Access Initiatives gym. Our inclusive community helps members overcome limitations, achieve fitness goals, and engage fully in life, fostering a space where fitness has no boundaries . . . While the Paralympics, the New York City Marathon, and adaptive sports have raised visibility and accelerated progress, much work remains to ensure that sports—and society—are truly inclusive for everyone.
Veterans
How Vet Tix supports Veterans' mental health
Vet Tix (Veteran Tickets Foundation) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free event tickets to United States military veterans and their families. Since its founding in 2008, Vet Tix has distributed tickets to concerts, sporting events and theater performances, helping veterans create lasting memories while overcoming social isolation and financial barriers.
Mental Health
Bernadine Fox: Emerging from the shadows of trauma and breaking the silence
Bernadine Fox’s life began in the vast openness of Alberta’s bald flat prairie, a place known for its wild beauty and expansive skies, but for her, it was a place of darkness. Her childhood was marked by unspeakable abuse and exploitation at the hands of people she was supposed to trust.
Feature Stories
Jacob Sharff: US Open’s Wheelchair Championships use wheelchair mechanic
While the top junior wheelchair singles and doubles tennis players in the world battle it out on court in the US Open Junior Wheelchair Championships in New York, a very attentive man sits in a wheelchair nearby with a large black toolbox on his lap.
Defying terror, Adam triumphed on the Paralympic court
For most elite wheelchair athletes, the road to the Paralympics involves years of intense physical and mental preparation. For Israeli tennis player Adam Berdichevsky, the year leading up to the recent Paris Paralympics was also a year of fighting off terrorists and multiple relocations.
Home designs for Every Body! Maegan Blau’s mission to make accessibility beautiful
Maegan Blau is a visionary designer, an accessibility advocate, and an unstoppable force of creativity. But to leave it at that would be missing the nuance of her story—a journey that marries passion with necessity, and art with empathy. It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t just speak about change but actively embodies it in every space they touch. Maegan, founder of Blue Copper Design in Arizona, USA, is redefining how we look at homes, accessibility and the unspoken power of design to elevate lives.
Q&A with Keely Cat-Wells, Founder & CEO of Making Space
Q: Walk us through your background and what brought you to your current field.
A: In my late teens, I danced my way into a prestigious London academy. I wanted to become a professional dancer and musical theatre performer. But one day, I woke up in tremendous pain. I saw doctors, they kept dismissing my symptoms as stress or an eating disorder. Before long, I was hospitalized and eventually given the right tests then, after many surgeries, I was able to eat again. Today, I live with chronic illness, chronic pain and a permanent ileostomy. I also live with the PTSD caused by the medical trauma I endured.
Autism Insights
Neurocapitalism
By Bart Vulliamy
The puzzle piece symbol is rejected largely by the autistic community for multiple reasons, but the main reasons for it are that it promotes the mentality that autistic people are incomplete or are missing puzzle pieces, and it treats autism as a disease that needs to be “treated” or “cured.”
Recommended Books
This book was inspired not just by my own experiences of being undiagnosed and gaslit for 19 years before my rare disease diagnosis, but also by the stories of other patients I’ve worked with throughout my career in advocacy. I saw a lot of patterns in how patients with complex or unusual diagnoses were often dismissed or shamed by their providers.
The Girl Who Walked Differently by Judy Sango is a heartfelt, empowering story for young readers that embraces themes of resilience, diversity, and self-determination. Following the life of a young girl with physical disabilities who dreams of becoming a judge and a disability advocate, the book offers an important message about perseverance and self-belief.
Deaf Insights
Bridging the Deaf and hearing worlds
By Angela Lynn
Communication takes many forms, yet both Deaf and hearing people share the universal need for connection and expression. By embracing these differences as strengths, we can foster a world where Deaf and hearing communities connect with ease, building mutual respect and understanding.
