A-C
ACCESS: National Parks
National Parks Guide
Superintendent of Documents
Washington, DC 20402
Phone: (202) 783-3238
URL: http://www.nps.gov/accessibility.htm
A guide to accessibility programs in your National Parks.
Adapted Adventures
URL: https://adaptiveadventures.org/
The Mission of Adaptive Adventures is to identify, promote, and provide progressive sports & recreation opportunities for children and adults with physical disabilities.
Adaptive Sports Association
P.O. Box 1884
Durango, CO 81302
Phone: (970) 259-0374
URL: http://asadurango.com/
The Adaptive Sports Association helps to enrich and transform the lives of people with disabilities through sports. By working with students to overcome physical and cognitive challenges in a supportive environment, ASA helps students to give disability a possibility.
American Blind Golf
7634 Benassi Drive
Gilroy, CA 95020
Phone: (408) 842-3369
URL: http://www.americanblindgolf.com/
The ABDGA has been formed to promote golf, whether for competition or fun. Some of their goals are to: Educate the general public about blind and disabled golf; Involve the general public with our golf tournaments and other activities; Promote the game of golf to young blind and disabled people through clinics, seminars and other educational activities.
American Blind Skiing Foundation
2228 Grand Pointe Trail
Aurora, IL 60504
Phone: (312) 409-1605
URL: http://www.absf.org
ABSF is committed to serving visually impaired children & adults, giving them the opportunities and experiences that build confidence & independence that can last a lifetime....in the sport of snow skiing.
Blind Judo Foundation
Phone: (425) 444-8256
URL: http://www.blindjudofoundation.org/wp/
Promoting the sport of Judo to the blind and visually impaired community.
Blind Tandem Cycling Connection
URL: http://bicyclingblind.org/
Endeavors to increase the participation of individuals who are visually impaired or blind in the exhilarating sport of tandem cycling.
Boy Scouts of America
Special Needs and Disabilities - Serving Scouts With Disabilities
URL: http://www.scouting.org/resources/disabilities-awareness/
Many of the more than 300 BSA local councils have established their own advisory committees for youth with disabilities and special needs. These committees develop and coordinate an effective Scouting program for youth with disabilities and special needs, using all available community resources. Local councils also are encouraged to provide accessibility in their camps by removing physical barriers so that youth with disabilities and special needs can participate in summer and resident camp experiences. Some local councils also have professional staff members responsible for the program for members with disabilities.
Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
Box 697
Breckenridge, CO 80424
Phone: (970) 453-6422
Fax: (970) 453-4675
URL: https://www.boec.org/
Offers skiing, year-round camping, snowshoeing, wilderness programs, climbing wall, ropes course, canoeing, kayaking, rafting, group leadership development and team-building programs and customized programs.
Buckmasters
10540 Daystar Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
Phone: (205) 366-8415
URL: https://safariclubfoundation.org/humanitarian-services/
Buckmasters American Deer Foundation is (BADF) Disabled Services was established in 1993 after realizing the need for hunting opportunities among people with disabilities. An estimated 1.7 million people with severe physical handicaps enjoy hunting and shooting sports in the U.S. Some of the things that can be taken for granted by the able bodied sportsman are life-changing events for this segment of the population: learning to shoot again, being deep in the wilderness, or just witnessing animals in the wild. BADF Disabled Services knows the importance of outdoor recreation and how it can have a tremendous impact on the quality of life for people with disabilities. We have developed a wide range of programs and resources for helping challenged citizens in the U.S. and Canada with their outdoor adventures.
CaptionMax
World Headquarters
2438 27th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Phone: (612) 341-3566
URL: www.captionmax.com/
CaptionMax specializes in making all media accessible to all people, providing closed captioning and video descriptions.
D-H
Foresight Ski Guides - For Visually Impaired and Blind Skiers
Call toll free 866-860-0972, direct 303-832-1080
URL: http:www.foresightskiguides.org
Foresight Ski Guides, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to making challenging recreational opportunities through snow sports both affordable and accessible to visually impaired and blind skiers.
Girl Scouts
URL: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/tips-for-troopleaders/programming/girls-of-all-abilities-can-explore-the-great-outdoors.html
Girls Scouts of the USA have opportunities for girls and adults with disabilities to be active in their organization.
Handi-Ham System
3915 Golden Valley Road
Golden Valley, MN 55422
Phone: (763) 520-0512
URL: http://www.handiham.org/
The Courage Handi-Ham System provides tools for people with disabilities to learn Amateur Radio and technology skills, and to earn their Amateur Radio licenses.
Handicapped Scuba Association
1104 El Prado
San Clemente, CA 92672
Phone: (714) 498-6128
URL: http://www.hsascuba.com/
The HSA is now the world's leading authority on recreational diving for people with disabilities. HSA INTERNATIONAL extends its underwater educational programs worldwide. The HSA is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and donations made to us are gratefully accepted and tax deductible.
I-N
International Blind Golf Association
URL: http://www.internationalblindgolf.com/
The IGBA offers totally blind and severely visually impaired golfers, with the assistance of their coaches/guides to enjoy the friendship and exercise the game provides - but most of all the thrill of hitting a good shot. The also offer the challenge of competition against other blind golfers as well as enabling them to compete with full sighted players using handicapping schemes.
National Abilities Center
P.O. Box 682799
Park City, UT 84068
Phone: (435) 649-3991
URL: http://www.discovernac.org
The National Ability Center offers recreational activities for the family. Integration into the community through disabled sports is our focus and we accomplish that by allowing individuals of all abilities to discover their own strengths and interests. By providing access to programs for the individual as well as family and friends we ensure active participation and fun for the entire family. There is no need at the Ability Center to isolate an individual within his or her own activities. While at the Ranch, we can provide an educational and fun outlet for all ages and abilities. Participants include those with orthopedic, spinal cord, neuromuscular, visual and hearing impairments, as well as those with cognitive and developmental disabilities.
National Beep Baseball Association
Stephen Guerra, NBBA Secretary
3444 Limerick Lane NE
Rochester, MN 55906
Phone: (507) 208-8383
URL: http://www.nbba.org
Beep Baseball equipment from the Telephone Pioneers
Beep baseballs: $25.00 each (also needed is a battery eliminator from Radio Shack $8.00)
National Camps for Blind Children (United States)
4444 South 52nd Street
Lincoln, NE 68516
Phone: (800) 228-4189
Phone: (402) 488-0981
URL: https://christianrecord.org/member-services/camps/camps.html
NCBC is a part of Christian Record Services and has summer camps across the U.S. and Canada. Call or write for more information. (In regard to other camping opportunities, see American Camping Association listing above and/or see our camps resource list).
National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
On-line Resource List
1640 W. Roosevelt Road
Chicago, IL 60608-6904
Phone:(800) 900-8086
URL: https://www.nchpad.org/
The mission of the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD) is to promote substantial health benefits that can be gained from participating in regular physical activity. The slogan of NCPAD is Exercise is for EVERY body, and every person can gain some health benefit from being more physically active. This site provides information and resources that can enable people with disabilities to become as physically active as they choose to be.
National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS)
1291 Taylor Street, NW
Washington, DC 20011
Phone: (800) 424-8567
URL: http://www.loc.gov/nls
The National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS), Library of Congress, administers the free program that loans recorded and braille books and magazines, music scores in braille and large print, and specially designed playback equipment to residents of the United States who are unable to read or use standard print materials because of visual or physical impairment.
National Sports Center for the Disabled
P.O. Box 1290
Winter Park, CO 80482
Phone: (970) 726-1540
Fax: (970) 726-4112
URL: http://www.nscd.org
Offers rafting, sailing, therapeutic horseback riding, mountain biking, adaptive cycling camping, hiking, in-line skating, rock climbing, baseball camps and more.
O-V
Outward Bound
Box 250
Long Lake, MN 55350
Phone: (612) 473-5476
URL: http://www.outwardbound.org/
The mission of Outward Board is to inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages and walks of life through challenge and adventure, and to impel them to achieve more than they ever thought possible, to show compassion for others and to actively engage in creating a better world.
Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH Intl.)
P.O. Box 33150
Denver, CO 80233
Phone: (800) 369-7433
URL: http://www.pathintl.org/
PATH Intl. is a national non-profit organization that promotes the benefit of the horse for individuals with physical, emotional and learning disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, equine-assisted activities have been shown to improve muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination, motor development as well as emotional well-being.
Safari Club International Disabled Hunters
4800 West Gates Pass Road
Tucson, Arizona 85745
Phone: (520) 620-1220
URL: https://safariclubfoundation.org/humanitarian-services/
A program designed to foster and promote opportunities for disabled hunters to experience the hunting tradition and heritage, and to recognize the individual’s perseverance in hunting activities.
Skating Athletes Bold at Heart (SABAH)
c/o Kaufman's
1255 Niagara Falls Blvd.
Buffalo, NY 14226
Phone: (716) 833-2994
URL: https://sabahinc.org/
The Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped, Inc. (SABAH, Inc.) was formed as a Buffalo-based not-for-profit educational corporation in 1977. Soon after its initial efforts, SABAH expanded to include children, youth, and adults with all types of disabilities. For more than 26 years, SABAH has taught 9,000 Western New Yorkers who have physical, cognitive, or emotional challenges to ice skate. Over the past years, locally-raised funds provided instruction to more than 800 people with disabilities, each week. SABAH provides weekly adaptive ice skating lessons, adaptive skating equipment, intense volunteer support, and the opportunity to perform in an Annual ice-skating spectacular.
Ski for Light
1455 West Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Phone: (612) 827-3232
URL: http://www.sfl.org
A program of cross-country skiing benefiting blind, visually-impaired, and mobility-impaired individuals and their guides.
Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCI-VIS)
West Virginia School for the Blind
Dan Oates
Phone: (304) 822-4883 (work)
Phone: (304) 822-4410 (home)
URL: http://www.scivis.org/
SCIVIS is a week long camp that takes place at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The camp is coordinated by teachers of the visually impaired. SCIVIS is accessible; computers used by students in the Space Camp Programs have been adapted for speech and large print output; materials and equipment used during missions are available in braille and large print. Students participate fully (each student is screened based on their eye medical condition --limitations may be placed on some).
Special Olympics International (SOI)
1350 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 628-3630
URL: http://www.specialolympics.org
The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA)
33 North Institute Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
Phone: (719) 630-0422
URL: http://www.usaba.org/
The mission of the United States Association of Blind Athletes is to increase the number and quality of grassroots-through-competitive, world-class athletic opportunities for Americans who are blind or visually impaired. We do this by providing athlete and coach identification and support, program and event management, and national and international representation. We value the life-enhancing aspects of sports and the opportunity to demonstrate the abilities of people who are blind and visually impaired.
United States Blind Golfer's Association
3094 Shamrock Street, N.
Tallahassee, FL 32308
Phone: (850) 893-4511
URL: http://www.usblindgolf.com/
The United States Blind Golf Association is organized and operated for the purposes of benefiting blind and vision-impaired persons and promoting the public good through programs that advance, and increase public awareness of, golf among the blind and vision-impaired throughout the United States.
United States Braille Chess Association
Secretary, Jay Leventhal
111-20 76th Rd. Apt. 5L
Forest Hills, NY 11375
Phone: (718) 275-2209
URL: http://www.americanblindchess.org/
The purpose of the United State Braille Chess Association (UBSCA) is to actively encourage and assist in the promotion and advancement of correspondence and over-the-board chess among chess enthusiasts who are blind or visually impaired.
U.S. Sailing
P.O. Box 1260
15 Maritime Drive
Portsmouth, RI 02871-0907
Phone: (401) 683-0800
URL: https://www.ussailing.org/education/adult/adaptive-sailing/sailor-resources/
Our goal is to accommodate sailors at all levels and interests.
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports
P.O. Box 139
Killington, VT 05751
Phone: (802) 786-4991
URL: http://www.vermontadaptive.org
Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports is committed to furthering the equality and independence of individuals with disabilities by providing access to sports and recreational activities.
Voyager Outward Bound School
10900 Cedar Lake Road
Minnetonka, MN 55343
Phone: (612) 542-9255
URL: http://www.vobs.org/
Voyager Outward Bound School, started in 1964, was the second Outward Bound school founded in the US. It was founded by Bob Pieh as the Minnesota Outward Bound School (MOBS) on a beautiful peninsula on the Kawishiwi River in northern Minnesota, and is currently the site of our main base camp known as Homeplace. As MOBS we were the first school to offer courses for women and girls, and have been innovators over the years serving a variety of diverse populations including women survivors of cancer, inner city youth, physically disabled, educators, battered women and struggling teens.
W-Z
Water Skiers with Disabilities Association
Phone: (800) 533-2972
URL: http://www.usawaterski.org/pages/divisions/WSDA/main.asp
The WSDA provides adaptive Water Ski programs and events for individuals with impairments or disabilities.
Western PA Blind Outdoor Leisure Development (BOLD)
P.O. Box 8114
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Email: info@wpabold.org
Phone: (303) 925-8922
URL: http://wpabold.blogspot.com/
BOLD organizes affordable outdoor and other leisure activities to enrich the lives of our blind, visually impaired and sighted members (18 and over). Benefitting from the Aspen experience, new programs in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Vail, and Greeley (CO) are now offering exciting skiing opportunities to many blind skiers who have never been able to take advantage of Aspen BOLD. Other BOLD clubs that have joined the group are located in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kirkwood (CA), Rochester (NY), Waterville Valley (NH), Smuggler’s Notch (VT), and Bachelor Butte (OR). Communities currently expressing interest include Fort Worth/Dallas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Seattle.
Wilderness Inquiry
1313 Fifth Street, SE Suite 327A
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: (612) 379-3858
URL: http://www.wildernessinquiry.org
Wilderness Inquiry provides outdoor adventure experiences to inspire personal growth, community integration and enhanced awareness of the natural environment. Wilderness Inquiry encourages people to open their minds and hearts to new possibilities by demonstrating that collectively and individually they are capable of doing more than they thought possible.
Sporting Equipment, Recreational Items, and Games
Access to Recreation, Inc.
8 Sandra Court
Newbury Park, CA 91320
Phone: (800) 634-4351
URL: https://ablerec.com/
Has recreational aids for persons with mobility impairments. May be useful to blind or visually impaired persons who are also mobility impaired.
Flaghouse
601 Flaghouse Drive
Hasbrouck Heights
NJ 07604-3116
Phone: (800) 793-7900
URL: http://www.flaghouse.com
The mission of Flaghouse is to enhance the quality of life for all people, with resources for physical activity, recreation, therapy, and the development and support of life skills.
Independent Living Aids
27 East Mall
Plainview, NY 11803
Phone: (800) 537-2118 or (516) 752-8080
Fax: (516) 752-3135
URL: http://www.independentliving.com
Has cards, board games, card games, sewing aids, large print crossword puzzles and other recreational items.
Lighthouse International
111 East 59th Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Phone: (800) 829-0500
Fax: (212) 821-9727 or 9728
URL: http://www.lighthouseguild.org/
Carries a variety of recreational items.
LS&S Group
Box 673
Northbrook, IL 60065
Phone: (800) 468-4789
Fax: (847) 498-1482
URL: http://www.lssproducts.com
Has talking tape measure, braille and large print playing cards, board games, beeping sports balls, audible flying disk, talking chess computer, talking and braille dice and more.
International Sites
International Blind Golf Association
URL: http://www.internationalblindgolf.com
The International Blind Golf Association is the governing and sanctioning body of blind golf events world wide. The IBGA is dedicated to promoting the sport, and assisting blind golfers enjoy golf.
International Blind Sports Federation
URL: http://www.ibsasport.org/
The IBSA goal is the full integration of the blind and visually impaired through sport at all levels.
Blind Cricket Australia
URL: https://www.blindcricket.org.au/
Blind Cricket Australia oversees competitions in all mainland states and is developing the game in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Playing for Australia is cost free to all Australian team members.
Blind Cricket South Australia
URL: https://blindsportssa.org.au/sports/cricket/
This is the Official Website of the South Australian Blind Cricket Club. On this site, you will find all you need to know about the club, and Blind Cricket in General.
NSW Blind Cricket Association
URL: http://www.blindcricket.com/
The NSW Blind Cricket Association is primarily responsible for fostering, administering and promoting the game of Blind Cricket in NSW, Australia.
UK Blind Cricket
URL: http://www.bcew.co.uk/
Bcew.co.uk is the official website of the British Blind Sport Cricket Committee.
The Victoria Blind Cricket Association
URL: http://www.vbca.org.au/
This site is provided to give information about the game of blind cricket as it is played in Victoria, Australia.
Other Resources
Canadian Blind Sports Association (1988). Integrating the visually impaired student into physical education: A teachers' resource manual .
Case, Maurice (1966). Recreation for blind adults: Organized programs in specialized settings. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.
Kelley, Jerry D (editor) (1981). Recreation programming for visually impaired children and youth. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
Lieberman, Lauren & Cowart, Jim (1996). Games for people with sensory impairments: strategies for including individuals of all ages. Champlain, IL: Human Kinetics.
Marley, W.P. & Beverly-Mullins, J.M. (1997). The value of physical fitness for a young man who is visually impaired with multiple medical disorders. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 91 (4), 341-346.
Ross, Mary Alice (1984). Fitness for the aging adult with visual impairment: An exercise manual New York: AFB Press.
Ross, M.A., Brunelle, M & Pacione, L. (1986). Recreation outreach: Mainstreaming visually impaired consumers into community programs. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 80 (5), 751-752.
Sherrill, C., Rainbole W., & Ervin, S. (1984). Physical Recreation of blind adults: Present practices and childhood memories. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 78 (8), 367-386.
Tseng, Alice May (1998). Swimming into the mainstream and other ways the visually impaired can participate in sports. Journal of Low Vision and Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation. 11 (4), 6-9.
Weitzman, Donald M. (1986). Motivation: The key to physical fitness in the blind adult. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. 80 (5), 745-747.
