ask yourself how important is your
independence today I’d like to give you
an inside awareness of living life to
its fullest for persons with
disabilities and over the next 15
minutes
I’ll cover ideas on how I believe this
can be achieved but first let me take
you back inside a school in a bathroom a
boy sits eating his lunch all alone it’s
recess so outside kids are playing
having fun but this boy he’s alone
this boy was me when I was born doctors
discovered that I had a spinal tumor
that needed to be removed the surgery
was successful but left me partially
paralyzed and by the time I was five
years old I started using a wheelchair
while there are many people who come to
have physical disabilities later in life
I grew up with it being the only thing
I’d ever known a lot of my childhood was
spent in and out of the hospital and
while children learn different abilities
on two legs I had to learn them on two
wheels including learning how to make
friends see when you’re different from
everyone making connections or making
friends can be a bit of a challenge and
unfortunately I was no different now
this is actually a common trend because
according to a study conducted by
Professor and Snowden at the University
of Windsor 53 percent of children with
disabilities both physical and mental
have no friends so what changed with me
how did I do it how did I get to the
point where I’d eventually have the
confidence to deliver a TED talk
well I discovered sports
baseball at first and I was obsessed I
thought I’d outgrow this whole being in
a wheelchair thing and eventually become
the shortstop of the Toronto Blue Jays
that’s me jumping out of my wheelchair
to make a play I was serious and I
didn’t care if I’d get hurt
sport for me became an outlet and over
time it gave me confidence it taught me
about coaching goal-setting but most
importantly it taught me to do things on
my own independently because when you
have a disability being independent can
be empowering and it can lead to other
things like one day learning to drive
using hand controls or living on your
own or one day having the confidence to
ask a girl out on a date but why is this
important why should all of you care
well for one independent living allows
individuals with disabilities to thrive
and to have a full life and the other is
that disability can happen to anyone
even right here in this audience whether
it be to circumstance or illness later
in life as it stands right now more than
2.6 million Canadians over the age of 15
that have a disability need help with
everyday activities and with an aging
community especially right here in
Mississauga the need to stay independent
is going to be crucial so I’ve broken it
down into three areas I believe that can
help cultivate independence the first is
how we view or perceive disability and
to me this symbols got to go what do you
see when you see this I see someone in a
wheelchair that’s immobile that’s
dependent on others for mobility this
doesn’t represent me
now this is actually the international
symbol of access and it was introduced
in 1969 by the Swedish handicap
Institute it’s been almost 50 years
since this tired out-of-date symbol came
to be and I think we can do better what
if we changed it to this this is the new
dynamic symbol for accessibility and
it’s already been introduced in places
like New York and Arizona and we’re
trying to get this right here in our
province as part of an initiative called
the forward movement started by Jonathan
silver and Dylan itsuka what’s this
symbol has the ability to change the
perception of disability and hopefully
by the end of the year we can get this
changed in parking lots around around
Ontario and actually all of you can play
a part in doing this if you go to the
forward movement dossier at the
conclusion of today you can sign the
petition and my hope is that we can
change this as soon as possible but
clearly it goes beyond just symbols we
also need to change how people with
disabilities are portrayed in the media
15% of the world’s population has a
disability and yet when was the last
time you saw someone with a disability
in an acting role what about a news
reporter or an anchor too often when
disability is portrayed in a TV show or
movie the storyline revolves around
illness or being disadvantaged in some
way to me the best way to showcase the
potential of persons with disabilities
is to focus on the Paralympics in 2012 I
had the honor of representing Canada in
the London Paralympics in fact that’s me
at the opening ceremonies
it looks pretty excited during those
games media coverage hit an all-time
high in many international countries
coverage had countless hours on all
these to
sports but let me ask how did it be fair
here in in North America or here in
Canada well how many people watched how
many people watch the Rio Paralympic
Games last year or the Sochi games I
didn’t think so
while media executives would likely
state that there simply wouldn’t be
enough of an audience I believe this has
to change
NBC America’s broadcaster of the Olympic
Games sent 2800 staff to cover the Rio
Olympics only 25 remained to cover the
Paralympics Paralympians deserve the
same amount of coverage media attention
applause
that Olympians get were athletes there
are incredible storylines that come
directly out of the Paralympics these
stories have the ability to reduce the
stigma associated with disability and
they also have the opportunity to
inspire the next generation of
Paralympians now sticking with this
sport theme a second area of focus to
enable independence for persons with
disabilities is to stress the importance
of physical activity I remember back in
elementary school I was still getting
the hang of using my wheelchair I had
this incredible teacher that would throw
me in with the rest of the class when it
came to playing games or activities now
for many of us dodgeball is a rite of
passage when we were kids and when it
came time to introduce the class to play
dodgeball she simply adapted the rules
so that I could play in fact she told a
class that in order to tag me out that
the ball had to hit me and not my
wheelchair well that meant that
literally everyone started aiming for my
head which they did successfully but you
know what in avoiding the ball I started
learning how to maneuver my wheelchair I
learned that I could do some pretty cool
things in a wheelchair I learned that I
could pop wheelie I learned that I could
spin I learned that I was an athlete I
learned I had hidden skills hidden
that would one day lead to bigger things
throughout school I had wonderful
teachers that adapted games so that I
could play and from this point on I
realized that through physical activity
I learned to do things on my own I might
do things differently but by doing them
on my own I felt empowered and in
control my parents threw me into a
number of team sports but while I was
successful at those sports it never
became a true passion of mine that is
until I discovered wheelchair tennis now
in wheelchair tennis there’s really only
one rule difference we get a second
bounce the first bounce has to land
within the lines
the second gap bounce can go wherever
but by far the best thing about
wheelchair tennis is that you can play
it against an able-bodied person stay
with me here but I would get two bounces
on my side of the net
and someone who uses two legs would get
one ask any wheelchair tennis athlete
and nothing gives us more satisfaction
or make us laugh than beating someone on
two legs wheelchair tennis was without a
doubt the most important thing that
happened to my life
it gave me confidence some might say
talking us as well I learned to do
things on my own
I learned about coaching I traveled the
world I became more resilient more
social less introverted without a doubt
wheelchair tennis is the single most
important thing that happened to my life
now we know about functional
independence and how physical activity
can help this but rarely is it discussed
the importance of the social aspects of
playing a wheelchair sport through
wheelchair tennis I met other fit adults
all of whom never used their disability
as an excuse for anything
whenever the parent of a disabled child
asks me for advice on getting there
their son or daughter involved in a
sport I invariably discuss the
importance of friendships these
friendships have the ability to carry
over through adulthood they give you
confidence and because of wheelchair
tennis I found my own confidence now my
spinal area of focus today to enable
independence is the removal of barriers
to accessibility right here in our
community in my journeys as a
Paralympian I travel to many countries
some of these countries did a fantastic
job in terms of accessibility others
legs far behind I always use the example
of London transforming its city to
become wheelchair accessible in
preparation for the 2012 Paralympics all
taxi cabs were made wheelchair
accessible as you can see there’s a ramp
protruding from from this cab and all of
them had this this meant that I could
get anywhere in London in addition to
this a new train line was built called
the Jubilee Line the Jubilee Line meant
that I could visit every single tourist
attraction and it was purposely built
wheelchair accessible now in other
countries I visited such as north and
such as South America or Africa
accessibility still had a long way to go
now you might ask how we are here in
Mississauga our own community well we
are good but not great a specific
example of this occurred this past
February as many of you do I take the GO
train into work every day I lived near
streets ville and on a cold February
morning I got out of my car into my
wheelchair I rolled up to the elevator I
press the button nothing happened I
waited a few seconds I pressed it again
nothing happened I later found out that
the elevator was out of service and that
I would have to make alternative plans
now luckily for me
I’m able to drive a car using hand
controls so I was able to find a way to
work but for many other people with
disabilities
this was a complete disruption to their
life this is unacceptable
it’s very tough to be independent when
the infrastructure of a city remains
inaccessible now it goes beyond just
transportation but if you go to Toronto
some of the city’s most exciting and
dynamic neighborhoods remain largely
inaccessible for people with physical
disabilities now while there are there
are organizations like stopgap that have
helped put ramps in many businesses you
can actually see them here in Port
Credit or in streets Ville as well we
still have a long way to go the way I
see it is that if someone with a
disability can’t get to your business
you’ve just lost the customer so the
benefits really go both ways now while
it’s only played a part in accessibility
has also led to more than half of all
Canadians with disabilities to being
unemployed this number must change for
those in the room or listening online
who are decision makers hiring managers
who possess the innate ability to create
change let’s get more people hired with
disabilities who possess the drive the
skills and the commitment to make an
impact even right here in our own
community a few weeks ago I was asked to
attend an event at the CN Tower
Toronto’s most iconic landmark for the
opening of new panoramic
ceiling-to-floor
windows because before these windows
being installed someone with a
disability or even a small child
couldn’t actually see at out the window
and I was as I was giving an interview I
looked over my left shoulder and I saw a
young boy in a wheelchair he must have
been seven or eight years old he was
looking out at this incredible view I
thought to myself what
well the next 20 years look like for him
how will he manage on his own what path
will he choose
will he be an athlete a banker a teacher
whatever path he chooses it will be his
path his decisions
because living life with a disability
shouldn’t prevent you from living life
to its full potential thank you
[Applause]
independence today I’d like to give you
an inside awareness of living life to
its fullest for persons with
disabilities and over the next 15
minutes
I’ll cover ideas on how I believe this
can be achieved but first let me take
you back inside a school in a bathroom a
boy sits eating his lunch all alone it’s
recess so outside kids are playing
having fun but this boy he’s alone
this boy was me when I was born doctors
discovered that I had a spinal tumor
that needed to be removed the surgery
was successful but left me partially
paralyzed and by the time I was five
years old I started using a wheelchair
while there are many people who come to
have physical disabilities later in life
I grew up with it being the only thing
I’d ever known a lot of my childhood was
spent in and out of the hospital and
while children learn different abilities
on two legs I had to learn them on two
wheels including learning how to make
friends see when you’re different from
everyone making connections or making
friends can be a bit of a challenge and
unfortunately I was no different now
this is actually a common trend because
according to a study conducted by
Professor and Snowden at the University
of Windsor 53 percent of children with
disabilities both physical and mental
have no friends so what changed with me
how did I do it how did I get to the
point where I’d eventually have the
confidence to deliver a TED talk
well I discovered sports
baseball at first and I was obsessed I
thought I’d outgrow this whole being in
a wheelchair thing and eventually become
the shortstop of the Toronto Blue Jays
that’s me jumping out of my wheelchair
to make a play I was serious and I
didn’t care if I’d get hurt
sport for me became an outlet and over
time it gave me confidence it taught me
about coaching goal-setting but most
importantly it taught me to do things on
my own independently because when you
have a disability being independent can
be empowering and it can lead to other
things like one day learning to drive
using hand controls or living on your
own or one day having the confidence to
ask a girl out on a date but why is this
important why should all of you care
well for one independent living allows
individuals with disabilities to thrive
and to have a full life and the other is
that disability can happen to anyone
even right here in this audience whether
it be to circumstance or illness later
in life as it stands right now more than
2.6 million Canadians over the age of 15
that have a disability need help with
everyday activities and with an aging
community especially right here in
Mississauga the need to stay independent
is going to be crucial so I’ve broken it
down into three areas I believe that can
help cultivate independence the first is
how we view or perceive disability and
to me this symbols got to go what do you
see when you see this I see someone in a
wheelchair that’s immobile that’s
dependent on others for mobility this
doesn’t represent me
now this is actually the international
symbol of access and it was introduced
in 1969 by the Swedish handicap
Institute it’s been almost 50 years
since this tired out-of-date symbol came
to be and I think we can do better what
if we changed it to this this is the new
dynamic symbol for accessibility and
it’s already been introduced in places
like New York and Arizona and we’re
trying to get this right here in our
province as part of an initiative called
the forward movement started by Jonathan
silver and Dylan itsuka what’s this
symbol has the ability to change the
perception of disability and hopefully
by the end of the year we can get this
changed in parking lots around around
Ontario and actually all of you can play
a part in doing this if you go to the
forward movement dossier at the
conclusion of today you can sign the
petition and my hope is that we can
change this as soon as possible but
clearly it goes beyond just symbols we
also need to change how people with
disabilities are portrayed in the media
15% of the world’s population has a
disability and yet when was the last
time you saw someone with a disability
in an acting role what about a news
reporter or an anchor too often when
disability is portrayed in a TV show or
movie the storyline revolves around
illness or being disadvantaged in some
way to me the best way to showcase the
potential of persons with disabilities
is to focus on the Paralympics in 2012 I
had the honor of representing Canada in
the London Paralympics in fact that’s me
at the opening ceremonies
it looks pretty excited during those
games media coverage hit an all-time
high in many international countries
coverage had countless hours on all
these to
sports but let me ask how did it be fair
here in in North America or here in
Canada well how many people watched how
many people watch the Rio Paralympic
Games last year or the Sochi games I
didn’t think so
while media executives would likely
state that there simply wouldn’t be
enough of an audience I believe this has
to change
NBC America’s broadcaster of the Olympic
Games sent 2800 staff to cover the Rio
Olympics only 25 remained to cover the
Paralympics Paralympians deserve the
same amount of coverage media attention
applause
that Olympians get were athletes there
are incredible storylines that come
directly out of the Paralympics these
stories have the ability to reduce the
stigma associated with disability and
they also have the opportunity to
inspire the next generation of
Paralympians now sticking with this
sport theme a second area of focus to
enable independence for persons with
disabilities is to stress the importance
of physical activity I remember back in
elementary school I was still getting
the hang of using my wheelchair I had
this incredible teacher that would throw
me in with the rest of the class when it
came to playing games or activities now
for many of us dodgeball is a rite of
passage when we were kids and when it
came time to introduce the class to play
dodgeball she simply adapted the rules
so that I could play in fact she told a
class that in order to tag me out that
the ball had to hit me and not my
wheelchair well that meant that
literally everyone started aiming for my
head which they did successfully but you
know what in avoiding the ball I started
learning how to maneuver my wheelchair I
learned that I could do some pretty cool
things in a wheelchair I learned that I
could pop wheelie I learned that I could
spin I learned that I was an athlete I
learned I had hidden skills hidden
that would one day lead to bigger things
throughout school I had wonderful
teachers that adapted games so that I
could play and from this point on I
realized that through physical activity
I learned to do things on my own I might
do things differently but by doing them
on my own I felt empowered and in
control my parents threw me into a
number of team sports but while I was
successful at those sports it never
became a true passion of mine that is
until I discovered wheelchair tennis now
in wheelchair tennis there’s really only
one rule difference we get a second
bounce the first bounce has to land
within the lines
the second gap bounce can go wherever
but by far the best thing about
wheelchair tennis is that you can play
it against an able-bodied person stay
with me here but I would get two bounces
on my side of the net
and someone who uses two legs would get
one ask any wheelchair tennis athlete
and nothing gives us more satisfaction
or make us laugh than beating someone on
two legs wheelchair tennis was without a
doubt the most important thing that
happened to my life
it gave me confidence some might say
talking us as well I learned to do
things on my own
I learned about coaching I traveled the
world I became more resilient more
social less introverted without a doubt
wheelchair tennis is the single most
important thing that happened to my life
now we know about functional
independence and how physical activity
can help this but rarely is it discussed
the importance of the social aspects of
playing a wheelchair sport through
wheelchair tennis I met other fit adults
all of whom never used their disability
as an excuse for anything
whenever the parent of a disabled child
asks me for advice on getting there
their son or daughter involved in a
sport I invariably discuss the
importance of friendships these
friendships have the ability to carry
over through adulthood they give you
confidence and because of wheelchair
tennis I found my own confidence now my
spinal area of focus today to enable
independence is the removal of barriers
to accessibility right here in our
community in my journeys as a
Paralympian I travel to many countries
some of these countries did a fantastic
job in terms of accessibility others
legs far behind I always use the example
of London transforming its city to
become wheelchair accessible in
preparation for the 2012 Paralympics all
taxi cabs were made wheelchair
accessible as you can see there’s a ramp
protruding from from this cab and all of
them had this this meant that I could
get anywhere in London in addition to
this a new train line was built called
the Jubilee Line the Jubilee Line meant
that I could visit every single tourist
attraction and it was purposely built
wheelchair accessible now in other
countries I visited such as north and
such as South America or Africa
accessibility still had a long way to go
now you might ask how we are here in
Mississauga our own community well we
are good but not great a specific
example of this occurred this past
February as many of you do I take the GO
train into work every day I lived near
streets ville and on a cold February
morning I got out of my car into my
wheelchair I rolled up to the elevator I
press the button nothing happened I
waited a few seconds I pressed it again
nothing happened I later found out that
the elevator was out of service and that
I would have to make alternative plans
now luckily for me
I’m able to drive a car using hand
controls so I was able to find a way to
work but for many other people with
disabilities
this was a complete disruption to their
life this is unacceptable
it’s very tough to be independent when
the infrastructure of a city remains
inaccessible now it goes beyond just
transportation but if you go to Toronto
some of the city’s most exciting and
dynamic neighborhoods remain largely
inaccessible for people with physical
disabilities now while there are there
are organizations like stopgap that have
helped put ramps in many businesses you
can actually see them here in Port
Credit or in streets Ville as well we
still have a long way to go the way I
see it is that if someone with a
disability can’t get to your business
you’ve just lost the customer so the
benefits really go both ways now while
it’s only played a part in accessibility
has also led to more than half of all
Canadians with disabilities to being
unemployed this number must change for
those in the room or listening online
who are decision makers hiring managers
who possess the innate ability to create
change let’s get more people hired with
disabilities who possess the drive the
skills and the commitment to make an
impact even right here in our own
community a few weeks ago I was asked to
attend an event at the CN Tower
Toronto’s most iconic landmark for the
opening of new panoramic
ceiling-to-floor
windows because before these windows
being installed someone with a
disability or even a small child
couldn’t actually see at out the window
and I was as I was giving an interview I
looked over my left shoulder and I saw a
young boy in a wheelchair he must have
been seven or eight years old he was
looking out at this incredible view I
thought to myself what
well the next 20 years look like for him
how will he manage on his own what path
will he choose
will he be an athlete a banker a teacher
whatever path he chooses it will be his
path his decisions
because living life with a disability
shouldn’t prevent you from living life
to its full potential thank you
[Applause]
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