Crossing Bridges

luxury hotels in AalborgBy Angelique Curran

The challenge begins with a 42 foot-high wall and the will to conquer it. After hoisting yourself up the wall in a sitting or standing position, the real fun begins. You can either repel down the backside of the wall or launch yourself down a 600-foot zip line at 30-40 mph. The choice is yours.

Thanks to BRIDGES, a ropes course facilitation organization, these team-building challenges have been made accessible to everyone. Through equipment, training and attitude modification, many participants accomplish things they never thought possible. Richard Rueda, a course facilitator states, "You can do almost anything with the right support. There neednt be discrimination." And that is exactly why Bob Fulton, BRIDGES founder, has been designing accessible ropes courses for the past 10 years.

BRIDGES calls themselves a "challenge-by-choice program" that promotes working together as the key to success. They believe that facing challenges as a team enhances self-esteem and improves communication skills. Rueda feels that the most unique aspect of BRIDGES program is the fact that it helps to build trust among the team members. Another facilitator, Joy Brown, agrees and adds that she would trust Fulton with her life.

Through an intensive two-day program, members develop the teamwork skills they need to help overcome their fears, increase communication, and meet the physical challenges of the ropes course.

bed and breakfast ZandvoortIts learning to trust yourself and others that makes success on the of course, and in life, possible. According to Ellen Stohl, a facilitator who was left paraplegic in an auto accident, that may sound a lot easier than it actually is. "The hardest thing to do is to reach out and ask for help. After completing the course, you learn that being independent isnt doing it alone, its getting the job done."

In a society that thinks that if you need help, youre not independent, asking for help can be understandably difficult. On the other end of the spectrum, "if you ask for help, you often get too much. Or people trying to do everything for you. BRIDGES helps you to be specific in the kind of help you need." Instead of asking for help, participants learn to be explicit in the amount and type of assistance they want. They may not need help in hoisting themselves over the wall, but they may need help fastening the harness or getting back down. "It gives you self-direction and makes you an active participant in your life."

As you have truly figured out, BRIDGES isnt just about challenge courses. They strive to help make inclusion a success, not a problem. They are committed to creating access and opportunity to allow everyone to function as essential parts of society. A very important goal for may people with disabilities. Stohl asks, "Why cant this country comfortably accommodate everyone for the simple reason that all people can be valuable contributors to society?" For instance, Stohl points out that although movie theaters have been made accessible, they are still extremely uncomfortable for people in a wheelchair. It is clear to her that these theater owners do not see the intrinsic value in making a public establishment comfortable, as well as accessible, for all their clientele.

The pursuit for inclusion is the topic of a book Joy Brown is currently working on, appropriately titled, Ramps to Nowhere. Brown shares her experiences of going to camps and seeing new camps for people in wheelchairs. Her disappointment lies in the fact that the ramps lead to little observation points where people in wheelchairs can watch others participate in activities. "But they made no effort to include us," says Brown. "Everybody wants to comply with the rules, but they didnt want to go the next step beyond inclusion. To me, that is not accessibility."

However, accessibility was not the issue for Brown, who left her wheelchair on a cold October morning to climb the 42-foot wall. It was her deathly fear of heights. Brown, the special populations chair of the American Camping Association, met Bob Fulton at a conference and decided to see what BRIDGES had to offer. Right up front, she warned Bob, "I probably wont do it." But after much encouragement and support she did. As she careened down the zip line to the ground, she could hear her fellow members cheering. She landed on terra firma amidst tears, hugs and congratulations. Says Joy, "It made me aware that I can do whatever I put my mind to. I no longer listen to people say, "You cant or you shouldnt, just because I have a disability."

One of the most valuable aspects of the program is that lessons learned on the course can be applied to daily life.

As Stohl points out, "Experiential education has 80% more impact value. It helps you realize what you can do." Conquering the course enhances self-esteem and allows participants to expand the horizons of their limits by putting ideas and theories into practice. The consensus is that the BRIDGES program changes lives. "Its amazing that we can do these things," says Stohl. "This experience is about changing perspectives."

For Brown, the benefits of BRIDGES are clear. "It made me a lot stronger as a person. It helped me open up and be myself." Thanks to BRIDGES, Brown says, "Ive learned that your physical limitations should not affect your personal, mental and spiritual growth."

BRIDGES has proven that there is no need to exclude any member of our society simply because they dont fit or mold. For Fulton and the BRIDGES program, the time to break the mold has come. It is his dream to build the first universal ropes course in the country that would challenge persons without disabilities as thoroughly as people with disabilities.

If the BRIDGES program sounds like the challenge youve been looking for, you can contact Bob Fulton at (909) 584-2081. The course, co-sponsored by the American Camping Association, is open to everyone of all abilities. As Rueda says, "Just by showing up, youve met the challenge."

This story reprinted with permission of ABILITY Magazine.