disabled services
Missoula, MT…a great community for the disabled
We love to travel to both new and familiar places in the summer. We almost always start our travels with a short visit to Seattle since that is where Quincy’s pediatric neurologist is located and it’s a good time to schedule her annual visit. Seattle is fun for us…it’s a bit like home, since we have family there and lived there a lifetime ago before children and responsibility. But, we keep our time there brief. We’ve found it to be too crowded for our liking and, although it is incredibly accessible, we aren’t often made to feel comfortable there with Quincy.
So, from Seattle we often venture East to Montana. I love the hot summers, the ranch lands, and the Rockies. We also have family in Montana and it’s great to reconnect. Missoula is a cool little city…not too busy and has everything anyone would need. Montana, as a state, provides some excellent services, both care and recreational, for the disabled. Last summer we spent time touring a facility in Missoule that provides on and off-site care services and found it to be impressive. And, for recreation you should check out the great adaptive ski program at Whitefish Mountain ski resort. Montana has done a great deal to embrace and accept those with disability and with that comes an accepting attitude from those who live there. If the disabled are incorporated into daily life, you stand next to them at the Fair, you see them at the movies, you share your schools, pools and libraries with them, then the members of the community soon stop “seeing” them, they just function with them. I love that and it’s the type of place that I would like to have Quincy spend her days.
I don’t want people to look at Quincy like she’s the first disabled person they have ever seen, or that she is so wildly different that it makes others uncomfortable. I don’t want people to see her at all, unless they are simply struck by her beauty. Over the years we have visited hundreds of communities and it doesn’t take long to find those that are happy to have us visit. They want us to enjoy what they have to offer without making us feel that our presence is causing discomfort. So, for this family, Missoula makes our list of great, accepting communities for people with disabilities. This summer we hope to discover some new communities to add to our list. Any suggestions?
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