Wiley’s Walk
Join the journey. Walk the path.
Writing by Kerry Ann Wiley about disability, adaptation, participation, and the difference between access and inclusion.
New on Wiley’s Walk
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Black and Blue
I started to become aware of the existence of my disability through the stares and general lack of awareness of other people around the age of four. I did not feel different. I was just a girl who liked long dresses and…
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Beyond Disability and Disability Awareness
I have read too many articles that feature a story about an individual with a disability who has not been served or who has been turned away from a gym or some other public facility because staff did not know how to…
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Bullying Prevention
I turned on the television recently and watched yet another story about a person with a disability being bullied, victimized, and hurt. As I watched the story, I thought about times in middle school where I too was bullied. StopBullying.org defines bullying…
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Change Transitions
I recently read an article by Barbara J. Linney called “Surviving in a world of change.” Ms. Linney effectively illustrates that when unwanted change is thrust upon people, we experience a range of emotions. The emotions go from denial to anger, anger…
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Reflections about a Mustard Seed
Five years ago, I wrote this piece after reading an article titled The Struggle for Faith. Its premise still resonates deeply with me today. The author proposed that “unless we are content to be intellectually, logically, and spiritually static, we must move…
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Questions and Skates
People frequently ask me questions about my disability. I am asked: “Can I ask you what happened?” “Why do you walk with ski poles?” The best variation that I have heard of these two questions was, “What congenital anomaly do you…
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The Unexpected Phone Call
Recently, I went in for a series of routine and preventative screenings and tests. I had to have the tests performed adaptively, where I was seated in a chair versus standing to have the tests performed. As I entered the room, I…
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Burnout for People with Disabilities in Athletics
Burnout is a subject that has been widely researched in the Health, Sports, and Fitness disciplines. Studies show links between burnout and musculoskeletal diseases including chronic neck and back pain and osteoarthritis for women and cardiovascular disease in men. [i] Literature I have…
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Change
I recently read an article by Carla Kimbrough-Robinson called “Change Happens: Deal With It.” Ms. Kimbrough-Robinson writes about how change is inevitable. She asks her readers to take a personal inventory, prepare for changes, and to seize opportunities. [1] I recently celebrated…
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The Art of Training: Unscrambling A Scrambled Egg
My efforts to walk without devices frequently remind me of trying to unscramble a scrambled egg. An egg cannot be unscrambled because once heat is applied it changes the composition of the egg. Similarly, I am trying to defy existing patterns and…