So, Here We Are!

By Raymond D. Cohen

So, here we are! Issue Number 20 of ABILITIES and still going strong ...

In December of 1988, there was no "Disability Network" on national television, no Ability magazine out of California, no Disability Today out of St. Catharine’s, Ontario, no Ability Network out of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and no Freedom out of Victoria, B.C. In fact, when ABILITIES was launched from a Calgary dining room table that year, it became the first and only national media vehicle speaking directly to people with disabilities in this country.

ABILITIES had, as its initial premise, the sole mission of communicating directly with people with disabilities. At that time there were numerous publications directed towards caregivers, lots of info for rehabilitation professionals, and several disability-specific newsletters -- but nobody was speaking directly to people with disabilities; there was no cross-disability publication providing consumer-oriented information on products, services and opportunities -- and ABILITIES’ role would be to fill this void.

The first ABILITIES was thin -- 24 pages, including the cover -- but even then (to borrow a phrase from our chairman, Patrick Watson), the magazine delivered the message of "can-do." The cover of the first issue showed Ken McKay, a young man who was quadriplegic from Mississauga, Ontario, getting out of his wheelchair, underwater, with his scuba equipment -- ready for an independent underwater excursion.

The spirit of this first issue carried on over the next 19. And ABILITIES’ message of "can-do," of independence, of personal choice, has continued to be warmly received by Canada’s population of people with disabilities. ABILITIES has continued to grow, even as the general trend towards self-determination and (dare I say it?) empowerment has accelerated. Physical access, employment equity, legislative change, deinstitutionalization, educational reform, technological breakthroughs -- have all seen considerable progress since 1988 -- and ABILITIES has taken care to reflect these important and historic trends to the broadest possible audience.

In some ways, it is a testament to our success that other publications now exist to address the diversity of needs and pleasures of people with disabilities. For example, Ability Network out of Nova Scotia seems capable of bringing the reader that "home-baked" feeling through its editorial selections and clever design. Each of the other publications, too, have their own special personalities.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples ABILITIES has been able to set for other publications, both within and outside of the disability field, is the assertion, reflected in our editorial positioning from the start, that people with disabilities are their own experts. The majority of our contributing writers have disabilities themselves. And the advertising carried in ABILITIES clearly provides our readers with the opportunity to make their own choices in product and service selection.

This 20th issue’s table of contents follows the usual dog’s-breakfast assortment, with something for nearly everyone. And, as a publication that is aimed at staying in touch and on top, we continue to encourage two-way communication with our readership. We invite your feedback: what you liked, what you didn’t like, what you would like to see in ABILITIES. Drop us a line, why don’t you? Come ride the wave of the future -- it’s accessible!