"I'm Disabled . . . Now What?"

A basic resource for the disabled delivers advice on a range of topics.

This guide by disability expert Checkoway (Getting Paid: An Insider’s Guide to Filing Your Long-Term Disability Claim or Appeal, 2012, etc.) covers such subjects as equipment and technology (including emergency alert systems and wheelchairs), exercise, accessible housing, and travel. The first part, “Planning for Incapacity,” may be one of the more helpful sections, because it addresses both the psychological aspects of living with a disability and the practical impact, in particular, of working with one. The author’s seven strategies for coping with a disability are written with a keen sensitivity and from a personal perspective resulting from his own experience of being partially disabled. Similarly, the 10 tips Checkoway offers for the newly disabled, while somewhat more cautionary, set realistic expectations for one’s life ahead. Other parts of the book are not as inspirational but valuable nonetheless; there is good information, for instance, about the challenges of driving with a disability, elements that make housing accessible, and basic facts about monitoring systems, wheelchairs, wheelchair ramps, and stair lifts. Most of the chapters are short and easy to read, if sketchy at times; some of them have been adapted or reprinted from other sources. While many of the chapters seem somewhat cursory, the most comprehensive section of the book concerns traveling with a disability. Here, the author addresses such worthwhile topics as airlines, cruise ships, safety, health care, emergencies, travel insurance, and more. He adds a few useful insider tips as well, including important commentary about the decidedly unfriendly experience he had traveling as a disabled person on a European train. One of the better features of the volume may be its extensive appendices, which boast a wealth of resources for the disabled, including listings of manufacturers and distributors of monitoring services and equipment, state assistive technology programs, wheelchair manufacturers, and the like. A worthy starting point for those with disabilities who need an overview of the fundamentals; but readers will likely have to use the sources in the appendices to dig deeper for more information.