''New Mobility'', launched in 1989, is a United States-based magazine for active

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), ce ...

users. This monthly publication covers

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

adaptive technology Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or even with ...

and lifestyle topics such as recreation, travel, the arts, relationships, sexuality, parenting, employment and home modification. It also profiles successful wheelchair users, including

John Hockenberry John Charles Hockenberry (born June 4, 1956) is an American journalist and author. He has reported from all over the world, on a wide variety of stories in several mediums for more than three decades. He has written dozens of magazine and newsp ...

, Christopher Voelker,

Brooke Ellison Brooke Mackenzie Ellison (born October 20, 1978) is an American politician. She is known for being the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University. History On September 4, 1990, at the age of 11, Brooke was hit by a car while walking ...

Chantal Petitclerc Chantal Petitclerc (born December 15, 1969) is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec. Early life At the age of 13, Petitclerc lost the use of both legs in an accident when at a friend's farm, a heavy barn door fell on her, fra ...

and the late

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

. ''New Mobility'', received an Utne Independent Press Award for Lifestyle Coverage in 2006.

History

''New Mobility'' was founded in 1989 in

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, by Sam Maddox to provide information about life after

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This ...

, post-polio sequelae and other disabling conditions. Originally titled, ''Spinal Network Extra'', the then-quarterly magazine was a spin-off of the 1987 book ''Spinal Network: The Total Resource for the Wheelchair Community.'' Maddox edited ''New Mobility'' until 1991, when Barry Corbet, a

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

from a spinal cord injury, took the helm. The title was changed to ''New Mobility'' for the Summer 1992 issue. In 1993, the magazine temporarily ceased publication. Miramar Publishing (later Miramar Communications) bought the title and relaunched it in 1994. It became bimonthly in 1995 and monthly in 1996. In 1998, No Limits Communications acquired the magazine. In 2000, Corbet retired, and Gilmer, also paraplegic, took over as editor. In 2010,

United Spinal Association United Spinal Association is a nonprofit membership, disability rights and veterans service organization in the United States. It was formed in 1946 as Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association by a group of paralyzed World War II veterans from New ...

bought ''New Mobility'' and continues to publish it monthly. In 2018, Gilmer retired and Ian Ruder took over as editor.

The Niche

Early disability titles tended to reflect what is known as the medical model of disability, which emphasized the need for cures and referred to people with disabilities as "patients". ''New Mobility'' defined its social model of disability point of view with a lifestyle-oriented approach, inclusion mentality and

people-first language People-first language (PFL), also called person-first language, is a type of linguistic prescription which puts a person before a diagnosis, describing what condition a person "has" rather than asserting what a person "is". It is intended to av ...

. It was also one of the first periodicals to seriously address

sexuality and disability Sexuality and disability is a topic regarding the sexual behavior and practices of people with disabilities, who have a range of sexual desires and differ in the ways they choose to express their sexuality. Commonly, people with disabilities la ...

, and its provocative role in this area has been recognized by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

,'' and subsequently the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

.Sex and the Disabled: Still a Taboo Topic
/ref> The magazine sums up its place in the field of disability journalism with the tagline "Life Beyond Wheels".

References

External links

''New Mobility'' magazine
1989 establishments in Colorado Lifestyle magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Disability publications Health magazines Magazines established in 1989 Magazines published in Colorado Mass media in Boulder, Colorado