Raeann Williams of Racine, Wis., pulls herself up the adaptive climbing wall during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
An adaptive climbing wall that allows anyone with a spirit of adventure to scale its rocky face was among the highlights of the three-day Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center this weekend.
Carson Klingler of Findlay, Ohio scales the adaptive climbing wall during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Abilities Expo has been in existence since 1979, and over the course of the decades its mission has been to help boost independence for the disability community, marketing director Kevaleen Lara said.
Spectators including Raeann Williams of Racine, Wis., lower left, watch as Carson Klingler of Findlay, Ohio makes it to the top of the adaptive climbing wall during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
“It's like a carnival, there's tons of products and services,” Lara said. “It can be high-tech vehicles but then again it can be mom-and-pop type things that have adaptive equipment.”
Paralympian Mark Wellman, the first paraplegic to summit El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, was there with a team of assistants at the climbing wall.
Climbers could either use a specially-designed chair and pull themselves with a downward motion of a T-shaped handle, and through the use of pulleys they ascended the wall. Other climbers were able to exit their chairs, and after being attached to a harness pulled themselves to the top using their arm strength.
With either method, spectators applauded the efforts of the climbers.
Luke Madson, 5, of Louisville tries the Action Trackchair during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Felipe Aguilar, 14, of Chicago rides the Sensory Rx wheelchair swing with the assistance of company representative Jeff Paxton during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
Emma Asendorf of Canton, Illinois, plays basketball during the Abilities Expo at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center on Saturday in Schaumburg.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
“If you go out on the show floor and feel the buzz it's pretty great,” Lara said.