Go Ed! Independent Travel with a Disability...

Ed on his travels (Source - GapYear.com)

I got an e-mail from www.gapyear.com yesterday evening.  A great website for hints and tips on travel and, as it says on the tin, the incredibly popular gap year trips.  To my surprise, I spotted a familiar face and name acting as one of the guest writers...a young man called Ed Rex.  I recognise Ed from my previous work with Deaf and Hearing Impaired students in secondary schools here in the UK.  He was a pupil at a school I worked at.

Having an older brother who is profoundly Deaf, I often forget that for him to take a trip in the UK, let alone abroad, can pose some serious problems; not least one of confidence.  Thankfully, my brother and Ed seem to share a fantastic sense of adventure, are possessed with great confidence and are keen to see the world.  As I write, my brother and his wife are currently enjoying city life in Singapore after a week in the Balinese resort of Ubud.  It is great to see that Ed has taken an extended backpacking trip, but to think a profoundly deaf person is travelling independently in countries he is not familiar with is amazing.  'Go Ed' is what I say!  Most hearing people would not dare to take this trip alone, but Ed has proven he has the determination and desire to explore the World and is making the most of the fact that he is having the time of his life!

The link below is a brilliant insight into Ed's life travelling independently as a profoundly deaf person.  It makes me think how lucky I am that the minor travel difficulties I face are nothing to the tannoy, accent and planning troubles a deaf person doing a similar trip might encounter.

Ed Rex - Travelling with a Disability

Here is Ed's own travel blog too - http://rexyedventures.com/