Website anything but shy about dismantling disability stereotypes

[Guest guest]

Website anything but shy about dismantling disability stereotypes

By Rouse

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8039378

It is hard not to stare at the attractive man in the online ad

talking flirtatiously about his love life. He is shirtless, toned,

tattooed — and in a wheelchair.

" Did my accident paralyze my sex drive? " he asks unapologetically.

It is an image of the disabled so rarely seen in mainstream media it

is as startling as it is refreshing, just the way the founders of

Colorado-based Disaboom Inc. like it.

The " boom " in " Disaboom " is about " blowing up the previous

perceptions of what a disability means, " said Dr. J. Glen House, a

Colorado Springs physician and quadriplegic who founded disaboom.com

with businessman J.W. Roth.

" That ad is unusual, but that's Disaboom, " House said.

The site went live Oct. 1 and targets an estimated 54 million

Americans with disabilities or " functional limitations, " from spinal-

cord injuries to arthritis, said Roth, who is company chief

executive and chairman.

Provocative ads for Disaboom have been flooding websites for

mainstream companies such as CNN, The New York Times and Fox News

since November, featuring models, athletes, entertainers and others

living with disabilities. Denver comedian Josh Blue, who has

cerebral palsy and was the winner of NBC's reality show " Last Comic

Standing " in 2006, is a spokesman for the site.

Roth said the company is advertising to a broader audience because

he and House believe " everyone in some way is touched by

disability. "

On Disaboom, users can get specific information about conditions

from specialists; read articles on sensitive issues such as dating

and intimacy; talk sports; review books, movies and hotels; create

MySpace-like profiles; blog; and participate in discussion groups.

Alice Krueger, a 58-year-old Centennial woman with multiple

sclerosis, calls Disaboom " the 300-pound gorilla in the room " among

other websites.

" There are sites that have existed for quite a while for individual

disabilities, " said Krueger, who participates in medical forums on

the site. " What Disaboom does is draw all of that together. "

" I have MS, but I share a lot of issues with people who have spinal-

cord injuries, " said Krueger, who uses forearm crutches. " What I'm

looking for is resources. "

House, who was a bodybuilder and extreme skier before breaking his

neck and injuring his spinal cord in a skiing accident 18 years ago,

came up with the idea for the site in September 2006.

He said he wanted to create a community where the disabled, as well

as their caregivers, family members, medical providers and

colleagues, could be educated about conditions but also help one

another by sharing real-life experiences.

With the Internet, House said, the expert advice he and other

doctors give to patients at rehabilitation centers can be shared

with someone who is " in a cabin in Idaho with Internet access. "

Longtime friends Roth and House launched Disaboom with $14 million

last year. The initial $3 million came from selling 5.7 million

shares of common stock at 50 cents per share. The stock trades on

the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol DSBO. Another $11 million

came from investors.

Roth said the site costs $12 million a year to operate, with revenue

coming from advertisers and sponsors. The site is free to users.

Advertisers include Re/Max, Cricket Communications, Bioness, Avis

and Ford Motor Co.

Pujol, who manages consumer websites for Cricket, said

Disaboom opened the door to a hard-to-reach community. " You have a

population that may or may not be traveling and seeing the bus (ads)

that we have, or may not be getting radio, " she said.

The site so far has had more than 800,000 unique visitors since

going live in October, with more than 7,000 users participating in

blogs and discussion groups, the company said.

Marla , a Woodland Park mother of two boys with disabilities and

a frequent blogger on Disaboom, said the site has made her feel less

isolated.

" It's parents supporting each other, " said . " We're up here in

the mountains. There's not a huge disability community up here.

" A community like Disaboom — it's like all these minds. . . . We can

get together and brainstorm and say, 'I'm having these kinds of

issues,' " said. " You learn how to navigate the system, about

getting services, school issues. "

House said Disaboom is about " living forward, " something he learned

to do after his accident.

He was a 20-year-old biomedical science student at Texas A & M

University when his skiing accident left him with limited hand

movement and no movement or feeling below his chest. It also ended

his plans to become a dentist.

House said he struggled emotionally for nearly a year, but never

allowed the accident to become a life-stopping event.

He went on to train in physical medicine and rehabilitation and

specialize in spinal-cord-injury medicine. He is currently the

medical director of the Center for Neuro & Trauma Rehabilitation at

Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs.

Anne Cowles, 45, of Colorado Springs was diagnosed with multiple

sclerosis in 2001. She said she found a positive community in

Disaboom.

" It was, 'What do we need to do with this (disability) to move

on?' " she said.

Krueger agrees.

" What you see in Disaboom is a lot of pride. The emphasis is on

the 'abled,' not the 'dis.' "

Disaboom.com users can ...

• Create personal profiles, share photos, and create and join

groups.

• Review hotels, car-rental businesses, restaurants, amusement parks

and other places for accessibility, and let other users know such

details as whether counters were too high in a hotel or doorways

were wide enough on a cruise ship.

• Find information about specific conditions, such as amputations,

fibromyalgia or cerebral palsy. Disaboom hired specialists based at

rehabilitation centers and hospitals across the country who provide

information to users.

• Read magazine-style articles on issues such as when to reveal to a

person you've met online that you're disabled; dealing with

depression as a caregiver; which books are good for disabled

children; or choosing an accessible vacation.

Starting next month, users will be able to search job boards on

Disaboom, which has partnered with JobCentral.com to create a career

center.

In March, Lovebyrd.com, a site for disabled singles that Disaboom

purchased, will be featured on Disaboom, allowing for online dating