Aid for Disabled : Wheelchairs Can’t Stop the Globe-Trotters

World War II put Lou Nau in a wheelchair, but that didn’t dampen his wanderlust. Now he leads groups of disabled travelers on tours around the world.

The 73-year-old Tarzana travel agent and his wife, who is also wheelchair-bound, have traveled as far as Africa and China, and all along the way they have had to cope with physical obstacles.

So they helped form the Travel Industry and Disabled Exchange, or TIDE, about a year ago. They want to force the travel industry to adapt to the needs of the handicapped and to convince the disabled they can travel.

“Our purpose is to educate both the travel industry and the disabled community that it’s possible to travel (in wheelchairs),” Nau said. “There are a lot of disabled people who are capable financially and physically of traveling. It’s a big market.

“We operate tours for the disabled and take people all over the world in wheelchairs.”

Among the obstacles on the Naus’ list for elimination are airplane aisles that are too narrow to accommodate their wheelchairs and high thresholds on cruise ships that make restroom access impossible. They are also encouraging tour bus companies to install wide, rear doors and electric wheelchair lifts.

The globe-trotting couple is also working to erase myths and prejudices that work against disabled travelers.

“One woman was recently trying to reserve an airplane flight,” he said. “When she told them she was in a wheelchair, she was asked if she has open, running sores or if she has a grotesque appearance. There are many barriers to break down.

“Once cruise line personnel and airline people are aware of the fact that disabled people are not sick people, things get easier. The biggest misinformation that non-disabled people seem to disseminate is that disabled people are sick people.”

To change those myths, Nau and his wife publish “TIDE’s In,” a monthly newsletter about changes that are making traveling easier for the disabled. It is mailed to TIDE’s 200 members. About 90% are from the travel industry and the rest are handicapped individuals, Nau said.

The Naus are already seeing some progress. They succeeded in persuading a New Zealand tour company and one small American company to install rear doors and electric lifts in three tour buses, Nau said.

And two cruise ships operating in the United States have eliminated the 3-inch to 8-inch risers on restroom thresholds, he said.

“It may not sound like much,” he said, “but we’re moving along.”