Mia Shaikewitz is a television personality and spokesperson for disability advocacy. In October of 1993, Mia Schaikewitz was 15 years old and a rising star on her high school swim team. She was training for a new season when suddenly one evening, she found herself unable to move her legs. Within twelve hours, doctors discovered that a Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) had ruptured in her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. With resilient determination and a positive attitude, she moved forward to pursue her life goals. 

Mia finished high school and then attended the University of Florida where she excelled socially and academically. She became the first woman in a wheelchair at the school to rush and pledge a sorority and graduated with top honors in Media Production. After college, Mia moved to Los Angeles where she worked in the recording industry; Mia later developed an award-winning career in graphic design and branding.  

In 2012, Mia became one of the stars of the hit TV show Push Girls, which continues to impact audiences worldwide. The show is considered a trailblazer for breaking stereotypes about disability in Hollywood and it won the Critics’ Choice Award for “Best Reality Series” in 2013. This prompted Mia to become an advocate and prominent speaker for accurate inclusion in the media. She has been interviewed on Good Morning America, CNN, E! Entertainment, Ellen, and many other outlets.

Within her dynamic career pursuits, Mia is dedicated to raising AVM awareness and has a passion for staying physically active. She returned to her former sport of competitive swimming; Mia became the Swim Director for Angel City Sports, a leading Paralympic event. She is also a founding member of Infinite Flow — America's first professional wheelchair ballroom dance company, which now leads a global social movement for inclusive dance.

In this interview, with our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Mia shares her amazing insights on the importance of perspective, why you should never settle, and how she journaled through depression. Mia also discusses Spinal Arteriovenous Malformation and her resilience in the face of darkness, insecurity, and fear. Today, Mia continues to live by her motto, “Believing in yourself means never having to say, 'I can't'!”

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Jenni Ahtiainen, Founder & Head Designer at AIDesign and DEAFMETAL, discusses her hearing aid journey starting in 2018. Being involved with the fashion and music industry and her love for aesthetics, Jenni designed hearing aid jewelry collections for women, men, and children. The story of DEAFMETAL can be found here: The story behind DEAFMETAL® by its Designer Jenni Ahtiainen - YouTube.

Please see Jenni's photo biography below to learn more information about her work as a designer and her wearable art pieces.

Amanda Leduc is a disabled writer and author of the non-fiction book, Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability and Making Space, which was published by Coach House Books in 2020 and shortlisted for the 2020 Governor General’s Award in Non-Fiction and longlisted for the 2020 Barbellion Prize. She is also the author of the novel, The Miracles of Ordinary Men, published in 2013 by ECW Press. Her new novel, The Centaur’s Wife, is out now with Random House Canada.  

Her essays and stories have appeared across Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia, and she speaks regularly across North America on accessibility and the role of disability in storytelling. She is represented by Samantha Haywood at the Transatlantic Agency. 

Born in British Columbia, she has lived in Ontario, England, BC, and Scotland, and holds a Master in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews. Amanda has cerebral palsy and presently makes her home in Hamilton, Ontario, where she lives with a very lovable, very destructive dog and serves as the Communications and Development Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Canada’s first festival for diverse authors and stories. 

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Amanda unpacks the many ingrained biases lurking in classic fairy tales, while also exploring her own experience with cerebral palsy. She also discusses the pedagogy of fairy tales, disability representation, writing tips, moving space, and responsible social media use for public figures. Amanda states, “Disability isn't visited on us in response to a grand, overarching narrative plan, but rather is a lived, complex reality that reimagines the very nature of how we move through and occupy space.”

Karen Putz is a mom, international speaker, and Passion Mentor/Test Facilitator. She runs Ageless Passions, a business that provides writing, speaking and coaching services. Karen specializes in helping others unwrap their passion and create more joy, fun, and adventure in their lives. She also writes for the Chicago Tribune Local and has two blogs of her own: A Deaf Mom Shares Her World and Deaf and Hard of Hearing People at Work. 

Karen was born with normal hearing and grew up hard of hearing. She became deaf from a fall while barefoot water skiing as a teen, as she took a hard fall and instantly went from hard of hearing to deaf. Karen abandoned the sport of barefoot water skiing and took up volleyball; she began playing volleyball in deaf tournaments with her husband across the United States. Karen and her husband went on to have three children, all three children lost their hearing when they were very young. 

Karen has been featured on the TODAY Show, CNN, O magazine, MORE magazine, espnW, AARP, and the Chicago Tribune. She is also the founder and past President of Illinois Hands & Voice and is the Co-Coordinator of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion. Karen is the author of multiple books, including The Parenting Journey; Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and The Passionate Lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. 

At the age of 44, Karen put her feet back on the water and skied competitively for four years. She has trained with the top barefoot water skiers in the world. Karen now has learned to barefoot ski forwards, backwards, and on one foot. Her remarkable comeback story has now led Karen on a quest to barefoot water ski in all 50 states.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Karen talks about her water-skiing injury, which activated a dormant gene that caused her to lose her hearing. They also discuss what led Karen to eventually find her way back into the water and what inspires her to write and mentor. Karen also shares advice to those who have/had to confront obstacles in their lives and how others can tap into their passions. Karen states, “I believe we all have it within us to create a life of joy, purpose, and meaning. And live passionately, of course!” 

Roy Tuscany, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the High Fives Foundation, had dreams of being a professional free skier. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in mechanical engineering, he headed out west to pursue that dream. In 2006, Roy suffered a life-altering injury while skiing that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Forty-three days after Roy entered the hospital as a paraplegic, he walked out. His determination to walk again was the catalyst for the creation of the High Fives Foundation.

Roy turned the financial and community support of his own recovery into a “pay-it-forward’ adventure. In April 2008, Roy put on his first event, called High Fives, a best 540 contest at Sugar Bowl (today the event is known as Trains). The idea was conceived during a backyard brainstorming session. Following the success of the event, Tuscany launched the High Fives Non-Profit, the name deriving from his hand slapping hospital antics and the high fives thrown at the event. 

On January 19, 2009, the High Fives Foundation became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The High Fives Foundation not only funds recovery for athletes with spinal cord injuries, but also aims to provide preventative information to young athletes. Through a program called B.A.S.I.C.S. (Being Aware Safe In Critical Situations) it aims to “promote smart decision making in the mountains.” B.A.S.I.C.S. creates a documentary every year focusing on one aspect of mountain safety and streams it for free online while also touring it around the country, showing it in schools and to professionals in the industry.

In 2011, Roy was the recipient of the “Spirit Inspires” Award from Disabled Sports USA and he once held the world record for the most high-fives in a 24-hour period. Roy has relearned how to walk, ski, and surf, which is Roy’s newest thrill-seeking activity. He currently lives in Reno, Nevada with his wife, Alana Nichols, and son, Gunnar, and enjoys finding fun in everything he does.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Roy opens up about his life changing incident, the power of being vulnerable, how your biggest enemy could be looking at you in the mirror, and why it is important to celebrate your moments. Roy also discusses the High Fives Foundation and how it is cultivated on inclusiveness. Roy’s secret to connecting with others, with or without a difference, is clear; it is the simple act of a high five.

Aimee Mullins is an athlete, fashion model and activist. She also stars in the hugely successful, Emmy-nominated Netflix series Stranger Things. Aimee’s film debut was a starring role in the highly acclaimed film Cremaster 3, by contemporary artist Matthew Barney, first presented in the US at the Guggenheim Museum in 2003. The Guardian called it “one of the most imaginative and brilliant achievements in the history of avant-garde cinema.”

She continued her work with Barney in River of Fundament, an adaptation of Norman Mailer’s novel ‘Ancient Evenings’, in which she starred as Isis. Chronicling the seven stages of a soul’s journey from death to rebirth, each filmed chapter is also accompanied by a one-time only live performance. The work, a six-hour operatic epic, premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music in February 2014.

Aimee first received worldwide media attention as an athlete. Born without fibula in both legs, Aimee's medical prognosis was discouraging; she was told she would never walk and would likely spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair. In an attempt for an outside chance at independent mobility, doctors amputated both her legs below the knee on her first birthday. The decision paid off. By age two, she had learned to walk on prosthetic legs, and spent her childhood swimming, biking, skiing, playing softball and soccer with everyone else.

After graduating high school with honors, Aimee was one of three students in the US chosen for a full academic scholarship from the Department of Defense, and at age 17 became the youngest person to hold a top-secret security clearance at the Pentagon, where she worked as an intelligence analyst.

While a dean’s list student at the prestigious School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, she set her sights on making the US Team for the 1996 Atlanta Games. She enlisted the expertise of Frank Gagliano, one of the country’s most respected track coaches. Through this partnership, she became the first woman with a “disability” to compete in the NCAA, doing so on Georgetown’s nationally ranked Division I track team.

Aimee set her sights on becoming the fastest woman in the world on prosthetic legs and began to wonder why legs made for sprinting wouldn’t be modeled on those of the fastest land animal, rather than just those of a human. Working in collaboration with a cutting-edge biomedical engineer and a visionary prosthetist she went on to set World Records in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, and the long jump, outfitted with woven carbon-fiber prostheses that were modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah.

These legs, which Aimee was the first to wear, are now the international standard for amputee runners.

After a profile in Life magazine showcased her in the starting blocks at Atlanta, the world took notice. Aimee soon landed a 10-page feature in the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated for Women, which led to her accepting numerous invitations to speak at international design conferences.

The discourse regarding aesthetic principles sparked Aimee’s interest in issues relating to body image and how fashion advertising impacted standard notions of femininity and beauty. In 1998, Aimée made her runway debut in London at the invitation of one of the world’s most celebrated fashion designers, Alexander McQueen. Walking alongside the supermodels of the world, Aimee’s groundbreaking, triumphant turn propelled her onto the magazine covers of ID and Dazed and Confused.

An influential voice in today’s culture, she is regularly invited to share her ideas at global conferences, such as the world-famous TED conferences, where she is one of their most popular speakers and was named a TED All-Star. Her talks have been translated into 41 languages and have been seen by millions of viewers worldwide.

In 2012, she was designated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In 2017, Aimée was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame joining fellow honorees “whose leadership and achievements have changed the course of American history.”

Aimee serves on the boards of various non-profit organizations, most notably the Women’s Sports Foundation, founded by Billie Jean King, of which Aimee was elected President from 2007 to 2009. Aimee also had four years as Vice-President for the nation’s oldest non-profit employment service for persons with disabilities, ‘Just One Break’. She was the first woman on the board since the organization was founded in 1947 by Eleanor Roosevelt.  As Secretary of State in 2012, Hillary Clinton appointed her to the State Department’s ‘Council to Empower Women and Girls Through Sports’.

Aimee’s impact on modern society and her influence on future generations is undeniable. Her likeness has been immortalized in exhibits at institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NCAA Hall of Fame, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Modern, the Track and Field Hall of Fame, and the Women’s Museum, where she is honored for her contribution to sport among the “Greatest American Women of the 20th Century.” In 2017, the National Women’s Hall of Fame inducted Aimée, making her one of the youngest honorees ever to receive this distinction.  In 2018, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Northeastern University and delivered their commencement speech which garnered a standing ovation from the audience of 22,000.  In 2019, Aimee delivered the commencement speech at Concordia University and inducted Jane Fonda into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Aimee shares how she uses her medical condition to inspire others and how she has broken boundaries to become a record-breaking athlete, model and film star. Alexandra and Aimee also talk about what defines beauty, Aimee’s twelve pairs of prosthetic legs, and how her incredibly diverse career has helped her, and others re-imagine the limits of one's potential. Aimee states, “Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life.”

Southern California native, Kiana Clay, has always had the need for speed since she can remember. From the time she could walk, she's always wanted to go fast. Whether it was on her skateboard, snowboard, scooter, bicycle, or roller blades, you'd find Kiana zooming around somewhere. At the age of 7, her father, Roger Clay, purchased her first motorcycle which was a PW80. She rode it in trails, tracks, and in her front yard. The first time she rode, she was hooked. By the age 11, she was competing nationwide on her KX and YZ85. Little did she know that the sport she loved would make her disabled. 

On November 18, 2006, Kiana was racing at Freestone County Raceway in Wortham Texas. As it had rained the day before, the track was muddy and deep. It was during practice when she crashed on the back side of the finish line jump from her back tire sliding out and got landed on by another rider that was right behind her. The front part of the other rider's bike landed right on her neck, which severed her nerves with a complex neck injury called brachial plexus. As she woke from being knocked out for about 4 minutes, she noticed that she could not move her arm whatsoever. After being sent to 3 different hospitals, she finally received her diagnosis which was full paralysis in her dominant right arm. About a month after her racing accident, she and her father got in a car wreck and flipped multiple times in their truck from a drunk driver. Because of that wreck, she lost all chances of her getting her arm back.

Today, Kiana has fully adapted to the one-handed lifestyle. She's learned how to write and draw again, as well as play Xbox with her feet, put her hair up with a doorknob, and live everyday life as normal as anyone else would. After being off of the bike for 7 years, she started riding again in fall of 2013 and started competing just 3 months after being back on the bike. In 2015, she also got accepted to be on the Adaptive Action Sports Team for snowboarding where she is currently training to make the USA team for the Paralympics for 2022 in Beijing. She will be the first female upper limb competitor and will create a category for other future upper limb females. Kiana was also the first female to compete in the Moto Sport Adaptive Championship Series for motocross where she placed a 3rd overall in the upper limb category against men.

When the weather is warm, you will find Kiana wake surfing at your local lake, or training with the ISA in Newport CA where she will be competing in the adaptive world circuit. She also does motivational speaking and mentoring at her church, tracks, schools, as well as some major companies. She's very positive about her injury and is actually grateful she is disabled. She stated, "I wouldn't want my life any other way. I'm grateful for what my disability has shown me and has taught me. I wouldn't be who I am today without it. It has really humbled me to be grateful and thankful for the little things".

Interview Questions and Answers

1. D&A: How did you develop your passion for being an athlete?

KC: Ever since I was little, I always wanted to go as fast as I could. I was also very competitive and tried my best to outperform the boys in every athletic situation. My dad quickly took notice and introduced me to motocross at 7 years old. The moment my leg swung over that PW80, I was hooked to speed and adrenaline ever since.

2. D&A: What sports do you take part in?

KC: Snowboarding, motocross, skateboarding, surfing, and wakeboarding

3. D&A: How did you sustain your injury and how long ago was it?

KC: I was racing at Freestone County Raceway on November 18, 2006. It was raining a few days straight before the race; therefore, the track was very muddy. I went out for my practice before my moto, and when I went over the finish line jump, my back tire slid out. I was laying on the back face of the jump, and the rider right behind me didn’t see me fall or have enough time to react. So, his front tire went right over my neck, broke my neck while my nerves ripped out of my spinal cord. I was diagnosed later that week with brachial plexus injury, complete paralysis of my right dominant arm. A few months later after gaining some bicep muscle back in physical therapy, my dad and I were driving back from dinner, and we got hit by a drunk driver. We flipped multiple times in our lifted truck where I ended up losing everything that I gained. My chances of regaining any movement or feeling were very unlikely.

4. D&A: Where did you find the will to continue your athletic dreams after your injuries?

KC: To push my limits and to prove to myself and others what is possible through innovation and determination. I refuse to let my dreams be limited by a physical disability. 

5. D&A: What is the best part about competing?

KC: The adrenaline, the friends I make, relationships I build, the amazing travel opportunities and seeing myself as a person grow more in my attitude and character. It's awesome to see how much I can push myself and encourage others around me! 

6. D&A: If you had to pick one sport only to compete in, what would that sport be and why?

KC: Probably motocross… that’s where it all started for me, where I feel the most at home, where I feel I belong, and I can just be myself while geeking out over speed and motors with the same type of like-minded people. There truly isn’t anything like the moto family. It's just the best environment and my favorite to be in. 

7. D&A: What is your favorite song to listen to prior to competing?

KC: It really depends on the competition and what sport. I actually listen to music before and during my competitions to help keep my adrenaline up. It also helps me focus on my own performance and not what is going on behind me. However, my playlists are rock, classic rock and punk. Anything to keep my heart rate up! 

8. D&A: What is a moment that stands out in your mind as a turning point, when you really felt like you were doing what you were meant to do?

KC: When I was featured for the Makeup to Mud at Vegas Supercross and when I was the first adaptive athlete to sign with Burton Snowboards!

9. D&A: You are the first adaptive female motocross racer. What does this honor mean to you?

KC: As the first female adaptive motocross racer, I am helping show other riders who are abled and disabled that even with challenges, you can still participate and be successful in action sports. It not only increases participation in the sport I love, but it also removes physical boundaries and challenges that others have experienced in the past.

10. D&A: Motocross (MX) is usually known as a male sport; it is empowering to see a female MX rider like yourself. Is there a niche or unique feature that women bring to the sport of MX?

KC: The growth of any market or sport is based on inclusivity and the desire to reach others that are outside of the typical demographic. The thing I love most about motocross, is that as an individual sport, one is not limited by their gender or background, but rather by their passion for adrenaline. So, women bring the diversity and wider community of empowerment that helps encourage the growth of the sport. 

11. D&A: In your opinion, what do you think would attract more girls and women to MX?

KC: Equality of opportunity to make a career out of racing. More highlights and support of female racers. The sport needs more professional women for little girls to look up to and to encourage them what their future could look like, as well as helping lay out a path. 

12. D&A: Who or what has been your inspiration over the years? Why?

KC: My inspirations haven’t necessarily been any person; it's been the sports themselves. They motivate me to get creative, to push my limits and not only become a better athlete but a better person. To chase the possibilities of what I can accomplish beyond my physical disability. 

13. D&A: You work as a graphic designer at a print shop in Frisco, Colorado. As a graphic designer, whose work do you admire? Can you tell us about a project you are most proud of and why?

KC: I actually no longer have that job. I lost it last year during the pandemic. Currently I am a full-time athlete now, thankfully with the support of my incredible sponsors. However, I have always been an artist and have loved the way that art challenges you to innovate and to think outside of the box. Esao Andrews has always been one of my favorite artists because of how surreal his art is and how it challenges me. That type of thinking has really helped me with modifying my equipment and being a better athlete.

14. D&A: Does your artistic nature help when you are lending your opinion into designing your adaptive athletic wear? 

KC: Absolutely!

15. D&A: What are your strengths as both an athlete and a person?

KC: I have always been very determined, strong willed and strong minded. My brain is always constantly running, thinking about how I can make this better or what can I do next or progress? I am constantly pushing myself and my limits!

16. D&A: Female snowboarders with upper limb disabilities are not scheduled to appear in the Paralympics until the 2026 Games in northern Italy, but you are pushing for the sport at the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing. What efforts have you made to support your sport for competition in the 2022 Paralympics?

KC: Making my voice as loud as possible with my petition that I started as well as encouraging other upper limb females to participate globally. 

17. D&A: You are the first para snowboarder to be signed by the Burton Team. This is impressive. Can you tell us about the Burton Team and what it means to you to be a part of the Team? 

KC: The Burton Team has truly become family to me within a quick period of time. They are incredibly supportive, encouraging, inclusive and always excited to find new innovations with me to make gear easy and accessible for not only myself, but for everyone. To be a part of the team is just mind blowing. It helps re-define what it means to be a global team rider and the progression of snowboarding in general. It's truly an honor to be the first and to set the standard for not only adaptive riders, but also snowboarders as a whole to push the limits of what's possible.  

18. D&A: What is next for you?

KC: To push for my class to be included for the 2022 Paralympics, and to compete in the 2026 Paralympics in Italy!