Hudson-Peralta is supported by BraunAbility and his dealer, The Creative Mobility Group in Madison Heights, MI. When you purchase a mobility product from BraunAbility, you join a powerful community.
Moments after Ryan Hudson-Peralta was born, he was whisked away by doctors. Medical professionals told his parents their son would never be able to hold a job, have a family, or drive a car. Born with a congenital limb deficiency, a condition causing limbs to not fully form, Hudson-Peralta has shortened arms and legs and no hands—something he fully embraces, as evident by his social media handle “Look Mom No Hands”.
While his disability has presented its challenges, today, Hudson-Peralta uses his power wheelchair and his BraunAbility Chevrolet Traverse to keep up with his nonstop lifestyle, working as a Principal User Experience Designer at Rocket Central. He is also a motivational speaker, a mentor to children with limb differences, and a father to his two children, Myranda and Noah.
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Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles Change Lives
Before driving a wheelchair accessible vehicle of his own, Hudson-Peralta often stayed home, or he was driven around by family members. He said, “I remember being a kid and my friends are going doing whatever they want, and I'd have to be stuck either in my manual wheelchair or having my parents drive me around.” With his wheelchair accessible vehicle, Hudson-Peralta said, “I'm super independent. I can go to work. I can do whatever I want on my own anytime. It helps me be independent and not have to rely on people [to get] around.”
Driving Independence for People with Disabilities
The road to independence for Hudson-Peralta was full of what he refers to as “speed bumps”—while his physical disability slowed down the process of getting his license, it did not stop him from getting behind the wheel.
Hudson-Peralta has used BraunAbility vehicles since childhood—that’s three decades and counting. His parents first drove a wheelchair accessible Dodge Grand Caravan with woodgrain accents. When he was old enough to get his own vehicle, Hudson-Peralta purchased a Chrysler Town & Country with a foldout ramp. But his experience wasn’t without a few more speed bumps. While his friends were driving at 16, Hudson-Peralta spent three years saving for his vehicle, attending drivers ed, and learning how to drive with adaptive equipment. Eventually, Hudson-Peralta passed all his driver's training—all that was left was the driving test, a test which the DMV told him was 'impossible' because they did not have driver evaluators specialized in adaptive driving. Again, he had encountered a speed bump, but after a few weeks, he was evaluated for a license, just as a non-disabled driver would be, and he got his license.
Choosing a Wheelchair Accessible SUV
Hudson-Peralta had been driving for over 20 years before he got his Traverse. He said, “I didn't wanna drive a minivan anymore, and when I saw that BraunAbility was doing the Traverse, I just had to get it.” Once Hudson-Peralta got his Traverse, he adapted it with multiple modifications to meet his needs.
Today, he’s able to control everything in his vehicle using his feet and his arms. Hudson-Peralta has multiple modifications throughout his vehicle. His pedal extenders accommodate his short stature, allowing him to accelerate and decelerate his vehicle. Low effort steering, which he controls using his arms, allows him to turn his vehicle in any direction with ease. Lastly, his control panel, located on the driver side door, allows him to control vehicle features like windshield wipers, turn signals, and radio volume.
Hudson-Peralta has had the chance to visit BraunAbility, taking a road trip to our manufacturing facility to see how BraunAbility wheelchair accessible vehicles are made. He said, “My experience with VMI…it was fine in the beginning, but then I had tons of problems with my door and tons of problems with the ramp getting stuck.”
After touring the manufacturing facility and meeting BraunAbility team members, Hudson-Peralta said “I love my vehicle. I would definitely recommend people look at a BraunAbility vehicle. I’m never gonna get anything else. I know that for sure.”
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