DREAM adaptive helps people with disabilities get out on the water

The boat drove forward slowly. The rope pulled tight, and the boat’s driver began to put on speed, pulling the water-ski onto the surface of the water.

A huge smile took over six-year old Tripp Hagen’s face as he rode the waves behind the boat.

Hagen was one of almost 100 people who attended the DREAM Adaptive sixth annual summer water sports program on Echo Lake last week.

DREAM stands for Disabled Recreation Environmental Access Movement. The volunteer group aims to make outdoor recreation more accessible for people with disabilities.

Attendees were given the opportunity to swim, go for boat rides, use adaptive kayaks, paddleboards, be pulled on an inter tube, try wakeboarding or assisted waterskiing, or take a spin on the sit ski.

The summer program has been growing since it started in 2009, as an addition to the long-standing adaptive alpine skiing program. Many of the participants at the summer camp had utilized DREAM’s alpine skiing program.

Janet Espeseth of Whitefish has been involved with DREAM with her twin boys, Ty and Griffin, since they were 5-years-old— they are now 13.

Espeseth grew up skiing in Whitefish and was searching for a way to be able to teach her boys to ski when she found DREAM

“Its just life changing for them with regards to just confidence,” she said of the program. “That kind of confidence for these kids, is kind of a parent’s dream.”

The Espeseths have also been attending the summer program for the last three years.

“Really this was their first experience being able to water-ski,” she said.

Cayuse Prairie School brought several students to the DREAM summer program, including Hagen, who first worked with DREAM through the skiing program.

“It just really grew his social skills and his communication skills immensely,” Hagen’s summer school teacher Sierra Butts said. 

Hagen is on the autism spectrum, and Cayuse Prairie special education teacher Kathy Manley-Coburn said DREAM is great for children like Hagen.

“For kids with autism spectrum development this is one of the best programs you can find,” she said.

DREAM started in 1985 and in its early years worked to create wheelchair accessible trails at Glacier National Park and Woodland Park in Kalispell.

They acquired adaptive snow-skiing equipment and began offering alpine skiing to people with disabilities at Whitefish Mountain Resort. 

DREAM has acquired their adaptive equipment through grant writing, donations and corporate sponsorships. The organization relies heavily on volunteers.

In 2009 they added their summer program on Echo Lake.

“Disabled water sports is something that is very popular,” DREAM Executive Director Cheri Carlson said. It is also an inclusive sport, she said, that family and friends can join in with.

“This gives them the opportunity to come out and play with family and friends and with people who are similar to them,” Carlson said.

For many people the program gives them an opportunity to try something they might not otherwise be able to do.

“Adaptive equipment is very, very expensive,” Carlson said. “That’s why an adaptive program like DREAM is here. It breaks down the barriers for them to participate equally.”