This week David Hirsch talks with fellow Illini Adam Bleakney, head coach of the wheelchair track program, which is part of the Division Of Disability Resources & Educational Services in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

We also meet: Amanda McGrory and Brian Siemann, two University of Illinois graduates who were part of the wheelchair track team and who have both competed in numerous international Paralympic events.

You’ll learn about their backstories, what brought them to the world of adaptive athletics at UofI, as well as how their university experience has allowed them to prosper, find meaningful employment, to compete at the highest levels internationally and to see the world.

It’s an amazing trio of stories that you’ll hear on this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad podcast.

University of Illinois Adaptive Athletics Programs – https://www.disability.illinois.edu

LinkedIn –
Adam - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-bleakney-4ba61421/
Amanda - https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-mcgrory/

Email Addresses –
Adam - bleakney@illinois.edu
Amanda - mcgrory.amanda@gmail.com
Brian - siemann1@illinois.edu

Transverse Myelitis – https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/7796/transverse-myelitis

Special Fathers Network -
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 500+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated. There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."

SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.

Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/about-the-special-fathers-network/

Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/