Disaboom was a

social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, ac ...

for people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

, as well as their family members, friends,

caregivers A caregiver or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most comm ...

, and employers. It was the largest

social network service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...

and information resource for people with disabilities and had 90,000 registered users. In July 2008, the website had 21,000 daily visits. It received revenue from advertising. The company was headquartered in

Lone Tree, Colorado The City of Lone Tree is a home rule municipality located in northern Douglas County, Colorado, United States. Lone Tree is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city population was 10,218 at the 2010 ...

. The website was shut down in 2010.

History

Disaboom.com was founded in September 2006 by J. Glen House, MD, a board-certified physician specializing in the area of

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal co ...

. Rendered a C-7

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

after breaking his neck in a

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...

accident at the age of 20, Dr. House went on to pursue a career in medicine despite losing the use of his legs and dexterity in his hands. The first student in a wheelchair to graduate from the

University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) is a large public medical school in the northwest United States, located in Seattle and affiliated with the University of Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Grad ...

, he is board certified in both

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

and Spinal Cord Medicine. In addition to being an integral part of disaboom.com, he is the President of the Colorado Rehabilitation Physicians, President of the medical device company Flexlife, and medical director of the Center for Neuro & Trauma Rehabilitation at

Penrose Hospital Penrose Hospital is a 364-bed hospital hospital located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and owned by Penrose-Saint Francis Health Services. The campus includes Penrose Hospital, the Penrose Cancer Center, the E Tower building, the Penrose Pavilion, ...

in Colorado Springs, Colorado. April 23, 2013 – Disaboom moved its focus to media aggregation and advocacy with this move it shutdown its primary websites. In April 2007, the company raised $2.89 million by selling shares in a

private placement Private placement (or non-public offering) is a funding round of securities which are sold not through a public offering, but rather through a private offering, mostly to a small number of chosen investors. Generally, these investors include frie ...

for 50 cents each. In May 2007, the company received approval to list its stock on the

OTC Bulletin Board The OTC (Over-The-Counter) Bulletin Board or OTCBB was a United States quotation medium operated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for its subscribing members. FINRA closed the OTCBB on November 8, 2021. The board was used for ...

Site organization

The disaboom.com model integrated social networking features that provide members with tools to blog, participate in

discussion boards An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...

, and engage in real time

chat Chat or chats may refer to: Communication * Conversation, particularly casual * Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time * Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat * SMS chat, a form of text messagin ...

. Additionally, the site provides health and lifestyle

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: ...

that are written by professionals and updated regularly.

Health

The health section features articles written by medical professionals on a variety of disabilities including

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be p ...

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily af ...

, multiple sclerosis,

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a medical condition defined by the presence of chronic widespread pain, fatigue, waking unrefreshed, cognitive symptoms, lower abdominal pain or cramps, and depression. Other symptoms include insomnia and a general hype ...

and other disabilities and functional limitations. Articles on

pain medication An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It ...

, rehabilitation, and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

issues are also present. The site is updated regularly with new articles.

Living

The living section contained articles on

Intimate relationship An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, ...

s, health and

physical fitness Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physic ...

, sports,

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or ple ...

, and living with disabilities. Although the content is catered towards those with disabilities, the subject matter is often not specific to the disabled community, and may have general appeal.

Media Room

The media room features video of individuals with disabilities skiing, snowboarding, playing basketball, lifting weights and engaging in other physical activities. Many individuals featured in the Media Room videos have a

, including rap artists Four Wheel City.

Community

Disaboom members had the option of setting up their own

User profile A user profile is a collection of settings and information associated with a user. It contains critical information that is used to identify an individual, such as their name, age, portrait photograph and individual characteristics such as ...

s, which included an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

, a biography, and the option to start a blog. Recent blog posts were displayed in the main community section. Members were also able to select other members as their favorites. The activity of a member's favorites was tracked and summarized using the "My Disaboom" feature.

Discussions

The disaboom.com discussion section contained over 35

Internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least tempora ...

s, with over 7,000 threads ranging from health conditions to relationship advice, political dialogue, and more. Only

sysop A sysop (; an abbreviation of system operator) is an administrator of a multi-user computer system, such as a bulletin board system (BBS) or an online service virtual community.Jansen, E. & James,V. (2002). NetLingo: the Internet dictionary. Net ...

s were able to start forums, but any member was able to create a new topic.

Reviews

The disaboom.com

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

section contained reviews on the accessibility and quality of

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

attractions Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

, medical equipment, and other items such as

automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

and miscellaneous

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are Electronics, electronic (Analogue electronics, analog or digital electronics, digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for ...

Career Center

The Disaboom career center offered employment listings targeted toward people with disabilities. Some listings were for companies that hired continually for positions available to those with disabilities, while other listings are for specific opportunities.

Advertising campaign

Disaboom's initial

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it att ...

focused on featuring musicians,

athletes An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-dev ...

parents A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

, and models with disabilities who have successful careers in their fields.

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

John Register John Register (1939–1996) was an American realist artist noted for his paintings and drawings, which were notably often minimalist, spare depictions of hotels, cafés, and empty chairs. Background Register was born in 1939 in New York City to ...

, actor and

amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...

John Siciliano, and the hip-hop duo Four Wheel City—composed of two

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

who were paralyzed from stray

gunshot A gunshot is a single discharge of a gun, typically a man-portable firearm, producing a visible flash, a powerful and loud shockwave and often chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a ballistic wound caused by such a disch ...

wounds—were all featured. The ads also took

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

of disabled people and used their deprecating language in empowering ways.

References

{{Reflist Defunct American websites Internet properties disestablished in 2010 Internet properties established in 2006