Podcast Ep208 Jen and Codi Mendenhall
Didrik Johnck: Welcome, welcome to The No Barriers Podcast, hosted by Erik Weihenmayer. You'll hear from him in just a minute. Today, Codi sits down with Mother Daughter power duo, Jen and Codi Mendenhall. This isn't just another story about overcoming obstacles. It's a firsthand look at how technology, advocacy, and good old adventure can transform lives.
Codi, a recent high school grad, shares how technology, like her communication device, affectionately called her "talker", has been a literal game changer in giving her a vibrant, independent voice. She brings a refreshing perspective on independence, friendship, and living life to the fullest. Jen, her equally unstoppable mom shares a wealth of wisdom on building support systems and making the outdoors accessible for all.
If you're curious about adaptive tech on a window into accessible adventures, or just need a big dose of possibility, stay tuned. As always, Codi brings the warmth and real talk you've come to expect. All right, let's get into it. I'm Producer Didrik Johnck, and this is The No Barriers Podcast.
Erik Weihenmayer: It's easy to talk about the successes, but what doesn't get talked about enough? Is the struggle. My name is Erik Weihenmayer. I've gotten the chance to ascend Mount Everest, to climb the tallest mountain in every continent, to kayak the Grand Canyon, and I happen to be blind. It's been a struggle to live what I call a no barriers life, to define it, to push the parameters of what it means.
And part of the equation is diving into the learning process and trying to illuminate the universal elements that exist along the way. And that unexplored terrain between those dark places we find ourselves in and the summit exists a map. That map that way forward is what we call no barriers.
Hey everybody, this is Erik Weihenmayer. Welcome to the No Barriers Podcast. We have some uh, awesome folks. mom and daughter on, Jen and Codi. Uh, you guys have been part of the No Barriers community for a while. And uh, last time I think we talked, we were at Chatauqua at a No Barriers event and I interviewed you guys on stage.
And so I just, I just have such good memories of that codi. you answered all my questions so well and articulately, but then you did the quintessential teenager thing. You busted on me. I love that. That was my favorite part. I think you said something like, Let's get out hiking. This interview is getting boring or something like that, and I was just like, you know what?
Doesn't matter who you are, teenagers are gonna bust on you. So
Jen Mendenhall: Exactly. She was ready to go.
Erik Weihenmayer: She was ready to go hiking. Yeah. Uh, Codi, you want to introduce yourself?
Codi Mendenhall: Hello, my name is Codi Mendenhall. It's so good to chat with you again. Codi. Thank you for having me on your podcast.
Erik Weihenmayer: Sweet. I'm so happy you guys are on board and part of our community.
Gents, tell me, um, where you guys are right now. Like, describe the setting. 'cause I, you told me earlier you were in, Codi's room.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes. So Codi has a huge room because she uses a power wheelchair. So she has the master room actually, and the wall, one of the walls is painted pink and purple; 'cause those are her favorite.
Erik Weihenmayer: Those are favorites, yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes. And her dog is laying on the bed here next to us. His, her name is Riley. And then. Background. Codi has her big, huge curved screen that she uses for gaming and for school 'cause she does online school and her computer set up some pictures of friends. And then above everything are two no barriers flags that are hanging up on the wall.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy. Codi. So, uh, you had a big year. This was your senior year, I think you just graduated not too long ago, a couple weeks ago. And, uh, you went to your prom, you went to your graduation. Uh, tell me a little bit about those highlights.
Codi Mendenhall: I live in Grand Junction, Colorado. My life is very fun and active.
I went to my senior prom a few weeks ago. I wore a long purple dress with pearly flowers on it. I danced with my friends and had a fun night.
Erik Weihenmayer: Ah, sweet. And you got to go to your graduation ceremony too?
Codi Mendenhall: Yep.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh.
Codi Mendenhall: I just graduated high school from Grand River Academy. I gave a graduation speech with my talker, which is what I call my communication device.
Erik Weihenmayer: Rad. What a year, huh?
Codi Mendenhall: Yeah.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Oh my gosh. I'm so proud of you. Jen. Tell me, or, or Codi, either one of you, tell me about the iPad that you're using and the technology that you're using. And one thing I want to say, and I think it's important for people 'cause people don't know the words to use and things like that, uh, these days, it's so confusing, right?
Like, and so I'd always said, nonverbal and then I realized I'm an idiot because you, you're not nonverbal, you're non-speaking, right? So like you speak and you're incredibly articulate and verbal, right? So I think that's a misnomer when people say nonverbal, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Y. Yeah, definitely. And for years I would say she was considered nonverbal until you meet her and you understand that she has many forms of communication. Right. And it took, you know, even as a parent, you get mixed up with what those words are like. Some parents don't like to use disability, some don't like to use special education or special needs. So it's kind of wherever somebody's comfort zone is.
But we were fortunate that, um, Codi was definitely born in the age of technology. She was born in 2006, so things were just starting to pick up. And when she was younger, she used, what was called like a cheap talk eight. And you could record messages in it and then put a picture on it, and then she'd push the button in it, it would say, mom, I need whatever it might've been.
So that's kind of how things started. And then it went to a, a bigger book that she would use to communicate all along while working on her own word approximations and some sign language and creating her own sign language basically.
Erik Weihenmayer: Jen, is that like, so you're, when you said a book, like it's just a regular book and you would point to like the thing you wanted to say.
Or what?
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, well, the, the therapist copy would be, a hundred pages of different little pictures that we still use kind of on her communication device. Right. I'm losing the name of it right now, but it's kind of a universal symbol language.
Erik Weihenmayer: I see.
Jen Mendenhall: So then you would flip through and, you know, say I want a carrot, or I need to go to the bathroom.
Just, point to those different pictures. But if you have Cere, cerebral palsy, or other motor types of disabilities, then that becomes really cumbersome as well. So we were so thankful we were on it. Codi was born in Alaska and my parents lived here in Grand Junction and we were flying on the way home to see my parents.
And this little kid was watching a cartoon on this little device and I was like, what is the world? Is that we need that? And it was an iPod. And so when she was four or five, we got her first iPod that had the Proloquo2Go, which is the, Apple based software communication device.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And was that really hard to learn?
I have so many questions around that. Like Codi, like, so what age were you? Let me just start with that. when you got that technology,
Jen Mendenhall: I'm pretty sure she was four.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And then because I mean, imagine not being, like, to have all these thoughts and ideas and things that you want to communicate and you, you have no means to do it.
So like that just is like, it almost brings tears to my eyes, you know, being able to communicate and verbalize with the world. Right. And friendships. And so much of it is based on, on words, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Oh yeah. It's, it really was heartbreaking a lot of times, and especially as she went through the school systems.
You know, it's difficult for people to wait. And let her put stuff into her communication device to get that out. Right. So even in schools, the teachers were got used to saying, okay, Codi, I'm going to call on you and three people. Please. You know, get your answer ready.
Erik Weihenmayer: So that's smart, huh? Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. And then she had, she's had amazing speech therapist throughout her life that have really helped her. But, you know, and she was really resilient or resistant to using it when she was younger because she had me to interpret for her. So she, you know, really had to, to learn to use that on her own as, as she accepted a, she got bigger, that this was going to be a way of communic of communicating?
Erik Weihenmayer: Reminds me of like, not exactly, but just a little bit. Like, there's this guy in the supermarket that bags my groceries. He is a great guy, and he's like, has a stutter, and like people wanna finish his sentences, you know what I mean? They're like broom dustpan, you know what I mean? Trying to finish his sentences all the time and he's, you're just like, stop, just let the guy finish his sentence.
So you just have to have a little bit more patience, right?
Jen Mendenhall: That happens to her all the time.
Erik Weihenmayer: Tell me how hard it was to learn to use that technology.
Jen Mendenhall: For her, she learned it very quickly. Uhhuh, she's very tech savvy and I think kids of her generation, for the most part, are really in tune to what that technology is.
And I was thankful we found this Proloquo2Go because there was also dedicated devices. Like she uses this on an iPad, right? But then there was also. dedicated device,
Erik Weihenmayer: Which is great. 'cause that's a universal techno, you know what I mean? Technology with a, what I imagine that's an app, right? That you put on there?
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, it's an app. And then she has all of her other stuff on here. You know, she's got her, her, um, all of her music and her pictures. And so she has more than just a dedicated device. And as a parent, those dedicated devices were extremely difficult to program and make it more for her, um, and add in the everything that she needed to be able to speak.
And so when we found the iPad and the the iOS systems, it was just a game changer.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh. And we were talking earlier, how'd you choose the voice to fit you? You know what I mean? Like, are there lots of different voices to choose from? Yeah. Uh, you remember my joke? I was like, you could be Australian.
You could be like, hello mate.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes, exactly.
Erik Weihenmayer: There you go.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. And there's a few mostly, I mean, you can download quite a few, uh, and a lot of them like this, this one that she uses is called Adult Tracy. Yeah. And there's, Kid Ella or, so this is the one that basically she uses the most, unless she's being silly and wants to change it to German or the bad guy boys or something like that.
And yeah. Which is a lot of fun. And then you can speed it up and slow it down and, and add in inflections. So it's been, life changing really.
Erik Weihenmayer: That's cool. And you had said earlier that in the future there might be like, I don't know, like actors or, or people that read like audible books and things like that, like professional voices that they lend their voice to you. Or something like that.
Jen Mendenhall: Anybody can actually do it. We have a good friend that's that's done it, and I don't know how many hours she spent, but that's what she would do it. That was her donna, her donation, that was her contribution. Her volunteer work is she signed up to be a voiceover and make voices for augmentative communication.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my God. I wonder if you could take like somebody like Marilyn Monroe or something like, hi there, that'd be great.
You don't even know. Codi, you don't even know who she is. She's been gone a long time. She's like, no, she's uh, yeah, that's like old people conversation.
Hey everybody, this is Erik and I want to take a little break from our interview to tell you about No Barriers.
Obviously, we're interviewing these amazing No Barriers pioneers, but behind this podcast is an organization called No Barriers, predicated on the idea that what's within us is stronger than what's in our way. Our mission at No Barriers is to help people. With disabilities to break through barriers, to tap into the light of the human spirit and to reclaim their lives, sometimes to reclaim their potential in the business of shifting mindsets and it's proud work and I hope you'll get involved.
Learn more about us. Check out our newsletter. NoBarriersUSA.org. NoBarriersPodcast.com.
So Codi, tell me about your plans for the future for this summer. You know, anything you want to talk about in terms of now that you're a high school graduate?
Codi Mendenhall: I will be a super senior and stay in school until I'm 21 at Grand River Academy.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh. Cool. And they call that a super senior? Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. Kids in most states that are in special education Yeah. Can stay in school. Mm-hmm. Until they're 21. And she has some more to tell you here too.
Erik Weihenmayer: And in seventh grade you wanted to be a newscaster. I saw that like on a, on your TED talk, I think.
Do you still have that idea, that dream or no? There are other dreams.
Codi Mendenhall: She'll tell you about it here.
Erik Weihenmayer: All right, cool.
Codi Mendenhall: In the past I wanted to be the first newscaster to use a communication device. I also designed a 100 themed room accessible hotel room.
Erik Weihenmayer: I heard about that.
Codi Mendenhall: I started my own cell phone case design business. I designed cases on my iPad. I'm designing a website to sell them. Would you like to buy one?
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. So it it'd be an iPhone case?
Codi Mendenhall: Yes.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. I wanna buy one. I need a new iPhone case. And so they have special designs and things like that.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes. So you buy the blanks and then she designs what it looks like.
Say you could pick mountain climbing and she would pick a theme and put mountain. Cool. And then she uses a sublimation printer and a heat press and puts it on the case.
Erik Weihenmayer: Okay. I'm definitely buying one. Okay. Let's talk afterwards. I'll go. I'll go and do that.
Jen Mendenhall: And she has one more thing to tell you here that she's doing next week.
Erik Weihenmayer: Okay, cool.
Codi Mendenhall: Next week I'm going to a week long camp to learn about animation.
Erik Weihenmayer: Rad. So you're gonna be an animator. Eh. Oh my gosh, that's so cool. And you can do all that on the computer, obviously,
eh?
Oh, wow. How fun. Jen, tell me about your life before Codi came along. What was your,
Jen Mendenhall: oh my goodness. Yeah, I was as a professional, I was in outdoor parks and recreation uhhuh, and worked for a lot of min municipal municipalities.
Worked for the city of Ouray in their hot springs pool. I was their pool manager. Oh my gosh.
Erik Weihenmayer: I've sat in that pool many times.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, it's so, it's a great place and worked in a lot of municipalities around, uh, the state of Colorado Cortez Mancuss. Worked for Four Corners Riverport in Durango. So I've always been really active and really enjoyed being outside mountain biking. Um, RAF I rafted the Grand Canyon three times.
Erik Weihenmayer: Wow.
Jen Mendenhall: We've done, a lot of fun things in life and kind of had a non-traditional route. Started college, took five years off, went back, and just kind of was fortunate enough to follow a lot of adventures and meet some great people and mentors along the way.
And ended up in Alaska, living out in Dutch Harbor as a pool manager out there and met her dad and codi was born in Alaska.
Cool.
And so I just knew when, you know, we were, it was pretty evident early on that Codi's life was going to be different than we had imagined. And I wanted to make sure that she had access to all the fun things that I had been able to do throughout my life, being outside, you know, enjoying her life as much as possible.
And we just had to figure out how to make that happen.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. And you talked about obviously the iPad being like a game changer, but what other milestones can you think about in your guys' lives, in your family, Just things that have made you happy.
Jen Mendenhall: We've had such amazing people in our lives as far as... We call 'em, team Codi, we have, that have supported us for so many years, whether it be helping her accomplish her goals, her teachers at school, just very fortunate.
That people have been willing to step up and help us. I mean, some of my friends from high school that have daughters about her age and you know, they come and hang out with us and they don't see Codi's disabilities necessarily. They might help her stand up and, and walk to another chair or, or help her, pick peaches.
We've gone out picking peaches and make sure that she can reach them or Mm, you know, just. Even the simplest of little things, but um.. And my family, we, like, we moved here to Grand Junction to be closer to grandma and grandpa. So we've just had a really strong support system and part of our advocacy has been to help other people find those support systems and navigate the systems that you need to have to make sure that your life is as successful as it can be when you have a disability.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh, that's good. Yeah. I wanna talk about all the advocacy work that you all do. I, but I love the story about picking peaches because those are like the small things, right? That like, are so important to a family, you know, just getting active. You, Jen and, uh, your husband I'm sure, remind me of my dad. My dad did not let me get left out of anything.
And they were like fierce advocates for me. I remember this quick little story like my brother and cousin were going fishing, with this Uncle Holmesy and he didn't want me on the boat 'cause he's like, I don't wanna be responsible for a blind kid. And my dad was, saw my sad face and uh, he's like, you wanna go fishing?
And I'm like, yeah. So he just shoved me out there. I caught the most fish. My brother got seasick and was miserable. My cousin was too scared to, he had to pee the whole day. He couldn't, he was too scared to pee over the side of the boat and I had the best time and my dad didn't let me miss out. So I think you're very much like that I think.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes, we have definitely tried to make Codi's life as typical as possible. And you know, I follow her lead. We had somebody that wanted to take her skydiving this last summer, and that is something we did not do.
We did have some boundaries, but we did do a skydiving simulator and we were in Phoenix one time.
So I mean, we, we really push that she's enjoying and it also educates other people. Yeah. When they see this young girl in her power wheelchair with a feeding tube connected to her front that's hooked on the back of her wheelchair communication device. And she's a beautiful young woman who's capable of so many things.
And so it helps people kind of, it helps kind of dissipate that gap that others don't understand that, you know, you assume competence.
Erik Weihenmayer: I heard there was another cool story where, Codi, you were able to order, like Taco Bell or something like that, right?
Like using what? Some kind of technology or just the regular, uh, app or what? So you guys wrote about that in your TED Talk, I think, or talked about that? We did, yes.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, so this is a great example of accessibility. That's good for everybody.
Yeah.
We went into Taco Bell because the line was too long outside to wait.
So we actually went in and they had these huge ordering tablets where you can just press. And she could order her own food, paid for it herself, and went up and picked it up herself.
Erik Weihenmayer: Cool. Those are little milestones that are so massively important, right? Just being as independent as you can be. Right.
Makes you feel good.
Jen Mendenhall: It does make her feel good. Yeah. And just like going to the grocery store and I say, Hey, can you go, you know, grab that, that box of cheese for me and she can go get it and put it, bring it back and put it in the cart. Or she can go out and get the mail by herself. Those are the important steps that really help her gain.
Oh, this is great. Last night, even she, her teeth were kind of hurting. She's at that age when, wisdom teeth are starting to be in this.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh yeah, I remember that.
Jen Mendenhall: So she went and got a cup, changed the setting of ice on the refrigerator to crushed; build up a cup and brought it over to me so I could help her eat some crushed ice.
I mean, little things like that create self confidence and be able to give her, you know, the ability... and we try to set up our house and our world that she can have those
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Moments of independence.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, Codi, you and I, I think are, it's to some degree, like we're both very fortunate to live in the modern world, to tap into all those technologies and adaptations and so forth.
And people have a better mindset these days, right? Man, if we lived a hundred years ago, we'd be, we'd be in trouble. Oh yeah,
Jen Mendenhall: yeah. And that's one thing, you know, institutionalization was not that long ago.
Yeah.
And that's a scary thought for me to think about. And that so many people had to suffer through that time and still do in some areas.
I'm very fortunate that yes, that both of you are alive and well in this time.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, me too.
Jen Mendenhall: Technology is better understanding.
Erik Weihenmayer: Give you a high five. Codi there. I just put my hand out.
Jen Mendenhall: Yep, she gave it back.
Erik Weihenmayer: So Codi, tell us about some of the things you like to do as a family, because like the list is pretty damn impressive.
It's skiing, challenger baseball, horseback riding, rock climbing, camping. My gosh, right. You're living more fully than most people.
Codi Mendenhall: I love to be active and social. This past winter I skied at my fifth ski area. I skied a black diamond run.
Erik Weihenmayer: Ha. Nice. Well, you guys live up near Grand Junction, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Yes, we have.
We're by Powderhorn ski area.. Yeah.
Erik Weihenmayer: So that's where you skied Powder Horn, huh? Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: And then she's been to Telluride, Crested Butte.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh.
Jen Mendenhall: A few others.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: What. Okay. She has a few more things she'd like to tell you too.
Erik Weihenmayer: Tell me, tell me.
Codi Mendenhall: I have a Tessier by Ski and I love it. My friend and teacher Kyle skis with me.
Being outside and doing adventures makes me feel so excited. It feels good to get out of my wheelchair and experience new things.
Erik Weihenmayer: Me too.
Codi Mendenhall: I got a new Bambi tandem e- trike for graduation. It is so fast a health pet. I can use an app to change the speeds on it. Erik, would you like to go on a ride with me sometime?
You could steer and I can use my talker to tell you which way to go.
Erik Weihenmayer: I'm down. Maybe we should try, maybe we should try like a field or something first, you know, like avoid the cars and the trees and then Yes. That's, we'll start, be so much fun. And you guys do this together, right? That trike?
Jen Mendenhall: Yes.
Erik Weihenmayer: Mm-hmm.
And you guys fly.
Jen Mendenhall: Oh my gosh, we have so much fun. this new bike is, the suspension on it is so much different and it's so much more user friendly, um, and a lot safer. So it's. We're looking forward to more adventures on that.
Erik Weihenmayer: And that ski device, I think I could, I think it, isn't it called like a Tess Rack or what is it called again?
Jen Mendenhall: It's Tessier is the company. They're from France.
Erik Weihenmayer: Tessier. Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: And so she uses a bi- ski. So she has two skis connected to a, um, a bucket seat that she's in. And then my partner in life, his name is Kyle, and a, a good mentor for her skis with her and is either on te tether or holding onto the um, bar behind her.
And they are just crazy. They go like 40 miles an hour.
Nice.
Codi Mendenhall: My wheelchair is so fun. I've taken it to the mountains, the beach, and I even play challenger baseball in it. I love to camp and have stayed in a yurt a few times.
Erik Weihenmayer: Cool.
Jen Mendenhall: That's fun. Yeah.
Codi Mendenhall: Being on a river is one of my favorite things to do. I love the rapids and getting splashed. I went on the Ruby Horse Thief section of the Colorado River last Sunday. The Black Rocks Rapid was so cool.
Erik Weihenmayer: Nice. I've done that. I've kayaked that section. That is the best. Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: She loved watching your Grand Canyon videos too. Talk about getting splashed. Woo.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Yeah. You get a little more than splashed.
Yeah.
Didrik Johnck: No Barriers would like to recognize and thank CoBank for their support of no Barriers. Since 2016, CoBank has provided access to our life-changing programs for veterans and family caregivers from rural communities. CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the US rural economy.
The bank delivers loans, leases and other financial services to agribusiness, rural infrastructure and farm credit customers in all 50 states. If you live in a rural community or work in agribusiness. We want you to know that CoBank supports this kind of holistic support for your community.
Erik Weihenmayer: Tell me about, uh, camping, like, so there, are there any adaptations?
Like you slept in a yurt, that's cool. But I know they have, tents that you can bring a wheelchair into. I don't know. So do you use anything like that or you just go old school?
Jen Mendenhall: We do a little bit of both, and that's one of the biggest things about outdoor access is it takes a lot to make it happen.
As you know from your planning, yes, to make your adventures. And on a smaller scale, we experience the same things. That's why, I mean, staying in a yurt is really nice because you can get a Ridgeway State Park. We've been to Goblin Valley where you can stay in a wheelchair accessible yurt, which is really nice.
But we also like to, to camp in a tent.
Erik Weihenmayer: Mm-hmm.
Jen Mendenhall: So we do have a, a taller tent that we can roll a wheelchair in, and she has a raised inflatable air mattress that she can get on. You know, but then even making sure that you have access to where you are camping, that we can get a wheelchair there. But state parks especially are very accessible in Colorado anyway, so we have good luck with that.
Yeah, so she loves to go camping, loves to be outside. And we've even taken some of our friends. we did it two years in a row where she has a couple of friends that are very similar. They use power wheelchairs, have feeding tubes, have communication devices. They're a little bit younger than Codi, but they hadn't necessarily been out camping before, so we took all three of the girls out to Ridgeway State Park and they rode the track chairs.
We stayed in the yurt. They had, they, they just had the best time. And we've taken 'em on the river too. And so you have to make modifications to the seat, to the seating to make sure that there's, you know, no pressure sores and make sure everybody's safe. But it's just been wonderful to be able to expose and explore and have fun with.
Mm-hmm. Um, with her friends as well.
Erik Weihenmayer: I've two questions from that. One is, it makes me realize, you know, this kind of tenent, this element of no barriers talking, we call it being a pioneer, just being an engineer of your own destiny, right? And like, wow, as a family you guys have had to really be pioneers like trying to figure stuff out.
'cause I'm sure some things, there's no manual, right? You just have to like, go out there and mull around and, and figure things out as safely as you can, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Oh, no doubt. We've had lots of duct tape and lots of, yeah. Mm-hmm. Um, and that's been that way, whether it be arts and crafts, whether it be going outside, whether it be finding, helping her tools to help her eat.
Yeah. You just have to try to figure it out and be creative and find what works best for her.
Erik Weihenmayer: And those two girls I saw in the TED Talk that you guys, that Codi, you have two really good friends, is that the two friends that, that you hang with.
Jen Mendenhall: Those are actually two more friends. So there's
Erik Weihenmayer: two more friends. Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. So the two we took camping, that's Carolyn and Bella. And then we have Rhiannon and Chloe who are about her her age, are a little bit older. And again, communication devices, wheelchairs. Just really experience the world in their own different way and have had so many fun experiences.
I mean, they go to the movies, they hang out, they, go out and get ice cream. So they, they do a lot of fun things. They go hiking. I mean, we just try to get them involved as much as possible.
Erik Weihenmayer: So fun. I heard you also volunteer, you got 50 hours at the VA hospital. Uh, I also heard you did this really cool leadership course.
Young Emerging Leadership for Disability Power course. I like the part, the end, the power course.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, that course she did two years ago and she had to be accepted in it to it. It was run by the Colorado. Colorado Disability Coalition, I believe.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh yeah. Right. Mm-hmm.
Jen Mendenhall: And so it was all online and it was really, it was pretty tough.
And she said it was, she told me earlier today, she's like, it was kind of boring, but she absolutely. But it was really a good course. It was 10 weeks, of course, but you learned a lot about civics, the Civil Rights Act, about disability law, about how to advocate for yourself.
Erik Weihenmayer: Ah,
Jen Mendenhall: And they had to do a presentation of what they would wanna advocate for.
And her part was,adaptive technology, assistive technology and sports and things like that. If I remember correctly, I think bowling was a part of that. 'cause they're, they do a lot of bowling and they use adaptive switches and stuff
and, and adaptive gaming. So it was,
Erik Weihenmayer: every disabled person should do that course, right.
Yeah. Wow.
Jen Mendenhall: It was, I learned a lot.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Because we all have to learn to be advocates eventually of ourselves, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Mm-hmm.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Huh.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. And she volunteers at the VA with her grandma at the VA hospital, and they deliver mail. She's done that. She was there yesterday, which is she really enjoys.
Erik Weihenmayer: Mm-hmm. And what's your favorite tech these days, Codi? What's your favorite technology that you spend the most time on? Like I heard you do vir, a ton of virtual reality and cool stuff like that.
Codi Mendenhall: Some of my favorite tech things are my sublimation printer and heat press that I used to make cell phone cases.
Jen Mendenhall: So that's her most recent favorite thing. They're all set up on the kitchen counter right now because we're redoing her, her old bedroom, to make that into her office. but in the past, yes, she does have, a virtual reality headset. That was really cool. And she was able to play a lot of different games with that. Mm-hmm. We haven't kept up with the technology on that quite as much.
We could probably make a huge list of all the technology that you use, but she plays a lot of games on, her, i, her phone. Oh. And texting. Texting is a huge thing. Yeah. For her, to be able to communicate with others. She sends out family group chats and, so, so that's been a lot of fun.
Erik Weihenmayer: Codi, do you text a million miles an hour, like most teens?
Jen Mendenhall: Yep. She said she calls herself the texting queen. Nice.
Didrik Johnck: No Barriers would like to thank Maison Hennessy, a partner since 2023 for supporting our projects and closely collaborating with us to promote diversity and inclusion amongst their employees.
Fueled by team spirit and collaboration. Hennessy believes that its rope team is its greatest strength and its greatest responsibility. This year, the world's leading cognac will celebrate 260 years of successes and challenges overcome through the strength of its employees, partners, and consumers across more than 160 countries.
To mark this milestone, Hennessy has commissioned an art piece from John Bramblett, a longtime friend of No Barriers. Thank you Maison Hennessy, for leaning into this no barriers life.
Erik Weihenmayer: Jen, you make these social media videos for AAC teens, I guess that's augmentative and adaptive communication, right?
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. Augmentative. Alternative, alternative communication.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Yeah. That sounds really fun and and important.
Jen Mendenhall: We've done a couple different really cool things with, CU Boulder and the Andrews Medical Campus. Uhhuh, along with, Colorado Office of Employment First and a few other entities where we've done training videos that Codi's used her communication device to talk about school to work employment transitions and employment as a person with a disability. She's also done some advocacy, videos that were actually sent to some of the doctors at the Anschutz Medical Campus about what things are possible when you have a disability, a significant support needs, uhhuh situation. And then we've done a lot of podcasts with different individuals who are advocates in AAC.
As well. So that's been a lot of fun. There's a, if you Google Codi's name there, it pulls up quite a few.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah, a lot. If there was a tech, like if you had unlimited resources, right, and you could like just blink your eye and there'd be something amazing, what would you invent? What would you have in your lives? Anything that you're just like wishing that you had?
Codi Mendenhall: It would be a human copier. I would make copies of people so they would never go away.
Erik Weihenmayer: Oh my gosh.
Jen Mendenhall: I know.
Erik Weihenmayer: I hear you. My God.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, she's,
Erik Weihenmayer: I'd make copies of all the people I've lost my parents. Oh my God, what a great idea.
Jen Mendenhall: I know. It gives me goosebumps.
And she's, Codi is very empathetic and she very is in tune, much in tune with other people. And she, has experienced a lot of loss in her life. Not just from death, but from people leaving that she's attached to, just like we all do. But, um, I'm thankful that she now has the ability to communicate those feelings of sadness and loss and grieving and and just those typical feelings that a teenager or anyone might have about the transitions in life.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. Really incredible. And back to the advocacy is my last question. you guys both just do a ton of ab, you've already mentioned some of the stuff you do, but is there anything really exciting that you're a part of right now or looking forward to?
Jen Mendenhall: Well, I have to tell you kind of a little bit of a long, short story here.
Yeah, do it. And I kinda let, I kinda let Didrik I told him this a little bit too, I think, but a few my, like I said, my passion has always been outdoor recreation, but we've also done a lot of advocacy for, um, like I said, school to work transitions. Um, yes. That type of thing. But really I was, I got the opportunity to work with the Governor's Council for Persons with Disabilities Task Force in Outdoor access this year, which led me to meet a lot of really fun people. And really, look at our own advocacy and where we wanted to go with that. But having said that, about five years ago, I met one of your teammates, Luis Benitez, Luis?
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah. And he was here in Grand Junction talking at the Latin Chamber of Commerce. Commerce.
Erik Weihenmayer: We summited Everest. Like hand in hand. Arm in arm.
Jen Mendenhall: Yes, exactly. So I wanted to go meet him and learn your story and maybe find out how to get more involved with adaptive outdoor recreation. Mm-hmm. So I went to this Chamber of Commerce meeting and he says, you have got to talk to Erik. And so throughout the years of meandering, we finally made it through no, no barriers. And we were, so right now, to make a long story short, we're really wanting to focus on outdoor accessibility. Our next big thing is we're speaking out the Outdoor Recreation and Educators. We're gonna speak at their conference in San Diego in November about outdoor access, I mean, we've, we've kind of do, done a lot of different things and all of it, just trying to bring a awareness to what is possible mm-hmm. And to help families and individuals move forward with their lives. Mm-hmm. And No Barriers has been a perfect fit for that.
Um, and especially with all of the precepts that you put out.
And I think that's just amazing to really help people move along through those.
Erik Weihenmayer: You guys should reach out to the north face. I heard that they just started an adaptive outdoor line. I don't know. Just the example I heard was like a zipper that's easier to open for a pack. You know, just things like that, that they're starting to, to workshop.
Jen Mendenhall: Yeah, definitely.
Erik Weihenmayer: You would be a great athlete for them. Codi,
Jen Mendenhall: that'd be cool, huh? I'd love to check in.
Erik Weihenmayer: Yeah. I think that's awesome. thank you so much guys. Codi, any words of wisdom for other teenagers or other folks?
Codi Mendenhall: As I said in my graduation speech, nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I am possible. So remember, life is not impossible. Just change it to I'm possible.
Erik Weihenmayer: I love it. Love talking to you guys. Thank you so much. No barriers to everyone.
Jen Mendenhall: Thank you.
Didrik Johnck: The production team behind this podcast includes Producer Didrik Johnck. That's me and audio engineer Tyler Kottman. Special thanks to the Dan Ryan Band for our intro song guidance. And thanks to all of you for listening. If you enjoyed this show, please subscribe, share it, and hey, we'd be thrilled for a review.
Show notes can be found at nobarrierspodcast.com. There's also a link there to shoot me an email with any suggestions or guest ideas for the show. Thanks so much and have a great day.
