Welcome to the WAVES Project
What does "disability" mean?
What does having a disability mean?
How do you experience and go through life while having a disability?
There is no one answer to these questions!
Depending on who you are, where you live, and what you've been taught - you will have different perspectives and experiences.
This project was created to collect stories from around the world about the different ways of knowing and understanding disability from around the world! We hope that through this we can inspire and educate people to broaden their understanding and acceptance of disability.
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What This Project Is
Our goal was to create a platform (this website) to gather and share people's stories of their experience and meaning of disability. Therefore we invite you to submit a story (whether it's an essay, poem, video, voice memo, etc) that we will share under the "stories" section. No matter what media you use or language you submit in, we know that your voice needs to be heard - and now, there is a place for people to listen.
Who We Are
We are a group of physiotherapists from around the world (Canada, Suriname, India, and Nigeria).
Our careers as physiotherapists have led us to work with so many individuals living with disabilities over the years. We realized that social and systematic differences throughout the world impact the views and resources available for the people we are treating and the conditions they have. This inspired our WAVES project - to give people with disabilities a place to share their stories.
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We are presenting at the World Physiotherapy Congress in 2025 about how disability informs physiotherapy practices globally. To enhance our presentation, we are gathering stories globally!
Below, you can read about all of our backgrounds and interests within our practice.
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Our Team
Adesola Odole
Nigeria​
Adesola Odole is a Professor of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and Health Outcomes Assessment & Chair, Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan CoMUI). She has a Ph.D. in Orthopaedic Physiotherapy, and a MSc. degree in Biomedical Education. She can be described through the lens of an educator, a researcher and a clinician. She is the Chair, E-learning Committee, CoMUI. She was the University of Ibadan coordinator for a training organized by the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Partnership for Enhanced Blended Learning (West Africa). She is a Board Member, International Society of Quality-of-Life Research. She is a member of the Board of trustees of the Association of Clinical and Academic Physiotherapists of Nigeria. In the past 5 years, she has made over 20 presentations at National and International conferences including at the World Physical Therapy Congress. Her most recent publications can be found at https://doi.org/10.1186/s43161-024-00228-0 ; https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gmj.v58i1.13 & https://doi.org/10.1186/s43161-024-00248-w
She has over 35 years of physiotherapy practice. Her teaching, scholarship, and clinical practice have been geared towards musculoskeletal health, health outcomes assessment, chronic non-communicable disease epidemiology, physiotherapy education and digital health interventions. She is passionately interested in improved access to healthcare for the marginalized (particularly persons with disabilities and the elderly). She is a strong advocate for inclusion of persons with disabilities in climate change initiatives. She is on the advisory boards of “Sustain Our Abilities (NGO on climate change and persons with disabilities), and Rebuilding Hope on the Wheels Initiative (NGO on persons with disabilities in Nigeria). She is a global ambassador on climate action with the Global Environmental and Climate Conservation initiative. She has avid interest in promoting health (in a person-centred approach) and the integration of health outcomes’ measures particularly in musculoskeletal health through education, advocacy, and research. She is a reviewer of many local and international journals and she has over 150 scientific publications in reputable journals. She is a recipient of various fellowships, scholarships and awards
​​Erin Keough
Canada​
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​Erin Keough, M.Sc.Kin, M.Sc.A. PT, pht is a clinical practitioner in Canada, specializing in internal medicine. Erin holds two master degrees: one in Kinesiology from Memorial University of Newfoundland and one in Physical Therapy from McGill University. Erin has taught multiple courses at Memorial University, and guest lectured at McGill University and the University of Valencia. Erin also received the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council award for her dedicated research on experiential learning through internships. Erin was diagnosed with a chronic disability in 2016 and since then has used her lived experiences as a platform to deconstruct disability politics and pedagogies. This led Erin to become a co-founder of Justice Centered Rehab, an organization created to bring awareness to social justice and health inequity around the world. Here, Erin used her lived-experiences to deconstruct social norms and decolonize healthcare in her area. Erin is also a regular guest lecturer at McGill University in the Faculty of Medicine where she shares her journey from patient to practitioner.
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Noémie Tito
Canada​​​
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Noémie graduated from McGill University with a Masters and physiotherapy and moved to Victoria in 2023 in search of new adventures and the West Coast lifestyle.
Throughout her career, she has cultivated a diverse clinical experience having treated varsity athletes, worked in a hospital setting, completed an internship in India, and treated seniors in a homecare setting with her approach always revolving around a patient-partner philosophy.
Beyond her clinical experience, Noémie possesses a deep passion for global health and justice-centered rehabilitation and actively engages in initiatives and collaborations that promote equal access to quality care for under-served communities.
Outside of her work, Noémie loves exploring the world and immersing herself in nature. She has a strong affinity for travel, seeking out new cultures and experiences and spending time in the great outdoors, whether it be rock climbing in Morocco, running, or hiking the West Coast Trail!
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Ruby Chin a Fat
Suriname
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Ruby Chin A Fat is a lecturer and an early career researcher at the Physiotherapy department of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. Suriname is a middle-income country located on the north-east coast of South America. Her research focus is on the early detection and intervention of Cerebral Palsy. She is in charge of the Surinamese Cerebral Palsy Register and Chair of the Sport, Mi Kan Du Foundation, an adapted sports program for children with a motor disability in Suriname. Ruby is a physiotherapist with a focus on home-training of children with a motor disability. In the past 5 years, she has been involved in international BIP programs where she gave multiple presentations on Rehabilitation in Low and Middle Income Countries and mentored international students on intercultural and multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Through different projects, she is involved in raising awareness on Cerebral Palsy (CP), family engagement and inclusion of children with a disability especially in the field of sports participation. She is also involved in projects that increase opportunities and the quality of CP treatments in Suriname. Recent abstract presentations and publications included case studies and the results of the Surinamese CP Register. In the coming year, she will give 2 presentations on the early detection of CP in Low and Middle Income Countries in 2 focused symposia during 2 congresses.
Se-Sergio Baldew
Suriname
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Dr. Se-Sergio Baldew is a physical therapist and rehabilitation scientist who completed his PhD at the KULeuven, Belgium on physical activity, fitness and cardiovascular risk factors in Suriname. Currently, he is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname. His research focusses on setting up the Heart Failure Management Program in Suriname in collaboration with the Thorax Center Paramaribo of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, Suriname and on interventions to improve regular physical activity in patients with cardiovascular risk factors and diseases and in the general population. In his role as one of the board of director members of the South American Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior Network (SAPASEN) he promotes physical activity research in South America and with other South American researchers and policy makers works on developing implementation strategies that fit the context of the continent.
Sidhi Mohapatra
India
Sidhi Mohapatra serves as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), India. Currently pursuing a PhD in Disability Studies and Environmental Psychology, Sidhiprada is deeply committed to advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities at both the local community and administrative levels. She is the Coordinator for the Centre for Comprehensive Rehabilitation, MAHE that strives for social justice and equity in the areas of disability, occupational and environmental justice. Additionally, she holds the position of Deputy Member Secretary of the Institutional Ethics Committee at Kasturba Hospital and is a recipient of a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Law and Ethics. Her areas of interest include community-based rehabilitation, ethics, equity, and social and occupational justice. Her recent publications can be found at Sidhiprada Mohapatra — Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India. Passionate about innovative teaching methods, Sidhiprada recently initiated a program in Disability and Health, emphasizing alternative teaching-learning approaches beyond traditional methods. She has also received international grants and a Bursary award in recognition of her contributions to the field. Her dedication to advancing disability studies and health education underscores her commitment to making a positive impact in her community and the Physiotherapy discipline.​
Stephanie Molloy
Canada
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​Stephanie Molloy, PT, MScA obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Manitoba, followed by her Master’s in Physical Therapy from McGill University. Despite being a recent graduate, she has been contributing to the field of physiotherapy since the start of her schooling. Her largest impact has been through co-founding Justice Centered Rehab, an organization based on health justice and equity which creates accessible events and knowledge translation. Through her work she has hosted many webinars on a variety of topics, presented at the University of Valencia on planetary health, and presented at the International Environmental Physiotherapy Festival. Presently, she is the Education Office within the Canadian Physiotherapy Association’s Global Health Division. Fittingly, she co-chaired the Global Health Networking session at the WPC Congress 2023 in Dubai. Less formally, she has been a guest on physiotherapy podcasts including McGill Global Health Rehabilitation Initiative podcast and University of Toronto’s Rehabink, as well as has written many blog posts on health justice, equity, and change
