What are you reading? A guide to magazines for people with MS.

What do the following have in common: People; Better Homes and Gardens; Sports Illustrated; Money? They are all popular magazines written for the general readership. You can find each of them at nearly any newsstand.

What about these: WeMedia; New Mobility; Ragged Edge; Kaleidoscope? They are all "specialty" magazines written for and often by people with disabilities. Chances are, you won't find them at your local newsstand.

When I first started looking for magazines addressing the interests and needs of people with MS, I found very little. Besides InsideMS, there was Multiple Sclerosis Quarterly Report (MSQR), which is filled with articles on treatment options, research news, and symptom management of MS. Beyond that, there was the quarterly newsletter published by my local Society chapter and an occasional newspaper article about some celebrity just diagnosed with MS.

But by searching on the Internet and querying friends, I discovered almost a dozen other periodicals--a world of information in print! While not specifically for people with MS, each addresses issues faced by people with a disability and those close to them.

WeMedia, New Mobility, and Palaestra are beautiful, glossy, and uplifting "lifestyle" magazines. A recent issue of WeMedia included stories on the top 10 cars for drivers with disabilities, wheelchair sports, mothering, and fashion. Regular columns are devoted to politics, books, and new movies.

New Mobility covers a range of material from travel and entertainment to political activism. "MS Life" is a regular column. Each July they publish a substantial "Consumer Guide".

Palaestra features articles on athletic events, physical rehabilitation, and recreation. Regular columns focus on important legislative issues, research, and sports nutrition.

Both Paraplegia News and Sports 'n Spokes are published by Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), but are also available to non-veterans. Don't be scared off by the word "paraplegia": Paraplegia News is for people with a range of disabilities, and covers topics such as spinal cord injury research, legislation, computer accessibility, and human interest.

Sports 'n Spokes focuses on sports and recreation for those in wheelchairs, especially training, exercise, and international events and competitions.

An "adaptive resource guide", the Disabled Dealer features advertising from both individuals and dealers selling wheelchairs, accessible vans, and other adaptive equipment. Exhaustive lists of regional and national happenings, organizations, and services are also included.

Kaleidoscope is one-of-a-kind: "an international magazine of literature, fine arts, and disability". By publishing poetry, fiction, personal essays, and art, Kaleidoscope is not only a venue for the writer or artist with a disability, but serves family members, health-care professionals, and others. It's a beautiful journal, filled with creative and moving pieces.

Open World colorfully documents travelers with disabilities who have ventured to surprising places. A recent issue's destinations included Peru, Ireland, and Jordan, as well as the Grand Canyon and caves in Arizona. Advertising provides further resources, including information on travel agents and tour guides who work with people with disabilities.

Readers may find Ragged Edge and Mouth irreverent, even shocking. Ragged Edge covers news of court cases affecting Americans with disabilities, Social Security matters, right-to-die issues, along with vocational rehabilitation, access, and more.

Mouth covers similar issues, but the editors "kick it up a notch." Both include articles by writers and lawyers who are disabled, and others who work with disabled groups. While not for everyone, Ragged Edge and Mouth represent the radical front lines of advocacy and disability rights.

Whether disturbing or uplifting, knowledge and information ultimately provide us with tools, and may give us the courage to try something new or different. You may like some of these periodicals and not others, but they will all make you think.

Subscription information

Disabled Dealer: $18.00 a year (12 issues). Toll-flee: 888-651-0666. <www.disableddealer.com>

Kaleidoscope: $10.00 a year (2 issues). United Disability Services, Inc., 701 South Main Street, Akron, OH 44311-1019. Tel: [phone].

Mouth: $16.00 a year (6 issues). P.O. Box 558, Topeka, KS 66601-0558. <www.mouthmag.com>

Multiple Sclerosis Quarterly Report (MSQR). Free to people with MS who agree to be part of the research database of the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS). Toll-free: 800-253-7884. <www.mscare.org>

New Mobility: $27.95 a year (12 issues). P.O. Box 220, Horsham, PA 19044. <www.newmobility.com>

Open World: $13.00 (4 issues). 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite 610, New York, NY 10016. Phone: [phone]. <www.sath.org>

Palaestra: $19.00 a year (4 issues). Circulation Department, Challenge Publications, Ltd., P.O. Box 508, Macomb, IL 61455. Tel: [phone]. <www.palaestra.com>

Paraplegia News: $23.00 a year (12 issues). Toll-free: 888-888-2201. <www.pn-magazine.com/PN>

Ragged Edge: $17.50 a year (6 issues). Advocado Press, P.O. Box 145, Louisville, KY 40201. <www.ragged-edge-mag.com>

Sports 'n Spokes: $21.00 a year (8 issues). Toll-free: 888-888-2201. <www.sportsnspokes.com/sns>

WeMedia: Readers of InsideMS get one year (6 issues) free. Toll-free: 877-935-6789. <www.wemedia.com/free magazine>. To receive the magazine on tape free of charge, contact: Cassette Library, The Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 West 65th Street, New York, NY 10023. Tel: [phone].

Jane Gershaw is retired from a 25-year career as a clinical psychologist with the VA Medical Center in Syracuse, New York. She wrote on the Internet as an antidepressant in our Spring 2001 issue.