Experience: Abilities Expo 2026

A Weekend We Look Forward To

The Abilities Expo is one of those weekends we circle on the calendar every year. It's local - Schaumburg is basically in our backyard - and it's the kind of event where you can spend three days exploring adaptive tools, watching demonstrations, meeting incredible organizations, and just being in a space built for people in the disability community and beyond. We've gone for years now: pickleball clinics, medical speakers, entertainment, a rock climbing wall that Mackenzie treats like her personal playground, and always, always a stop to say hi to our friends at GLASA and the Illinois Assistive Technology Program.

But this year had an extra layer we'd been looking forward to for months: Mackenzie walked the runway.

How This Came To Be: Model on the Runway of Dreams

A while back, I'd been following Runway of Dreams - a nonprofit championing adaptive and universally designed apparel, founded by Mindy Scheier after her son, who has a disability, wanted to wear jeans like everyone else and couldn't find any that worked for him. That single moment turned into an organization reshaping how the fashion industry thinks about clothing - partnering with brands like Target, Kohl's, and Tommy Hilfiger to get adaptive apparel onto real shelves, and building GAMUT Management, which represents models and talent with disabilities and helps brands authentically design for and market to the adaptive community.

When Runway of Dreams announced they were partnering with Abilities Expo to bring adaptive fashion shows to several stops on the tour - including Schaumburg - I asked Mackenzie if she wanted us to apply. Her answer was immediate: "Absolutely!" When we got the call that she was in, she was over the moon. She'd be walking in three shows over the weekend, modeling adaptive apparel just fifteen minutes from our own house.

Showtime

Then it was showtime. Mackenzie changed into her Sense-ational You outfit and lined up with the other kids and adults walking and rolling through the show. She peeked through the curtain to scope out the crowd - looking for Grandma and Daddy - and found it wasn't too packed, which she could handle.

The team introduced Mindy, who shared her story with the crowd (and looked incredible doing it). At one point she had the whole room chanting back and forth with her - "Look good!" "Feel good!" - because, as she put it, everyone knows the two go hand in hand.

The Outfit: Built For Her, Not Just Around Her

We met the Runway of Dreams team on site, including Mindy herself (yes, I fangirled a little), Debbie, and local tailor, Korri from Uncommon Closet, who fitted Mackenzie's outfit - a set of pants, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt designed by Sense-ational You. They took her measurements and tailored the waist and sleeves so her limb difference would be visible and unhidden, exactly as it should be. The pieces themselves were designed with sensory needs and independent dressing in mind - flat seams, no tags, magnetic closures she could manage on her own, and pockets built for the things kids actually want to carry around. It was the first time I'd seen clothing built from the ground up for a body and a brain like hers, instead of clothing that didn't take her uniquely beautiful body shape into mind.

Old Friends, New Friends

Rehearsal is where the weekend really opened up. We got to meet so many friends with a wide range of backgrounds, ages and abilities - some people had traveled in from Virginia, Maine, and Michigan. I finally got to wrap a mom from Texas in a hug after years of following each other's journeys online; her daughter and Mackenzie hit it off instantly, like they'd known each other forever. (We adore you, Katelyn and Addison.)

Before and after the show meant Expo exploring, so we got there early on Friday and Mackenzie had one clear mission: find the booths with candy. We ran into familiar faces from past expos and events, and got a genuinely surprising moment at the Illinois Assistive Technology Program's booth - a photo of Mackenzie, blown up on their display sign, from the day she got fitted for her 3D-printed prosthetic hand at their maker space in Springfield! They even had a replica of her device on display. We caught up with their team, looked through the devices families can test or borrow through school programs, and dropped off a piece of Mackenzie's prosthetic that had broken (I think little brother was messing around with it) so they could fix it. We're already planning for the trip down to Springfield and stops to make to pick it up.

When the music started and the crowd began cheering, I knew Mackenzie's nerves would creep in. She came out for her individual walk looking a little unsure - but she did it. Every single person on that runway looked phenomenal, and the energy in the room was a reminder of how much more is possible when fashion actually meets people where they are - and are part of the design process too!

The kids only had one outfit change; some of the adult models had two. By the time the whole group came back through for the finale, something shifted - someone must have said the right thing to her backstage, because she walked that final pass doing the "6-7" hand motion the entire way, grinning ear to ear. The next two shows were smoother, and easier, and full of the new friends she'd made that weekend. We were grateful for family friends, classmates, coaches and more who came out to cheer her and all of the models on too!

We are so grateful to Mindy and the Runway of Dreams team, and to Abilities Expo, for building a space where my daughter got to be exactly who she is - out loud, unhidden (not that she hides much), and having a blast doing it.

"Look Good." "Feel Good." The call-and-response Mindy had the entire crowd chanting - because when you look good, you feel good too.

The Industry Wake-Up Call: GAMUT Village

In between shows, we wandered through GAMUT Village, where Sense-ational You and other brands showcased apparel that's earned the GAMUT Seal of Approval - designs vetted by occupational and physical therapists, designers, and people with disabilities themselves.

adidas
French Toast
G-III Apparel Group
Volto Santo
SOLACE Collective
Sense-ational You
Victoria's Secret

There's something different about getting to actually touch and try adaptive pieces in person instead of just scrolling past them online - feeling how a closure works, how a seam sits, before making what's usually a real investment for your family.

Mindy summed up exactly why moments like this matter when she told the crowd:

We ended up bringing home one more piece from Sense-ational You: a sound-reducing sensory hoodie with a noise-dampening hood and a built-in eye mask, designed to give kids a portable sensory break wherever they go.

The Rest of the Weekend

The rest of our time at the Expo was pure kid joy: at least five trips up the rock wall (most of them in sandals, because she wasn't stopping long enough to put on the sneakers), mini horses, face painting, and candy-booth scouting between every stop.

If you don't personally need adaptive clothing, you probably know someone who does - so save this, share it, and keep an eye out for Runway of Dreams and Abilities Expo at future stops, and hopefully we'll see them back here in Schaumburg next June!

Find links to more adaptive apparel options on our website: Adaptive Apparel

"Spread the word - let's get the industry to listen."

- Mindy Scheier

Support

The Limb Difference Collective Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 33-3938100) based in Illinois. We are proud to support families in the limb difference community across Chicagoland and beyond by providing resources, support, and opportunities to connect. Every contribution—whether financial or in-kind—helps this grow, uplift our community, and make lasting change.

Together, we can make a difference for those just beginning their journey or wanting to get more involved. Thank you for being part of this adventure.

info@limbdifferencecollective.org

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