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Growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, the now self-described “Carrie Bradshaw” of women who use wheelchairs, was just like any other girl – she loved playing with her Barbie dolls and she dreamed of growing up to be a beautiful woman with a doting husband – but she was also a wheelchair-user.
At the age of 3, Danielle’s Spinal Muscular Atrophy progressed to the point where she could no longer walk, and since, she’s been a full-time wheelchair-user. Danielle is without question an expert at living life fabulously sitting down, especially when it comes to dating and sexuality.
A clinical psychologist for people with disabilities on dating and sexuality, Ms. Wheelchair New York 2012 and a model in the upcoming revamped Raw Beauty campaign by The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, read on for the truly awesome story of Dr. Sheypuk.
Why She’s Fearless
As a little girl and a teenager with a disability, Dr. Sheypuk always wished she could’ve been more active – dreaming she could dance on her two feet and cheerlead, but that chance never presented itself. Instead, after high school, she decided to attend Marywood University.
After receiving her bachelor’s, Dr. Sheypuk moved to Manhattan to study her PhD in clinical psychology from The New School for Social Research. She went on to receive her PhD and went to work as a clinical psychologist for people with disabilities, focusing on dating and sexuality, and she first found a job with the Manhattan Psychiatric Center.
Dr. Sheypuk’s passion on the dating and sexuality of the disabled without question began in her teen years, when she herself had no role model – a strong woman with a disability – to look up to. Every person with a disability knows the particularly difficult time we have in the romance department. This is why she’s made it her life mission to help people with disabilities in this badly needed area, as well as make it her platform when she was Ms. Wheelchair New York 2012.
As Ms. Wheelchair New York, her platform, which she carried to the national pageant (and won runner up), was that people with disabilities can be sexy, beautiful partners. Seeing people with disabilities as sexual beings is a stereotype Dr. Sheypuk wants to erase, and she believes people with disabilities being in the media and portrayed as desirable is a great way to make it happen.
What Was Next?
Dr. Sheypuk skyrocketed to greater fame when she became the first model who uses a wheelchair to roll a catwalk during New York City’s Fashion Week, which she did in 2014. She made news around the world and she started a trend. She was able to snag this amazing opportunity after a chance meeting with fashion designer Carrie Hammer at a gala event.
Dr. Sheypuk has also been a spokesperson for the stateside branch of Models of Diversity, a UK-based organization dedicated to having more people with disabilities in the fashion world, and for Raw Beauty, a photo project by The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Dr. Sheypuk currently stays busy giving presentations on sex, dating and disability at rehab centers across the US, as well as her practice as a clinical psychologist.
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