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It may often be hard to travel, or even just get around town with a bulky wheelchair in tow. That’s why folding wheelchairs are a smart choice for the days when you’re on the move.
Wheelchairs Abound offers a variety of folding wheelchairs. These simple chairs are easy to lift, and fold up small enough to fit into a car for easy, everyday use.
Wheelchairs Abound offers a variety of reachers for people with disabilities, and extremely important and helpful item, but one that is often overlooked. These help give disabled individuals more freedom and allow them to perform many tasks on their own. Here are some examples of reachers available:
• Bed rope ladder: helps those with paralysis or general weakness to pull themselves into a sitting position
• Dressing stick: assists in putting on shirts and jackets, pulling up pants and skirts, and removing socks
• Leg lift: helps lift legs into different sitting positions, or into a wheelchair
• General reachers: have a “hand” at the end that can be used to pick up items; they come in a variety of lengths
Public entities that have responsibility or authority over street, roads, or walkways must include in their transition plan a schedule for providing curb ramps or other sloped areas where pedestrian walks cross curbs. Priority must be given to walkways serving state and local government offices and facilities, transportation, places of public accommodation, and employers, followed by walkways serving other areas. Newly constructed or altered streets, roads, and highways must contain curb ramps or other sloped areas at any intersection having curbs or other barriers to entry from a street-level pedestrian walkway. Also, newly constructed or altered sidewalks or paths must contain curb ramps or other sloped areas wherever they intersect with street, roads, or highways.
Adaptive automotive equipment offers people the means to regain the freedom they may have lost due to a disability. They must learn to operate adaptive automotive equipment in the same manner as people who drive with standard equipment and there are a variety of modifications available to enable drivers and/or passengers to motor safely across the country or across their neighborhoods. The ability to drive allows individuals with disabilities to stay active and it immeasurably improves the quality of their lives. Whether commuting to work, buying groceries, taking their children to school, going on vacation, or competing in adaptive sports, people with disabilities rely on adaptive motor vehicle equipment to keep them in the driver’s and/or passenger’s seat.
Below is a list of common adaptive automotive equipment designed for people with disabilities:
1. Brake and Accelerator Systems. These include mechanical hand controls, powered
brake/throttle controls, left foot accelerator, reduced effort brakes, and pedal extensions.
2. Steering Systems. These include reduced effort steering mechanisms and emergency
back-up systems, which enable drivers to safely and comfortably maneuver their vehicles.
3. Driver/Passenger Position Equipment. These include power transfer seats, removable
driver seats, transfer assists, seat cushions and straps, all of which help maintain proper balance and driving/passenger position.
4. Vehicle Access Devices. These include lifts, ramps, raised door openings, lowered floors, power door operators, and raised roof systems, which greatly improve the accessibility of many vehicles. Other devices include 4-point wheelchair
tie-downs, battery protector/back-up systems, wheelchair and scooter hoists, and suspension system modifications.
To locate a Mobility Dealer
in your area: Visit www.nmeda.org or call The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) at (800) 833-0427.
WheelchairsAbound.com on TV Series, “Living In Style”.
Author: ElectricWheelchair
The FHAA prohibits a wide array of activities that discriminate against persons with disabilities and families with children in the sale or rental of housing. The following specifically outlines illegal actions:
• Refusal to sell or rent a dwelling unit when a bona fide offer has been made, where the refusal is based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
• Imposing different terms and conditions or treating people differently with the provision of service because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
• Discouraging an individual from living in a community or neighborhood, if the restriction is based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin. This activity is frequently referred to as “steering.”
• Advertising, posting notices or making statements in such a way as to deny access to an individual if that denial is based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
• Misrepresenting the availability of a dwelling because of the applicant’s race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin.
• Blockbusting by encouraging the sale or rental of a dwelling by implying that people of a certain race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or origin are entering the community in large numbers.
Higher gas prices cause increased motorcycle use
Author: Scooters
In these times of high gas prices, many are opting to use motorcycles as their primary mode of transportation. Unfortunately motorcycles offer very little protection to the rider. Therefore, motorcycle accidents, especially at high rates of speed, can easily cause spinal cord injury, leading to paralysis, nursing care and a lifetime of wheelchair use and other assistive devices. In addition to this, motorcycle fatalities have been steadily increasing.
Almost half of the fatal motorcycle accidents show alcohol involvement. One out of four motorcycle operators involved in fatal crashes had an invalid license. Helmets saved approximately 1,158 lives in 2003; another 640 lives could have been saved if helmets were worn. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation motorcycle accident statistics, a motorcyclist is 16 times more likely to die in an accident than a motor vehicle occupant. Motorcyclists are also three times more likely to be injured than people in cars.
Wearing a helmet properly is mandatory under many state laws. These laws are subject to change, so it is a good idea to check with each state in which you intend to ride. State laws will apply to travelers as well as state residents. Don’t leave home without the information you need. Better yet, don’t leave home without wearing your helmet.
Some causes of Motorcycle Accidents
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Lack of basic driving skills
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Failure to appreciate the inherent operating characteristics
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Failure to appreciate the limitations of the motorcycle
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Failure to use special precautions while riding
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Failure to use defensive driving techniques
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Lack of specific braking and cornering skills
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Failure to follow speed limit
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Ways to Protect Yourself
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Never ride without a certified motorcycle helmet and eye protection
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Read your owner’s manual thoroughly
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Attend motorcycle rider educational classes
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Wear the proper shoes, gloves, and clothing
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Purchase a bike you can handle safely
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Consider the primary use of your bike
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Don’t buy a “trail” bike for highway use
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Similarly, don’t buy a “highway” bike if most of your riding will be off road
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Follow the “rules of the road” and drive defensively.
United Spinal Association has some important tips to handle situations before and during a fire, and to address fire prevention within private homes. It is important to recognize that all people living with mobility impairments do not have the same type of home. Therefore, the following tips should be used only as a model to be modified and adjusted to fit each individual’s private residence.
- Identify and determine the nearest emergency exit or exits within your home. It is important to always know the safest and quickest exit from any location you are in and it should always be based on your physical capabilities. If it is at all possible, try to live, or have your sleeping area, close to an accessible exit. Then, in the event of an emergency, you will have the quickest escape route. You might require some accommodations to facilitate an emergency exit such as a ramp or removal of barriers.
- Make the adjustments necessary to ensure a safe escape route. In addition, be sure that you can also open all locks on windows and doors throughout your house.
- Install heat or smoke detectors throughout your home. Key locations for smoke alarms are: the kitchen, basement, storage areas, trash areas, accessible attics, sleeping areas, and hallways. Please note that there are various types of smoke alarms. .
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is the most comprehensive law ever passed to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. The ADA will enable people with disabilities to participate more fully in their communities, compete more effectively for jobs, travel more easily in their hometowns and across the nation, and gain more complete access to the goods and services that most Americans take for granted. United Spinal Association is proud to have played a role in the passage of this landmark law. While many Americans have heard about the ADA, few know what this important law requires. The following are answers to some commonly asked questions about the ADA.
Whom does the ADA protect?
Some 54 million Americans have a disability covered by the ADA. While the ADA does not offer a laundry list of disabilities, some well-established examples covered by the law include (to name only a few) spinal cord injury, blindness, hearing impairment, epilepsy, HIV infection and AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, emphysema, cancer, dyslexia, organic brain disorder, cognitive impairment, and depression. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that disabilities should be considered in their corrected states. Conditions such as low vision, for example, if correctable, might not be covered by the ADA.
What conditions are not protected by the ADA?
The ADA does not cover temporary, nonchronic impairments with no lasting impact, such as sprains, simple fractures, colds, and influenza; homosexuality and bisexuality, which are not impairments; or sexual and behavioral disorders, including transvestism, transsexualism, compulsive gambling, klepto-mania, and pyromania. The ADA also does not protect individuals who are currently abusing controlled substances.
Whom does the ADA affect?
The ADA affects any business or institution, public or private, that employs 15 or more people or offers goods or services to the public. That means virtually every public or private entity in the US must make some accommodations for the people with disabilities whom they serve or employ.
Who is not affected by the ADA?
Executive agencies of the U.S. government are exempt from the provisions of the ADA but are covered by similar regulations promulgated by other disability nondiscrimination laws. Also not covered are corporations fully owned by the U.S. government, Indian tribes, and bona fide private clubs that are exempt from taxation under the Internal Revenue Code. Private clubs and religious organizations are exempt from the Title III (public accommodations) provisions.
The source of this information is the United Spinal Association, a not-for-profit organization. All of their services, from benefits counseling to wheelchair sports are made possible through donations.