Is assistive equipment liberating or labelling?

Assistive equipment can sometimes feel like a label advertising a disability.

Marianne did not want to use a 'wheelie' even though keeping steady was becoming more difficult. After a fall a friend in a similar predicament asked her why she would not use a wheelie - 'it is looks; for old people and all that' was the answer. However she took up the challenge and was free. In the photograph above is off on her own to visit friends in Australia!

The person with a problem or difficulty in everyday living has the motivation and all the knowledge of their everyday lives, that is key to the best solution. Others need to listen , observe and join in to help when or if needed.  Strategies can help make life easier for a disabled person and the family. For instance arranging the furniture in a room and leaving it that way can make it easy for a person with visual impairment to move around.

  As well as strategies, using tools for living do help. Many can be made simply and cheaply without needing large factories. These can be made in developing countries and low-income areas without huge start-up costs.

These include:

• furniture such as supportive or positioning seating or standing frames,
• everyday living devices such as handgrips on kitchen tools
• simple mobility assistive devices such as a ride-on horse or walking frame.

 

 People Potential does training in designing and making these. Assistive equipment that can be made locally in centres, at home or in small workshops, can be maintained and adapted as improvements or change happens.

The user has the key input in the process....

So....... the assistive equipment is liberating!