>From the web page
http://www.abledata.com/text2/icg_tempdis.htm

Sponsored by NIDRR

Informed Consumer Guide to
Assistive Products for People with Temporary Disabilities
August, 1999

Introduction

So, you've broken your ankle, or a wrist, or some other part of
your body. Or, you've just been in a car accident, or undergone
surgery and are feeling lousy. You are going to have a cast on
for at least twelve weeks. It's going to completely ruin all
your plans for the next couple of months, you think. "I'm not
going to be able to get around my house; just going to the
toilet is going to be hard with that *&$% cast on my leg. What
about that trip to Florida that we'd planned? It obviously will
have to be canceled . . ."

Temporary disabilities can be very painful, and they are
inconvenient, but all that can be done while recovering will
surprise you. The purpose of this Informed Consumer Guide is to
provide information about devices and services that may be
helpful. Although your illness or injury may have temporarily
disabled you to some extent, there are literally thousands of
people out there with permanent disabilities who live completely
full and active lives. Their secret? They have assistive devices
to aid them in their daily living activities, and they take
advantage of programs and services available to people with
mobility impairments. So, read the information below, see what
applies to you, and don't let your illness or injury stop you
from doing what you want to do! Further information about any of
the products mentioned in this guide can be found by searching
the ABLEDATA database on the ABLEDATA website
(http://www.abledata.com).

Note: This guide will mention or describe several specific
products to illustrate the features of general types of
products. References to any product do not constitute a
recommendation or endorsement of that product by ABLEDATA or the
U.S. Department of Education. We encourage you to be a smart
consumer. Try to find out as much as you can about the products
that might fit your needs, and be an active participant in the
selection of any product that you use.

General Principles

Establish Your Priorities

One of the first realities of disability, whether temporary or
permanent, is to realize that everything is going to take a
little longer to do. Rather than getting frustrated about this,
it is much easier on you (and the rest of the family) to
acknowledge this fact and incorporate it into your everyday
routine. Getting ready in the morning, making breakfast, getting
into a car, or walking from a car to your office building will
all take more time. If you are accustomed to shoving as much
activity into a 24-hour period as possible, consider this a good
time to establish your priorities and decide what is most
important to do. Then, do those things and leave the rest until
you are feeling better.

Itemize the Special Needs Created by Your Injury

Think through a typical day in your life. How will your injury
affect your ability to carry on your normal activity? Will you
need help bathing? dressing? going to the bathroom? brushing
your teeth? combing your hair? getting around the house? getting
your meals? getting the laundry done? getting to work? going to
the doctor? Make a list of your needs.

Identify and Use the Products and Services Available to People
with Needs Like Yours

As soon as possible after your illness or accident occurs, start
getting information about products and services that you might
need. Many insurance plans will pay some of the cost of
assistive devices. Other devices are relatively inexpensive, but
add enormously to quality of life. Thus it makes no sense to
make life more difficult by going without these products. So:
Find out what options you have for accomplishing what needs to
be done. You do not get "extra points" for doing things the hard
way. If there is a product or device out there to make life
easier, use it! If you want to go shopping, for example, use a
wheelchair or a scooter (many grocery stores now provide them
for use by their customers) rather than attempting to do the job
on crutches. If you insist on being as mobile as possible,
you'll simply get tired faster and your frustration level will
rise because you will be focusing on what you cannot do rather
than on what you can. Save your energy for the things that are
most important to you.

Getting Around

If you've broken a leg, ankle, or hip -- anything that affects
general mobility -- you are going to have trouble getting
around. There are several options: a wheelchair, a
battery-powered scooter, a walker, crutches, or a cane. You may
use several of these devices over the course of your
recuperation. Use whatever your doctor and therapist recommend,
and whatever feels most comfortable to you.

If you do use a wheelchair during part of this period, we
suggest that you get one that you can maneuver by yourself. It
should have large rear wheels, and you should be able to fold it
to get it into and out of a car. It also should be lightweight
so that you or someone else can lift it fairly easily. If it
does not have large rear wheels, it is likely that the chair was
designed for hospital or nursing home use. If you use that kind
of chair you will always be dependent on someone else to push
you around (NOT very conducive to a good frame of mind!).

You also want to make sure that your wheelchair is narrow enough
to get through doorways in your home. We suggest that you
measure your doorways before selecting a wheelchair to ensure
that you will be able to get around your home easily.

If you expect to be unable to walk for a significant period of
time, or if you are becoming weaker over time, you may want to
invest in a scooter, which is a battery-powered cart. A scooter
is particularly helpful if you will be traveling outside quite a
bit, or if you will be traveling long distances down hallways or
in mall areas. A scooter usually is not a good alternative for
maneuverability around home because of its size and shape, so
you may want to have a regular wheelchair, walker, or some other
device to use around your home, depending upon your level of
mobility.

For more in-depth information on wheelchairs and scooters, check
out the ABLEDATA fact sheets on manual wheelchairs, powered
wheelchairs, and scooters; and the Informed Consumer Guide to
Wheelchair Selection, available for downloading at the ABLEDATA
website (http://www.abledata.com) or for a nominal charge by
calling 1-800-227-0216.

Walkers are the most under-appreciated members of the "mobility
family"--probably because many people associate them with old
age and nursing homes. Walkers are some of the most versatile
mobility devices available. Most of them are both lightweight
and foldable, which makes them easy to transport and easy to
store. You can get them with wheels on the front legs or on all
four legs. Other convenient add-ons include baskets or tote bags
for carrying your possessions, and trays that attach to the
front of the walker. You can place a fair amount of your weight
on the walker itself, so it is especially good for people who
are recovering from hip, leg or ankle surgery. Walkers also have
the advantage of being comparatively inexpensive.

If you have read this far, you probably already have a set of
crutches, because they are standard issue with virtually all
lower extremity injuries or surgeries. When using crutches it is
important to have them adjusted to the correct height. If they
are too short, you will have to lean forward and use more energy
with each step. Crutches that are too long place too much
pressure under your arms. One symptom of crutches that are too
long is a tingling in the hands caused by a decrease in the
blood supply to the hands. Crutches that are too long also place
you off balance and increase your risk of falling. Most standard
crutches can be adjusted, however, to fit you and your needs.

If you expect to be on crutches for awhile, you may want to talk
with your doctor about getting forearm crutches. Depending upon
the nature of your injury, forearm crutches may be markedly more
comfortable because they eliminate the intense underarm pressure
that sometimes results from having to use standard crutches for
an extended period of time.

Private insurance plans and Medicare may cover the cost of
purchase or rental of mobility aids. We suggest that you discuss
your mobility needs with your doctor or therapist so that you
are able to get exactly what you need. Check with your local
full-service pharmacy or medical equipment supplier for
information on renting or leasing mobility equipment. Some
medical equipment suppliers will rent equipment on a weekly or
monthly basis, which is ideal for someone who needs to use it
for only a limited period of time.

Daily Grooming

Getting into and out of a shower or bathtub can be difficult if
you have limited mobility in your lower extremities. However,
there are a number of products on the market that enable one to
move in and out of a shower or bathtub safely. Some of the most
useful are:

Shower chairs/bathtub benches

Hand-held spray attachments

Back brushes

Safety treads

Wash mitts and washcloths

Shower or bathtub grab bars.

If you have a cast on, you may want to invest in cast
protectors. An inexpensive alternative to a commercial cast
protector is a plastic trash bag sealed to the skin with package
sealing tape. In addition, a towel or washcloth around the arm
or leg near the sealed opening will absorb any moisture that
might seep in.

Also useful are adaptations to the toilet. Especially helpful
adaptations include:

Raised toilet seats

Grab bars

Safety frames.

Getting Dressed

Getting dressed can be difficult if you have restricted
movement. Fortunately, a lot of small, useful devices have been
developed to help you accomplish these everyday tasks.

Button aids

Shoe aids

Sock aids

Other dressing aids.

Stores such as J.C. Penney carry special lines of clothing for
people who have difficulty dressing. For example, snaps or
velcro fasteners instead of buttons can really make a difference
if you have minimal use of your hands or a large cast. Also, if
you are using a wheelchair for a period of time with a cast on
your leg and do not have anyone to assist you with getting
dressed, extra wide pant legs can make dressing easier,
especially during the hot summer months. And, comfortable shorts
are always cooler than sweatpants.

Exercise

If you are like many people, one of your first reactions after
becoming ill or injured may have been, "Well, at least I have a
good excuse not to exercise for awhile." We hate to take away a
good excuse, but there are loads of exercise programs that have
been developed specifically for people with lower mobility
problems. You may not be able to run, dance or walk, but there
are a number of resources available for cardiovascular workouts
and upper body muscle toning.  So, get ready...

The following companies distribute videos pertaining to
strength, flexibility and aerobics exercise for all types of
physical disabilities:

Brentwood Home Video
31344 Via Colinas, Suite 106
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Phone: 800-782-8892

JSR Enterprises, Inc.
12275 Greenleaf Avenue
Potomac, MD 20854.
Phone: 301-279-2994

Disabled Sports USA
451 Hungerford Drive, Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20850.
Phone: 301-217-0960.
Fax: 301-217-0968.
TTY: 301-217-0963.

Canadian Wheelchair Sports
303-1600 James Naismith Drive
Gloucester, ON K1B 5N4
CANADA.
Phone: 613-748-5685

For information on a variety of recreational and exercise
equipment, contact:

Access to Recreation
2509 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Suite 430
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362.
Phone:  800-634-4351.
URL:  http://www.coast-resources.com/accesstorecreation.

Within the ABLEDATA database, you may wish to try searching for
equipment in the following categories:

Adapted sports/recreation equipment
Exercise equipment

Driving

It may seem impossible for you to drive a car safely if you do
not have use of your legs, but thanks to hand controls, driving
a car is still possible. Hand controls are just what they sound
like: devices that enable you to accelerate and brake a car
using your hands instead of your feet and legs. There may be
special requirements for driving a vehicle with hand controls;
check with your state's division of motor vehicles for
information.

There also are attachments for the steering wheel (called
spinners) that make driving possible for people with limited
mobility in their arms and hands. Some spinners can be removed
when not in use, so as not to impede another driver's use of the
same vehicle.

Daily Living

There are lots of inexpensive devices around to make daily life
a little easier. Many of them are not adaptive devices at all,
but instead are conveniences that people use in everyday life,
and can be found in kitchen stores or department stores. Some of
the products that you might wish to consider include the
following:

Light switches that clap on and off

Remote controls

Portable phones

Garage door openers

One-handed can openers

Reachers

Holders for drinks, glasses, utensils, etc.

Cutting boards for one hand use

Brushes with suction cups

Scoop dishes

Door openers

Under cabinet jar openers

Wheeled laundry basket

For items not found in stores, you can contact companies such as
Maddak, Inc. (800-443-4926, www.maddak.com), North Coast Medical
(800-821-9319, www.ncmedical.com), and Sammons Preston
(800-323-5547, www.sammonspreston.com).   These companies all
have extensive catalogs of products for every day living needs.

Travel

It may seem a little daunting to attempt to travel with an
injury or a temporary disability, but there are a number of
resources available to make your trip less stressful. Our first
piece of advice is to get a good travel agent that specializes
in travel for people with disabilities. These are the people who
already know what kinds of barriers you may encounter while on a
trip.

Other general travel hints:

Make sure, if you are flying, that the airline knows you have a
disability. They will allow you to board your flight early and
can arrange for a seat in a convenient location. You also may
want to arrange for skycap assistance to check your bags and to
get you to your gate.

Airlines have "aisle chairs" (skinny little chairs on wheels
designed to fit the narrow plane aisles) to get passengers with
disabilities to their seats, so you should not have to walk down
the aisle of the plane if you are unable to do so.

It is possible to arrange for rental cars with hand controls if
you call the car rental agency in advance. Make sure that you
have the necessary certification to drive a car with hand
controls before attempting to do so, however.

Ask hotels for a handicapped accessible room. The bathroom will
be larger than normal and the room generally is larger, as well.
Make sure that you let the hotel know exactly what your needs
are. For example, if you need a bathroom with a roll-in shower,
you need to specifically request that. More and more hotels now
are being built with a wide array of accessibility features,
ranging from fully accessible (extra large bathroom with a
roll-in shower) to moderately accessible (extra large bathroom
with shower benches and transfer boards to be used in a standard
bathtub) to minimally accessible (extra large bathroom with a
standard bathtub and extra grab bars only). It is strictly up to
the individual to decide which type of hotel room would best
suit his/her needs.

If you are using a wheelchair, call a restaurant in advance to
make sure that there are no steps to the entrance, and no steps
inside the restaurant. You also may want to ask whether or not
their restrooms are accessible to wheelchair users.

For more tips on traveling with a disability, we recommend
exploring the travel links included under the "Recreation" and
"Transportation" headings of the Assistive Technology Links page
at the ABLEDATA website.  Link to the Assistive Technology Links
Page!

Tips

Determine what it is you want to do. Then,

Determine what you currently are unable to do because of illness
or injury so that you can see what alternatives might be
available.

Check out the product ideas above to see if they might meet your
needs.

Search the ABLEDATA database online, or call one of our
information specialists at 1-800-227-0216 for assistance in
finding information about products that might be useful to you.

Use the web links we've provided at the ABLEDATA website
(http://www.abledata.com) to get additional information about
disability-related resources.


ABLEDATA,
8401 Colesville Road, Suite 200,
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

ABLEDATA is operated by Macro International, Inc. for the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR), U. S. Department of Education, under contract number
HN96015001.

ABLEDATA's phone numbers are 800/227-0216, 301/608-8998, or
301/608-8912 (TTY).
Our fax number is 301/608-8958.

Many ABLEDATA documents, as well as the ABLEDATA database are
available from the
ABLEDATA website, http://www.abledata.com.

This Informed Consumer Guide was prepared by the ABLEDATA staff:
Lynn Halverson, Katherine Belknap, Anjanette Daigle, Lisa
Knight, and Stephen Lowe.

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