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Useful Tools for the Handicapped

Living with a disability is a challenging experience, to say the least. Ordinary tasks that other people take for granted can be extraordinarily difficult when you are faced with a disability. In many cases, the use of tools is the only way to overcome the obstacles so that a normal life can be lived. While there are a number of simple and complex tools available to handicapped individuals, there are a few that have dramatically changed the quality of life for disabled persons.

  1. Mobility Devices

    • One of the most common handicaps is a lack of mobility, or restricted mobility. This can happen due to genetic conditions, accidents, or even just from growing old. Having limited mobility results in not being able to easily move around. All movement must remain slow and calculated. Mobility devices help reclaim some of that lost mobility, making it easier to get around. Canes and walkers are common forms of simple mobility devices. Wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs are commonly used for those who have excessive difficulty in walking or standing. Electronic mobility chairs, or scooters, have also become highly popular, particularly since they are easier to turn than bulky wheelchairs.

    Wheelchair Lift

    • Travel outside of the home has always been difficult for those who are confined to wheelchairs. Getting in and out of an automobile requires assistance, and you need that helper to fold the wheelchair, load it into the back of the car, then bring it back out again when you arrive at the destination. This cumbersome process meant that many handicapped people would travel only if it was absolutely necessary. The invention of the motorized wheelchair lift changed all that. Wheelchair lifts have a platform that lowers to ground level so a wheelchair can park on top of it. Once the chair is parked with its wheels locked, the lift will raise the person, chair and all, up to access level. At this point the person can simply roll the chair inside the vehicle. Once the passenger is secure, the lift will fold up into the side of the vehicle, until the person arrives at the destination and is ready to leave the vehicle.

    TTY Telephones

    • One of the great benefits of technology is that people can communicate across vast distances. This is true even for deaf people, who can now use the telephone to contact family or friends, the same as anyone else. Telephones for the deaf can seem confusing at first, because they come under so many different names. The most common is TTY, which stands for teletypewriter. Phones are also marketed as TDD, which stands for telecommunications devices for the deaf. A small number are even marketed simply as text telephones. While the names make these sound like different pieces of equipment, they are actually the same, performing the same job. When a TTY telephone is used, the caller speaks to an operator rather than to the deaf individual. The operator then transcribes the words into text, which the deaf person can read on the TTY telephone. When the deaf person types a response back, the operator reads it to the caller. Communication in this manner may seem slower than traditional telephone calls, but it is much faster than writing letters.

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