Best of all, say users, a Segway, unlike a wheelchair, allows face-to-face interaction.

Sounds like a great, feel-good post doesn’t it? Maybe — but it turns out that the obstacles these vets face aren’t the ones you’d expect. Because Segways go much faster than a power chair and appear to represent a greater threat to pedestrians, many cities (liberal, people-loving San Francisco, among them) have banned them. So have other venues: Disney World and at least one Barnes and Noble store in Arizona, among them.

Disney’s argument seems to be that the scooters haven’t been certified as ADA assistive devices; it’s unclear how retailer objections will play out. A Segway disability-use permit — like the parking placards issued by every state — would seem to be a simple, logical solution to the question of identifying scooter drivers with a disability, but hey, I’m only thinking logically here. While the world sorts this out, riders might want to pack a doctor’s note and see if some courteous information exchange can get them to that latte.

Segways aren’s for everyone with a disability. Though they can be modified in various ways, their use depends on considerable motor skills, along with a dose of good judgment. (Speed is increased or decreased by leaning forward or back; forgetting this can have serious consequences.) Those who use them particularly cite the advantages of being able to travel upright for longer periods of time, and the ease of getting where power chairs just don’t like to go. There’s a certain cool factor, too. Unlike a power chair, they’re likely to inspire some admiring glances; this assistive device is coveted by people without disabilities, as well.

Segway image from Flickr

Initial installation takes about 20 minutes, according to the website. Mounting methods for several common wheelchair styles are shown, but if your scooter or chair differs, Diestco invites you to describe your needs when you order.

Diestco also offers a variety of armrest bags that look thoughtfully designed, and cupholders for scooters, power, and manual chairs, along with many other accessories.

These accessories, from Adaptable Designs, are different. They seem to have been made by people who really understand how they’ll be used. Here’s a sampling of what Adaptable has to offer.

The “Sidekick Wheelchair Pouch” is meant to attach just below the seat of a manual wheelchair, on the inside of a manual wheelchair armrest, or on the outside of a power chair armrest. One pocket is fleece lined for glasses; there’s an open bellows pocket for bulkier items, and a zippered pocket for smaller items or for privacy. The zipper has a ring pull for easier use.

Adaptable’s “Versa Crutch Pack” would make even a six-weeks’ tour with crutches much more pleasant. If you’ve ever tried to handle a purse, a cell phone or a planner while swinging through life on crutches, you’ll see the utility of this bag. According to the website, this pouch’s

roomy main zippered compartment fits wallet, checkbook, comb/brush, medicine, etc. — even an occasional sandwich.

This one’s for standard crutches, forearm crutches, some power chairs and some scooters. In a typical thoughtful Adaptive Designs touch, there’s a strap to stabilize the pouch, so it doesn’t develop a rhythm of its own while you’re moving.

If a backpack is overkill, and something like the Sidekick Pouch isn’t quite big enough, the “Just Right! Organizer” might be perfect. Like the bags above, it uses hook and loop straps to attach to

the inside armrest of manual wheelchairs; the inside or outside of scooter and power chair armrest; scooter tillers; [and] bedrails.

Whew. Here’s a partial description:

Fold-over zippered flap pocket is an ideal place for keeping checkbook, wallet and other valuables. Ring-type zipper pull is particularly helpful for those with limited hand dexterity. Keep the flap out to “hide” the contents of the outer bellowed pockets. Tuck the flap inside the main compartment if open access if preferred — the zippered pocket is still easily accessible.

There’s much more! Adaptable’s website is particularly user-friendly; you’ll find lots of information about which kind of equipment works best with which accessory, and specific size information, too.

Related:

DIY – Covers and Pouches for Mobility Aids

DIY – A Simple Cupholder for a Wheelchair

Pockets for a Wheelchair

There’s also an “Other Factors” page with specifics covering basic information that otherwise might get learned the hard way. (Securing loose items, how to deal with trays, head and neck support, etc..)

Especially useful for those who are new to wheelchair transport, this website is also an excellent refresher course for the old pro. (Or for anyone relying on the incomprehensible leaflets that come with new straps.) A glossary page demystifies some of the jargon, and there’s a useful resources page, too.

The Bridge School is an internationally recognized leader in the education of children who use augmentative and alternative communication and has developed unique programs and trained highly skilled professionals in the use of state of the art assistive technology.

Laudable enough, but there’s something on their website of particular interest to GearAbility readers who care for children who use wheelchairs or walkers. The nifty images you see in this post are costumes cleverly adapted to those devices — just in time for Halloween.

In addition to Aladdin (upper left) and the Punk Rock Drummer (to the right), there are instructions for George of the Jungle, a Flower Garden, a Bulldozer and (many) more.

The page is full of helpful suggestions; click on the images for instructions for each costume. There’s also a .pdf handbook available (though registration is required to access the download).

The Bridge School’s Halloween Costume Page

The sling in the picture above (left) is quite similar to the one my dad’s automatic lift. The difference is that the Comfort Carrier doesn’t require a mechanical arm. If you’re in situations where there are usually two people available to help with a transfer, this is a far simpler — and much less expensive — solution.

It’s surprisingly easy to slip this kind of sling around someone — even if they cannot help to put it on. The upper part slides down the back; then the lower side pieces slip under the thighs, and then around and in front. It’s not necessary to lift off a chair to get the sling in place.

The website lists a phenomenal number of potential uses from the everyday (getting in and out of bed) to sports (transfer more simply to a kayak or canoe) to travel (trains, buses, cruise ships) and more.

If you regularly travel in several different cars, use taxis with family members or friends, or are travelling anywhere transport may be inaccessible to wheelchairs, this sling could make a whole slew of obstacles melt away. Likewise, it could be a very useful carry-on for air travelers; folded it’s just 10 inches by 11 by 3.

Using this carrier could potentially simplify an RV or camping trip considerably — possibly even eliminating the need for a custom lift on an RV, and making transfers around the campsite much less problematic. If a beach wheelchair isn’t the answer for you, the Comfort Carrier might get you down to the water with minimal fuss.

The company also suggests using the sling as an emergency evacuation tool — a way to get down stairs when elevators break down, or to remove quickly and easily to higher ground in flooding, etc.. People who use wheelchairs at work in situations where there isn’t immediate access to an exterior door on a ground floor might feel a greater measure of security if they keep one at the office — and make sure co-workers know how to use it.

Gimpgear’s Comfort Carrier personal transfer sling comes in two sizes, for people up to 380 lbs. See lots of testimonials and customer photos on the Gimpgear website.

Gimpgear? That’s right — ya gotta have a sense of humor. The self-described a C-5 quad who is president of the company marketing the Comfort Carrier obviously does.

If, on the other hand, you or your loved one require a larger rolling chair, and long for (accessible) time at the shore, the following options might be helpful — though you’ll (mostly) need an even larger bucket of dollars to acquire them:

For almost $1600 (USD) this Beach Wheelchair (umbrella, $60 more) will get you across those golden sands. The website claims it “[E]asily breaks down and disassembles for transport and storage”, which may be true, but it’s still huge even with the wheels removed. You’ll need another $30,000 for the van to carry it in — and a chase car if you’re taking a whole gang to the beach.

Is it just me, or is there actually some reason a PVC chair should cost this much?

ATI makes a stroller version, too ($775 USD — assembly services extra — oh, that Bug’s lookin’ good). Umbrella optional; weight capacity is 50 pounds, versus 45 pounds for the Bugaboo. (Note: The Bugaboo folds down to a genuinely totable size . . . )

As an alternative, Hotshot Products offers a “Beach Econo Kit” — four wheels and two axles you attach to your existing wheelchair. They claim it “fits any existing wheelchair or stroller” which is probably not exactly accurate. My guess is that the kit will fit most manual wheelchairs, and some strollers. Best to check before you buy. At nearly $1000 USD, this “econo kit” isn’t cheap, but it’s probably less of a storage problem than a dedicated chair that doesn’t fold.

Hotshot does offer a separate conversion kit for wheelchairs for kids, at roughly the same price.

Natural Access offers the Landeez, and a switch on the Hotshot conversion kit — their kit contains street wheels. No prices on the website, though, which I find a bit off-putting. You can probably safely assume that they’re considerably higher than the competition — though this model uses quick release pins for assembly and dis-assembly without tools, a nice feature.

If you’re going to pay the big bucks for a wheeled chair for the beach (and you’ve got storage at that spacious beach house), you might want to consider a Trialo. You not only get the all-terrain (or least ’sand-terrain’) tires, but this chair floats. With you in it.

Bring a bigger bucket of money, though — this one’s $3500, including shipping (add a $50 surcharge if you pay with a credit card). Testimonials and photos galore on the website. Check out the rental contact page if you’re in, or plan to visit, Florida, California, Hawaii or St. Thomas.

I mentioned the beach stroller in a comment on Daddytypes yesterday, and Greg turned up some stainless steel beach wheelchairs himself. I’m guessing the cost is stratospheric, but you’ll have to contact the company to find out. This model pictured here is self-propelled using ratcheting arms. “[D]esigned for very strong paraplegics” as noted on the page.

It looks as if they’ve gone a bit further than that. Their website implies that they’ve not only done the ADA thing but invoked intelligent design. Not the creationist kind — the kind of design that is intelligent. Clicking on Specialty Travel>Travelers With Disabilities>Room Types not only gets you to a list of accomodations, but floor plans and virtual tours of an accessible bathroom and a double room.

According to the website,

Microtel Inns & Suites ADA-Accessible hotel rooms incorporate features such as:

• Two (2) peepholes on each door, one located 48″ above the floor, for our travelers who may use a wheelchair.
• Door locks on guestroom doors that are no higher than 48″ above the floor.
• Electronic door locks and door handles that can be operated with a closed fist.
• Guestroom and guest bathroom doors that are a minimum of 36″ wide.
• Closets with lowered clothes bar located at 48″ above the floor plus removable hangers.
• Switches that are located 42″ above the finished floor.
• Heavy-duty 8″ metal bed frames with heights not greater than 23″ from the floor.
• Desks with a minimum of 27″ clearance space.
• Remote equipped televisions with closed captioning for the hearing impaired.
• Drapery wands with a ring attachment measuring 4″ in diameter mounted on the lower end of the baton.

The list of bathroom amenities is impressive, too, as are the photos. The accessible sink enjoyed by the gent above is only the beginning; the shower shown in the still photos would do any private home proud.

Both Microtel and their extended-stay partner Hawthorn also offer a “Short Stature Accessibility Kit” designed for use by Little People, including “a custom stepstool, ergonomic reach grabber, door security latch adapter, extension or ‘push-pull’ tool, and specially designed closet rod adapter”.

“Compliance alone” is not enough, according to Microtel’s website:

We are currently the only hotel chain to offer Opening Doors® training for disability etiquette to ALL staff at EVERY one of our hotels. The Opening Doors program teaches hospitality employees how to be friendly and helpful to travelers with disabilities and also teaches practical service skills covering customer relations, operational procedures, emergency and safety considerations, and an awareness of “people first” terminology.

I’m not thrilled that I can’t get any idea about rates on the website without providing my name and contact information, but Microtel is theoretically an economy/budget choice. That’s a small quibble, though, considering what’s on offer — but I would like to know what it all costs. There’s a 10% discount for travelers over 50.

And, oh, yes, the entire website’s available in Spanish — click on the link in the upper right hand corner.

This closet rod features smooth hydraulic hinges, adjustable width for a custom fit in any closet, and a handle for easy access. The handle included in the kit measures 28″ from the rod to the end. 48″ extension handles are available for extra high hanging. The closet rod itself pulls out and down and stays there while you select or hang clothes. Once you have selected a garment, simply lift up on the bar and the hydraulic assisted hinges will lift the closet rod back into place.

Potentially wonderful for anyone who uses a wheelchair, and for anyone who uses a closet!

Available online at Organize-It

On the other hand, the cupholders that are soft-bodied are more difficult to use — they morph too much and the cup tends to get stuck on the way into or out of the holder. That wasn’t going to work for Dad, either.

Dad needed something a little different; something that combined the most practical components of each type of holder. This new cupholder needed to retain its shape while being used, have an opening wide enough to allow easy placement and removal of a cup, and had to be resilient enough to survive being regularly smashed into various hard objects.

I ended up making one (see image upper left). After measuring the cup he uses everyday, and fiddling with the cup, the angle he needed to hold it at, and the side of the wheelchair, I ended up with a simple pattern. The bottom of the holder is a half-moon shape, with the flat side next to the wheelchair. The sides of the holder come up just far enough to keep the cup from tumbling out, but are low enough so that Dad can get a grip on the cup.

For structural support, I cut up the thinnest, flexible plastic kitchen cutting board I could find. Only three pieces were necessary: the half-moon for the bottom, another flat piece for the back of the holder, and a longer rectangle to curve from the back piece across the front.

Most cupholders are round at the bottom, and ditto all the way up. I deliberately made this one semi-circular so that the cup would be held upright and somewhat snugly in the front (where the holder is round), but so that there would be more space in back (where the half-moon shape squares off). This gives the cup more wiggle-room without making it unstable, and gives Dad a little more space for his hands.

I used a nylon sports material for the fabric — it cleans easily and dries quickly. I encased the plastic half-moon shape in ripstop, sewing the edges together. Then I did the same for the plastic back piece, and again for the front rectangle.

I attached the back piece and the front rectangle together, and then attached the tube that made to the fabric-covered half-moon piece. Using foldover braid made assembly quick and easy — I didn’t have to get into the complexities of hiding seams with a more complicated plan.

Straps at the top and the side keep the cupholder from slipping around. I probably didn’t need to have the front strap, but originally I thought the holder would just go over the armrest. Instead, I unscrewed the arm rest, and put the straps under it, which effectively clamps the cupholder in place.

The cupholder tilts at a bit of an angle, but that’s deliberate, because it means that the top of the cup automatically clears the chair’s armrest. It’s turned out to be a good solution for Dad. The combination of fabric with the thin plastic inner support has proven to be just right — when smashed, this cupholder just flexes and bounces back. There’s no harm done at all, and it’s ready for use again immediately.