Disability aids that blend in

lrobinson

Hi,

I m new to disability aids. I have had ME for 7 years now and have found ways round most things. The difficulty I have now is that I am needing a wheelchair, perching stools, grab rails etc. and I m struggling to accept them. I don't want to stand out (as a 32 gay person I already stand out enough) and I don't know where to look for things that aren't very hospitally or grannified.

Obviously I'm going to have to invest in things that will help me but I don't want to do it and then find I'm too embarrassed to use them.

Thanks
Lucy

newborn

I'm cheering you for saying that  Lucy. It seems there must be some special anti-design prizes awarded for building in an extreme degree of ugliness in anything intended for disabled people,,,,,,,
Others will have ideas for you.
Look at German disability sites and at USA ones. (Tom Fetterman,  for example, using crutches himself, produced revolutionary designs)  Disability exhibitions here and overseas often leave their websites available, and have great new ideas
.
Also just look at luxury design sites generally. Not to buy, just for ideas.  Maybe Habinteg too?  .Think round the aims, e.g. WHY do you need a grabrail to haul yourself up from the loo? Or sofa? Or up the front step?).

Could there be a workaround such as NO NOT a 'raised toilet seat', but instead a plumber replacing the pan with a higher one? High pedestals are available as standard, cheaply, just not often fitted. (The luxury would be a wall-hung pan. Disabled people are likely to struggle to get on their knees to clean round the pedestal ones, which are probably used in case elephant sized people sit on the wall hung ones and break them)

Also in the bathroom,  there could be a workaround instead of ugly rails with the obvious purpose of being there to haul on: It might be possible to make plenty of chrome rail around the room, with generous amounts of snowy towels on display, so it is your own secret that the towels are just for show, and that really, you push them aside and use the rail to walk and to support yourself.  Again, luxury design sites such as spas and hotels will give you ideas

As to the sofa, or chair, often people struggle just because designers* like the look of furniture which is  too low to the ground.  So, NO NOT the hideous institutional chair leg raisers.  Instead work round by either buying alternative furtniture legs or adding extra seating.   And sometimes a step is not too steep if half of it has brick slab, making it into two shallow steps instead.   

*Designers, infuriatingly, using public money from public bodies with StatutoryDuty to take extra care about the Equality Act. Then, designer and statutory body will go ahead blithely ignoring the Disability Discrimination law, when designing for public seating, not providing for varied physical sizes and even in NHS waiting rooms...grrr

JudithL

I need very few aids, but when I got the ones I have I was struck by their ugliness. Functionality and beautiful design shouldn't be mutually exclusive.

Steve_in_The_City

Hi @irobinson Lucy I can understand that at 32 you don't want anything that is grannified or looks like it belongs in an hospital. But your first priority is to make sure that you are safe and can move around as much as you are able. It is important that as your health deteriorates you accept that you need aids, and you needn't feel embarrassed about using them. If you don't use them, your life may be more difficult than it should be. If I didn't use my aids I would never be able to move around my flat or step outside my front door. They keep me independent.

My flat is a disabled persons flat. It is very modern. There is nothing grannified about it, even though you can see it is a disabled persons flat. (My mobility scooter is a big giveaway). With careful shopping you can make sure your aids have a contemporary look and feel to them, and they will make your life better. Try not to worry about feeling embarrassed when using aids. They are there to help you and you will soon get used to using them.

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @lrobinson

Welcome to the community! I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling to accept the disability aids. Can I ask, do you have someone you can talk to about struggling to accept them? I hope you have a good support system around you  

I see others have advised that there are items out there that you can shop for, that are more modernised. I don't know much about disability aids but have seen some people online decorate theirs. Using spray paints mainly, but it helped them with coming to terms with it being part of their identity. There are a few videos on YouTube that you may find helpful. 

deb74

Hi @irobinson. I know how you feel about disability aids. I have cervical spondylosis as well as osteoarthritis and ME. It took me quite a long to accept that I needed aids to make life easier I finally accepted a few months ago that I would need to use crutches when I was struggling. I found a pair of crutches with lime green arm rests rather than having the standard crutches. Mobility aids don't have to be boring and grannified!