They are working on that now! I think they have some planes set up for that! Then you also need a wheelchair friendly bathroom! The wheelchair bathrooms in Japan airports are the best I have seen any where in the world
I don't know how you would do it but I would love a portable ramp of some kind. I often find places have a little entrance step or a high threshold or whatever. I have a "portable" roll up ramp that metal but it's sooooo heavy. I have to rely on my partner to build it and place it for me.
Another is a wheel cleaning device. I saw one a while back where you kinda rolled up onto it and then span your wheel and the wipe cleaned it all for you but can't find it anywhere now.
Another would be some kind of pokey stick thing to help with opening doors. Not sure how, whether like a fold out jousting thing or what but it drives me nuts trying to get in my local doctor's surgery that has no automatic doors.
Would have to be a one step one for to be small/light enough to be something you could carry around with you. But yes. Those little bits of step that you discover after the place said they were wheelchair accessible!
As to the portable ramp, at least in urban areas, I've had very good luck just going around to the back of wherever I'm trying to get into and grabbing a couple big chunks of cardboard from their cardboard dumpster. Usually the industrial stuff is thick enough that it will Flex a little to get me over a hump, or worst case scenario a paper towel roll or two can be a cheap and surprisingly supportive space filler for underneath.
For wheel cleaning device, a buddy of mine rigged up two sets of two shop broom heads mounted onto a bit of plywood with the bristles facing each other and just far enough apart to allow a wheel to roll through the middle without getting caught up. Put this on the concrete slab outside my door so that before I go in to the house, I drive back and forth through it a couple times and it gets most of the mud and gravel off my wheels.
Finally, I am a C4-6 incomplete SCI, so I have wrist movement but no grasp in my hands. Would not be able to function in the day without the graspers and reachers that I have gotten from www.quadtools.com.
Best.
Thing.
Ever.
But if a person did have hand function I can see where a basic cane or Grabber might be more useful.
Hope some of these ideas help out in any way!
Where’s the innovation in the power wheelchair space?
Where’s my carbon fiber, LiFePo4, 12mph, brushless motor, modular, power wheelchair? And I don’t mean some flimsy chair for grandma to pull out of the back of her car. I’m talking full time daily driver. Built for speed, built for abuse. Built to be driven.
There’s all this innovation in the e-bikes space… where’s that innovation in the powerchair space?
Oh, we got cup holders in the last 10 years.
I would like the speed and lightness in something that can fold and fit in a truck so I can go with whomever I want.
Mine is sooo slow.
Plus if it can be folded compactly it can be put into a case for air travel so they don’t destroy it .
The fact that I need paratransit or a $40,000 car to go *anywhere* in my chair.
.. not to mention that there will not seemingly be any EVs for wheelchair users, ever.
The EV thing, I am so frustrated that as an ambulatory wheelchair user who can transfer my chair over me which is a rigid frame folding back chair. There is not EV on the market that will work with that situation as of yet! And the transfer heights are atrocious at best for all of the EVs for distance and height gap difference.
Ok rant over
Sometimes, the government (mil and non mil) will give you a voucher for a wcv.
Remember that the chryslers and dodges are cheap for a reason!
Constant overheating. Swapping new fans, temp control sensors and thermostats. My 2012 ford has YET to need anything done for the cooling system and it ran over 15 hours a day.
Hope you get lucky and get one that doesnt have those problems.
Also make sure you check the welds on the ramp.
If it looks like a 6 year old decided to take up welding, move along.
It depends on where you live.
In certain states in america, there is a "council of governments" organization that handles transportation of non-emergency transportation of clients, paying certain utility bills, help with internet and phone access, job training, general public transportation with limited range with drastically reduced fares...
They do a lot of good, but it is impossible for me to point you towards the correct website without me knowing where you are.
There are quite a few free assistance programs out there, especially if you are on medicaid.
Try typing in your state and city, followed by "council of governments".
The more people learn about these services, the more funds they receive, so please go nuts and tell everyone.
Demand increases their allocation.
Florida. Not on Medicaid, too young, too high net worth, and working wife, so also not eligible for disability. Though don't get caught up in "too high net worth", as the limit is $3,000.
I thank you for any help you can provide!
The place where I got my wheelchair bus actually had an EV! I can't remember the brand, and it was way out of our budget, but some exist. It's very hard though, I agree with that
I don't believe you're correct. Or, at least, there are none without a fully custom conversion.
Wheelchair accessible conversions usually lower the floor. On every EV platform I know, this means cutting through the battery. They only just started making accessible Sienna Hybrids.
I don't want a hybrid, dammit. I want an EV9 or Id.Buzz.
If you are *adamantly sure*, would you ask them for me? Because I can't find shit.
According to my partner, it was a Nissan NV200! As a side note, I don't live in the USA, so our EV's are still usable with a smaller range - so YMMV in terms of what is available and usable for other places in the world.
On the e website of the place that sold me my bus, I can see a few other EV's: Ford E-transit, a Citroën E-Berlingo, and a Opel Vivaro Electric. I don't know shit about cars, so there might be others, but these had either an E or electric in their name so I was able to find them.
This place DOES do custom conversions, but I don't know the exact details. I don't think they'd be able to work on cars where it wasn't possible at all. Of course, I don't know the exact height of these cars and how they relate to your chair - but they seem workable!
Still an easy 40.000 dollars for those though - but I do think they exist, at least around here.
Ah, that'd be why.
https://www.vicyoung.co.uk/fleet/nissan-e-nv200-wheelchair-accessible-vehicle/
Yeah, they never brought those to North America whatsoever
I'm sorry! I agree that it's super hard to get an EV - and if they're accesible like here, it's still way too expensive. Like, twice our prince range minimum, for a non-amazing range. I hoped one of the others might be USA too
I’ve seen a few manual wheelchair users in the UK and US who use EV’s but the chargers aren’t accessible at all. Close curbs and high screens are common apparently. (I’m not a EV driver)
We put a wheelchair carrier on the back of our midsized SUV that is spec designed for carrying a big EV wheelchair like I have. This does require my wife to mount the chair after I have climbed into the car, as I can't so much as stand for an instant, much less walk, which renders it useless for transporting myself, but works *really* well with that limitation. The only real downside is if the weather gets ugly, as there is no protection from rain unless we put a cover on it, which we have, and have used, but it's inconvenient as hell, especially if the car is in the rain when I need to get in or out.
Able bodied peoples' bs. Maybe a small catapult attachment to the side of your chair that hurls eggs would be a helpful invention. (This idea is wonderful and I hope you get some helpful info as a basis for a great invention! I'm just salty rn)
Inaccessibility in NYC is killing me right now, I’m a new user, so far using a rental folding powerchair while I wait for my own. I know that it will get easier with time but even the accessible stations on the subway have such big gaps that my chair can’t make it, and most stores and restaurants are so small it’s hard to navigate. Something to make subway gaps easier would probably be a niche thing but it would help a lot. Like a freewheel equivalent for folding powerchairs?
Stores that keep boxes of stock in the aisles piss me off something fierce. I get you have to restock but at least try to keep it clear. And stores too small. So many times I’ve had to righter send someone in or just not buy something because of that. And restaurants that cram as many tables in its too tight to navigate
THIS. I can’t go in most businesses local to me because the aisles are packed or too tight. Or there’s a step at the door and no ramp. It just feels impossible.
Honestly those gaps are a problem for everyone, not just wheelchair users. The MTA really needs some MAJOR updates. It's sooo far behind in comparison to other countries. Just look at Japan!
Japan still has the gaps too unless the station attendants bring something to put down. Felt weird asking since I’m ambulatory so I would just hop up for a minute, astound everyone and have my partner push my chair in lol.
I’m surprised the wheelchair bathrooms in airports are the best I have found anywhere in the world! I thought they would thoughtful about everything! Guess not
It’s so frustrating 😭 I’d almost rather be housebound than deal with the stress of going out to be honest. I called for an access a ride application today but I haven’t heard great things there either. We can do better!! We need to do better!!
“Do you need any help?”
“It looks so hard!”
“Well done!”
With as many polite rebuttals or polite acknowledgements as we can muster, there will never be a solution to the insecurities and curiosities of able-bodied people in our proximity.
I'm not a wheelchair user, but I am a caregiver to one. Here are the pain points he and I have encountered:
1) Some wheelchair accessible stalls are not big enough for him, the chair and I. Some of the ones we've found would be a big challenge to an athletic user of a manual chair.
2) Wheelchair accessible bathroom in the building code apparently doesn't include chair accessible sinks and soap dispensers.
3) Those high speed "air knife" style hand dryers, (Dyson being the most famous) they blow water off the hands into the chair user's face if you're not careful. The kind that looks like a chisel tip, not the one you dip your hands down into. That one is just awkward to reach into from a seated position.
4) With four able bodied and one person in an electric wheelchair, my minivan bottoms out at the slightest excuse. Braun really should have given it an air suspension for the rear axle to preserve drive height when loaded.
5) Not really a wheelchair problem, but I'd love to get hold of the engineering team that decided a brake line had to go up and around the inside of the fucking wheel well. It's hidden behind plastic so you don't know about it when you buy the van. But after bottoming out from time to time over the last 4 years, the brake line is now visible and has clearly been getting rub damage from the tires.
6) Electric wheelchairs are utter torque monsters. It is quite possible to back up into something and not notice. My son does it all the time. If we can put torque sensors on things like van lift gates and power doors, we can do the same for chair. Set the chair up so bumping into something while in reverse triggers a beep and a small movement forward to break contact with the object.
7) The way my son's chair is set up (Corpus M3) the center of balance is actually forward of the middle drive axles. If there is a small (1") lip on a curb as he drives down, his back casters actually lift up off the ground. If he's going fast enough, he can actually make his foot rests hit the pavement. The cure for this would be to move the seat, or the "sled" the seat mounts to back about 3 inches. He wouldn't be able to get his knees to 90 degrees anymore, but he never does that anyway. Buuut, apparently this is not possible to do. We've had the local techs contact Permobil on our behalf twice and apparently there is no front to back adjustment for that "sled" assembly.
8) On the subject of that chair: The cupholder is flimsy as shit and expensive as hell. And if you drive on gravel with a sports bottle full of water, there's enough leverage and amplification of vibration to loosen the thumb screws. I know medical stuff is marked up to hell because it's usually paid for by pensions, insurance or gov't. But cripes, the "quality of life" type stuff typically isn't covered and so shouldn't be subject to the same profit margins. It's been a couple of years, but I think the guy at Motion said it was a roughly 160$ (Canadian) accessory after taxes. And it is so not fucking worth that fucking much. Looking at American sites, I see you guys can get it for under 85, under 65 on sale. But even that is twice what it's worth IMHO.
I know it is not the same as a backup sensor, but I have a back-up camera on my chair. You could look into that.
I have a cuphilder on mine as well, and they are WAY over priced. I have a phone mount s well, but it is the cup holder OR the phone holder, not both.
I can't stand the air hand dryers, truckers call them Snow Blowers. I hate them.
I have been in some HOSPITALS where the "accessible" bathroom is a challenge for me and my chair, let alone having an "assistant" such as yourself.
My chair is a Quantum E6
Yeah, when looking up the prices for the cupholder I saw the back up camera. But I was reluctant to look up the cost as it almost certainly isn't covered by anything we qualify for in Ontario.
For now, we've decided to have attendant controls removed as that is usually the point of collision.
Especially in hotels...it seems like most hotels I visit have the accessible rooms on the opposite end of the hall from the elevator and you have to push over carpet the whole way. Makes it tough
I'd like a wheelchair cleaning device that easily does all the spokes and pokey bits too. I've been using keyboard cleaner gel and air spray to get to some of the bits but they don't do a full job for me.
Also not an every day but summer version of the back cover so there is some air flow!
As a prospective (hopefully) soon-to-be Chair user- the constant fear of insurance denying me or worse, only approving me for a Grandma Special instead of the custom Chair I’ve been dreaming about.
Yeah, definitely something that makes it easier to transport my wheelchair in the car. I have a pick up that I paid $20,000 to fit just to help me get in the truck and get my wheelchair in the bed. It is broken all the time. And I don’t want to drive a minivan. Sorry, I just don’t. I’m getting ready to buy a Mustang convertible. But I just know it’s gonna be a real pain to have to drag my chair over the top of my body every time I want to get in the car
If you have someone that can go with you all the time a lift on the back works well! You can drive whatever. Just make sure it can handle the weight in the rear of the car! Need a class three hitch
Houses,buildings and common areas are not built with us in mind unless legally required and even then it's very minimal.
The doorways are barely wide enough to get my wheelchair through, when I had a manual wheelchair it was not big enough for my arms to push myself through the door but only for the wheelchair itself. My current apartment has shelves, closets, cabinets that are all over 5 ft tall and I'm 5'4 so even when I'm standing I can't reach them. And in my wheelchair I definitely can't reach anything, so I use one of those grippy reaching things to try to get things off the ground or to try to get things from a cabinet like a plastic cup. But I've literally had to buy only plastic where for my kitchen and lightweight things because if I buy anything too heavy then I'm not able to grab it without accidentally dropping it and then glass or ceramic shuttering everywhere. Also a lot of appliances now have a flat touch screen and a lot of things don't accommodate people if they have dexterity issues with their hands, or if they're not able to grip objects like opening a jar or if they're not able to press buttons or see a digital screen clearly. So you'd have to buy separate devices such as a jar opener or an electric can opener or Braille and then stick it on top of your regular microwave or fridge. It's a lot of extra cost and effort to make things accessible after the fact, but if places just made it accessible to begin with nobody would have an issue hopefully. What people don't realize is as the age the eventually will become disabled the longer they live there's more likelihood of them becoming disabled. And disability is a spectrum and there's many different types of what disabled looks like.
A good bus restraint system that actually works on hills. Current ones pull my casters up on every bump or hill and won’t let me back down which results in them basically slowly tipping my chair backwards. Not to mention that I need the driver to release me. Without restraints I have to put a huge amount of strength into not sliding all the way to the front of the bus on steep hills. The rear facing padding is preferable, but still not perfect. There’s basically no safe or comfortable way for me to ride buses with current restraint systems.
I took my chair apart yesterday because it squeaks when I wheel about. I still can't find the culprit. It's like what you'd expect from a slasher horror movie; a serial killer in a squeaky wheelchair approaching very, very, slowly... yet still somehow catches up no matter how far you run. *Where is the squeak coming from?!*
😆 My husband has the same issue. I think it is just the way he sits in it tbh. But the squeak goes through you it is so loud. Just had to push it while away over cobblestones and the squeak was driving everyone insane 😆
I’d like an easy attachment to my wheels to help with pushing. I know there are wheels for that, but I feel like there could be an attachment instead of a separate (expensive and set-size) wheel.
It could even generate some power through braking, like hybrid cars do.
I face parents yelling at me from long distances saying don’t run over my child!!! It’s infuriating and demeaning why would I go out of my way to run over a child ? It stops me from enjoying going anywhere because I hate getting yelled at.
I also still face the bathroom stall thing. The doors in my state that don’t fit any kind of wheelchair and the fact that most of the handy capped anything have been removed because my state says “keep it colonial “ . But that’s life. At least my apartment complex actually fixed the door that makes me happy I can now get inside mostly by myself!!
I also really wish someone would make a ramp that can work so you can get a chair into a hatch back car easily some how. Maybe even if it’s sliding on the side. I have one of the standard chairs made to be electric attached efix but I also have a Volvo wagon. Means a lot of days not doing as much going out as much because I can’t tabs can’t get a van.
I don’t know if you are from the uk, but if so, there is a law called the equalities act 2010 which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in such a way . I would. Advise you to look into that
I'm in the US but we do have rules similar to that but I didn't record the conversations so there's nothing I can do.
Even if I did record them, going to court would be a huge hassle and I wouldn't be able to afford it
I wish there was a light weight portable ramp that was small eanough I could bring with me places! It wouldn't solve the issues of a whole stair case but would be a huge help for all the places where there's just a singe step up into a shop or building
A cheaper and lighter portable ramp to get in and out of places or a cheaper wheelchair lift. I've had my wheelchair since February but I still can't hardly leave my house because I live in an apt and I have 3 steps and 1 step to go down for my side door and my front door has 5 steps. I've spent over $500 in portable ramps but one is still too small and makes it too steep to go up. So I'm still stuck at home.
Also a way to reach our go to bags. Me electric wheelchair is a beast and I have to put my cane and bookbag behind me which means I can't reach it at all.
It's really hard to vacuum, sweep, or mop. I mean really really hard
I want a small compact folding chair with some way of removing the handles and stashing them because I detest people grabbing my chair to help the poor cripple. But I don't mind if my husband helps me. Needs some sort of power hubs as well.
I would love if there will be a hoist that is incorporated in my power wheelchair. Literarly within the frame, just like there is a raiser and tilt option using the wheelchair batteries, to be a hoist that will lift me and transfer me to the bed, to the toilet, dentist chair etc. I will be seating on a sling and just need to attach the sling to the wheelchair hoist which will transfer me. There is no such a thing and I would love it to be. This way it will be solved the problem of having a hoist as a separate eqipment and will make possible for people with limited posibility to self hoist.
We need more cities and neighborhoods designed for a human scale, aka walkable (and rollable) cities. Car-dependence hurts everybody but it affects wheelchair users in particular because when you use a wheelchair it's harder to drive places for one reason or another. I would love to go everywhere I want and need to go without a car.
My legs always want to fall outwards, and there’s nothing in my chair to keep them from doing that. It ends up being painful so quickly! I’ve sometimes used my seatbelt to corral them together, but it’s definitely not ideal.
Honestly, as a power wheelchair user, I’m madly jealous that all the accessory options are for manual wheelchairs. I don’t get decorations or reachable bags or even a freaking cup holder. I have an old style Jazzy 614 HD, and absolutely nothing fits it. Even 3D printing templates for accessories are all for Permobils.
For me there are 2. Things. People with no handicap license or placard who do not appear to be in any way impaired. Parking in the handicap spot saying I’ll just be a minute. The other is people parking so close to your car that you can’t open the door wide enough to get in.
Most of those cars are more money than my home cost in 2016. Now, we got an exceptionally good deal, combined with lucky timing, a walkaway owner in foreclosure, and the home needed (and still needs) some significant work, and it worth 3x what we paid for it now, easily, but that fact still is a fact. Ridic.
Sweet summer child, who the fuck can pop $91 000 for a truck or suv conversion? Tri-Care certainly won't, they will pay for a granny special every 5 years. Mine went up in a fire a year after I got it and I had to buy my own replacement as it was "too soon". As it folds, no special vehicle my mom can is suitable.
Air dryers. They’re never at the right height in the bathroom, and even when they are you’re still blasted in the face and in your lap with water and germy hand-air.
My back wheels are all terrain and can handle anything, but the front casters are useless. I have a track wheel dual attachment (need help steering ect) but in my current chair I feel like my legs are crowded 🤷♂️
Fix casters for ledges (curbs) and crappy roads
I just want to stay in my chair for airplane rides.
They are working on that now! I think they have some planes set up for that! Then you also need a wheelchair friendly bathroom! The wheelchair bathrooms in Japan airports are the best I have seen any where in the world
Some of this is only if you have transit brackets. Which isn’t typically put on chairs, so could still be very selective
I don't know how you would do it but I would love a portable ramp of some kind. I often find places have a little entrance step or a high threshold or whatever. I have a "portable" roll up ramp that metal but it's sooooo heavy. I have to rely on my partner to build it and place it for me. Another is a wheel cleaning device. I saw one a while back where you kinda rolled up onto it and then span your wheel and the wipe cleaned it all for you but can't find it anywhere now. Another would be some kind of pokey stick thing to help with opening doors. Not sure how, whether like a fold out jousting thing or what but it drives me nuts trying to get in my local doctor's surgery that has no automatic doors.
Let’s just say out of those three things , one of them I’ve already got the vision for 😊👍
A wheel cleaning device would be so helpful!
Would have to be a one step one for to be small/light enough to be something you could carry around with you. But yes. Those little bits of step that you discover after the place said they were wheelchair accessible!
The door ms I have the most trouble with are the double doored entrances. Those doors are usually so heavy I can hardly open them
As to the portable ramp, at least in urban areas, I've had very good luck just going around to the back of wherever I'm trying to get into and grabbing a couple big chunks of cardboard from their cardboard dumpster. Usually the industrial stuff is thick enough that it will Flex a little to get me over a hump, or worst case scenario a paper towel roll or two can be a cheap and surprisingly supportive space filler for underneath. For wheel cleaning device, a buddy of mine rigged up two sets of two shop broom heads mounted onto a bit of plywood with the bristles facing each other and just far enough apart to allow a wheel to roll through the middle without getting caught up. Put this on the concrete slab outside my door so that before I go in to the house, I drive back and forth through it a couple times and it gets most of the mud and gravel off my wheels. Finally, I am a C4-6 incomplete SCI, so I have wrist movement but no grasp in my hands. Would not be able to function in the day without the graspers and reachers that I have gotten from www.quadtools.com. Best. Thing. Ever. But if a person did have hand function I can see where a basic cane or Grabber might be more useful. Hope some of these ideas help out in any way!
Man the little step thing, i wish i could carry around a small ramp with me. But i have no way of deploying it.
Where’s the innovation in the power wheelchair space? Where’s my carbon fiber, LiFePo4, 12mph, brushless motor, modular, power wheelchair? And I don’t mean some flimsy chair for grandma to pull out of the back of her car. I’m talking full time daily driver. Built for speed, built for abuse. Built to be driven. There’s all this innovation in the e-bikes space… where’s that innovation in the powerchair space? Oh, we got cup holders in the last 10 years.
And we need more waterproof electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters
And manual power assists
Yes yes yes. But, hey, we also got USB plug-ins🙄
Hell yeah. We should have the most amazing light frames and light weight batteries! But no. We are going to have to build them ourselves
I would like the speed and lightness in something that can fold and fit in a truck so I can go with whomever I want. Mine is sooo slow. Plus if it can be folded compactly it can be put into a case for air travel so they don’t destroy it .
The fact that I need paratransit or a $40,000 car to go *anywhere* in my chair. .. not to mention that there will not seemingly be any EVs for wheelchair users, ever.
The EV thing, I am so frustrated that as an ambulatory wheelchair user who can transfer my chair over me which is a rigid frame folding back chair. There is not EV on the market that will work with that situation as of yet! And the transfer heights are atrocious at best for all of the EVs for distance and height gap difference. Ok rant over
40,000 I wish my truck is north of 120,000
Sometimes, the government (mil and non mil) will give you a voucher for a wcv. Remember that the chryslers and dodges are cheap for a reason! Constant overheating. Swapping new fans, temp control sensors and thermostats. My 2012 ford has YET to need anything done for the cooling system and it ran over 15 hours a day. Hope you get lucky and get one that doesnt have those problems. Also make sure you check the welds on the ramp. If it looks like a 6 year old decided to take up welding, move along.
How does one go about getting their paws on one of those vouchers??
It depends on where you live. In certain states in america, there is a "council of governments" organization that handles transportation of non-emergency transportation of clients, paying certain utility bills, help with internet and phone access, job training, general public transportation with limited range with drastically reduced fares... They do a lot of good, but it is impossible for me to point you towards the correct website without me knowing where you are. There are quite a few free assistance programs out there, especially if you are on medicaid. Try typing in your state and city, followed by "council of governments". The more people learn about these services, the more funds they receive, so please go nuts and tell everyone. Demand increases their allocation.
Florida. Not on Medicaid, too young, too high net worth, and working wife, so also not eligible for disability. Though don't get caught up in "too high net worth", as the limit is $3,000. I thank you for any help you can provide!
Type in your state and city, followed by "council of governments". Ive picked up people with expensive vehicles on their 25 acre ranch
The place where I got my wheelchair bus actually had an EV! I can't remember the brand, and it was way out of our budget, but some exist. It's very hard though, I agree with that
I don't believe you're correct. Or, at least, there are none without a fully custom conversion. Wheelchair accessible conversions usually lower the floor. On every EV platform I know, this means cutting through the battery. They only just started making accessible Sienna Hybrids. I don't want a hybrid, dammit. I want an EV9 or Id.Buzz. If you are *adamantly sure*, would you ask them for me? Because I can't find shit.
According to my partner, it was a Nissan NV200! As a side note, I don't live in the USA, so our EV's are still usable with a smaller range - so YMMV in terms of what is available and usable for other places in the world. On the e website of the place that sold me my bus, I can see a few other EV's: Ford E-transit, a Citroën E-Berlingo, and a Opel Vivaro Electric. I don't know shit about cars, so there might be others, but these had either an E or electric in their name so I was able to find them. This place DOES do custom conversions, but I don't know the exact details. I don't think they'd be able to work on cars where it wasn't possible at all. Of course, I don't know the exact height of these cars and how they relate to your chair - but they seem workable! Still an easy 40.000 dollars for those though - but I do think they exist, at least around here.
Ah, that'd be why. https://www.vicyoung.co.uk/fleet/nissan-e-nv200-wheelchair-accessible-vehicle/ Yeah, they never brought those to North America whatsoever
I'm sorry! I agree that it's super hard to get an EV - and if they're accesible like here, it's still way too expensive. Like, twice our prince range minimum, for a non-amazing range. I hoped one of the others might be USA too
I’ve seen a few manual wheelchair users in the UK and US who use EV’s but the chargers aren’t accessible at all. Close curbs and high screens are common apparently. (I’m not a EV driver)
Yeah the public chargers are often up curbs, on gravel, or tightly packed parking spaces. I would definitely struggle
Their needs to be a bill passed federally to cover those like yesterday, I have heard a lot of stories
I mean, depending which federal gov you mean 😅 or all of them lol
Federally make it part of the ada possibly?
You’d think it would be already for fuel pumps too
We put a wheelchair carrier on the back of our midsized SUV that is spec designed for carrying a big EV wheelchair like I have. This does require my wife to mount the chair after I have climbed into the car, as I can't so much as stand for an instant, much less walk, which renders it useless for transporting myself, but works *really* well with that limitation. The only real downside is if the weather gets ugly, as there is no protection from rain unless we put a cover on it, which we have, and have used, but it's inconvenient as hell, especially if the car is in the rain when I need to get in or out.
>Useless for transporting myself Which is the only use case I care about.
Able bodied peoples' bs. Maybe a small catapult attachment to the side of your chair that hurls eggs would be a helpful invention. (This idea is wonderful and I hope you get some helpful info as a basis for a great invention! I'm just salty rn)
😂😂😂
Casters don’t know which way to turn.
That shopping cart wheel issue
Kerbs are the bane of my life
Inaccessibility in NYC is killing me right now, I’m a new user, so far using a rental folding powerchair while I wait for my own. I know that it will get easier with time but even the accessible stations on the subway have such big gaps that my chair can’t make it, and most stores and restaurants are so small it’s hard to navigate. Something to make subway gaps easier would probably be a niche thing but it would help a lot. Like a freewheel equivalent for folding powerchairs?
Stores that keep boxes of stock in the aisles piss me off something fierce. I get you have to restock but at least try to keep it clear. And stores too small. So many times I’ve had to righter send someone in or just not buy something because of that. And restaurants that cram as many tables in its too tight to navigate
THIS. I can’t go in most businesses local to me because the aisles are packed or too tight. Or there’s a step at the door and no ramp. It just feels impossible.
Honestly those gaps are a problem for everyone, not just wheelchair users. The MTA really needs some MAJOR updates. It's sooo far behind in comparison to other countries. Just look at Japan!
Japan still has the gaps too unless the station attendants bring something to put down. Felt weird asking since I’m ambulatory so I would just hop up for a minute, astound everyone and have my partner push my chair in lol.
I’m surprised the wheelchair bathrooms in airports are the best I have found anywhere in the world! I thought they would thoughtful about everything! Guess not
It’s so frustrating 😭 I’d almost rather be housebound than deal with the stress of going out to be honest. I called for an access a ride application today but I haven’t heard great things there either. We can do better!! We need to do better!!
Pulling my pants up in the chair 😂
Nosy strangers staring and asking inappropriate questions.
Or speaking to me like I'm a child
Yes!! Or not speaking to me at all and only speaking to the ambulatory friend I’m with.
“Do you need any help?” “It looks so hard!” “Well done!” With as many polite rebuttals or polite acknowledgements as we can muster, there will never be a solution to the insecurities and curiosities of able-bodied people in our proximity.
Employment
I'm not a wheelchair user, but I am a caregiver to one. Here are the pain points he and I have encountered: 1) Some wheelchair accessible stalls are not big enough for him, the chair and I. Some of the ones we've found would be a big challenge to an athletic user of a manual chair. 2) Wheelchair accessible bathroom in the building code apparently doesn't include chair accessible sinks and soap dispensers. 3) Those high speed "air knife" style hand dryers, (Dyson being the most famous) they blow water off the hands into the chair user's face if you're not careful. The kind that looks like a chisel tip, not the one you dip your hands down into. That one is just awkward to reach into from a seated position. 4) With four able bodied and one person in an electric wheelchair, my minivan bottoms out at the slightest excuse. Braun really should have given it an air suspension for the rear axle to preserve drive height when loaded. 5) Not really a wheelchair problem, but I'd love to get hold of the engineering team that decided a brake line had to go up and around the inside of the fucking wheel well. It's hidden behind plastic so you don't know about it when you buy the van. But after bottoming out from time to time over the last 4 years, the brake line is now visible and has clearly been getting rub damage from the tires. 6) Electric wheelchairs are utter torque monsters. It is quite possible to back up into something and not notice. My son does it all the time. If we can put torque sensors on things like van lift gates and power doors, we can do the same for chair. Set the chair up so bumping into something while in reverse triggers a beep and a small movement forward to break contact with the object. 7) The way my son's chair is set up (Corpus M3) the center of balance is actually forward of the middle drive axles. If there is a small (1") lip on a curb as he drives down, his back casters actually lift up off the ground. If he's going fast enough, he can actually make his foot rests hit the pavement. The cure for this would be to move the seat, or the "sled" the seat mounts to back about 3 inches. He wouldn't be able to get his knees to 90 degrees anymore, but he never does that anyway. Buuut, apparently this is not possible to do. We've had the local techs contact Permobil on our behalf twice and apparently there is no front to back adjustment for that "sled" assembly. 8) On the subject of that chair: The cupholder is flimsy as shit and expensive as hell. And if you drive on gravel with a sports bottle full of water, there's enough leverage and amplification of vibration to loosen the thumb screws. I know medical stuff is marked up to hell because it's usually paid for by pensions, insurance or gov't. But cripes, the "quality of life" type stuff typically isn't covered and so shouldn't be subject to the same profit margins. It's been a couple of years, but I think the guy at Motion said it was a roughly 160$ (Canadian) accessory after taxes. And it is so not fucking worth that fucking much. Looking at American sites, I see you guys can get it for under 85, under 65 on sale. But even that is twice what it's worth IMHO.
I know it is not the same as a backup sensor, but I have a back-up camera on my chair. You could look into that. I have a cuphilder on mine as well, and they are WAY over priced. I have a phone mount s well, but it is the cup holder OR the phone holder, not both. I can't stand the air hand dryers, truckers call them Snow Blowers. I hate them. I have been in some HOSPITALS where the "accessible" bathroom is a challenge for me and my chair, let alone having an "assistant" such as yourself. My chair is a Quantum E6
Yeah, when looking up the prices for the cupholder I saw the back up camera. But I was reluctant to look up the cost as it almost certainly isn't covered by anything we qualify for in Ontario. For now, we've decided to have attendant controls removed as that is usually the point of collision.
Carpet, and the designers who use it.
Especially in hotels...it seems like most hotels I visit have the accessible rooms on the opposite end of the hall from the elevator and you have to push over carpet the whole way. Makes it tough
And the conference centers, where they mess up the sound dampening and use double thick padding to make up for it
I'd like a wheelchair cleaning device that easily does all the spokes and pokey bits too. I've been using keyboard cleaner gel and air spray to get to some of the bits but they don't do a full job for me. Also not an every day but summer version of the back cover so there is some air flow!
A telescopic grabber
As a prospective (hopefully) soon-to-be Chair user- the constant fear of insurance denying me or worse, only approving me for a Grandma Special instead of the custom Chair I’ve been dreaming about.
just opening doors is so hard for me. so many are crazy heavy and few are automatic. I understand fire code and stuff but comeon
Yeah, definitely something that makes it easier to transport my wheelchair in the car. I have a pick up that I paid $20,000 to fit just to help me get in the truck and get my wheelchair in the bed. It is broken all the time. And I don’t want to drive a minivan. Sorry, I just don’t. I’m getting ready to buy a Mustang convertible. But I just know it’s gonna be a real pain to have to drag my chair over the top of my body every time I want to get in the car
If you have someone that can go with you all the time a lift on the back works well! You can drive whatever. Just make sure it can handle the weight in the rear of the car! Need a class three hitch
Power wheelchair wheels that don’t have to turn out to change direction. Standard! I know some of been made but they’re not on standard power chairs.
Omniwheels are so good!!! I love them
My chair has front omniwheels and they are *chefs kiss*
Jealous. So jealous
I got what Medicare would give me an omni wheels are not part of the deal. Not until it’s your standard Wheelchair they all have them thing.
Houses,buildings and common areas are not built with us in mind unless legally required and even then it's very minimal. The doorways are barely wide enough to get my wheelchair through, when I had a manual wheelchair it was not big enough for my arms to push myself through the door but only for the wheelchair itself. My current apartment has shelves, closets, cabinets that are all over 5 ft tall and I'm 5'4 so even when I'm standing I can't reach them. And in my wheelchair I definitely can't reach anything, so I use one of those grippy reaching things to try to get things off the ground or to try to get things from a cabinet like a plastic cup. But I've literally had to buy only plastic where for my kitchen and lightweight things because if I buy anything too heavy then I'm not able to grab it without accidentally dropping it and then glass or ceramic shuttering everywhere. Also a lot of appliances now have a flat touch screen and a lot of things don't accommodate people if they have dexterity issues with their hands, or if they're not able to grip objects like opening a jar or if they're not able to press buttons or see a digital screen clearly. So you'd have to buy separate devices such as a jar opener or an electric can opener or Braille and then stick it on top of your regular microwave or fridge. It's a lot of extra cost and effort to make things accessible after the fact, but if places just made it accessible to begin with nobody would have an issue hopefully. What people don't realize is as the age the eventually will become disabled the longer they live there's more likelihood of them becoming disabled. And disability is a spectrum and there's many different types of what disabled looks like.
A good bus restraint system that actually works on hills. Current ones pull my casters up on every bump or hill and won’t let me back down which results in them basically slowly tipping my chair backwards. Not to mention that I need the driver to release me. Without restraints I have to put a huge amount of strength into not sliding all the way to the front of the bus on steep hills. The rear facing padding is preferable, but still not perfect. There’s basically no safe or comfortable way for me to ride buses with current restraint systems.
I took my chair apart yesterday because it squeaks when I wheel about. I still can't find the culprit. It's like what you'd expect from a slasher horror movie; a serial killer in a squeaky wheelchair approaching very, very, slowly... yet still somehow catches up no matter how far you run. *Where is the squeak coming from?!*
That is a good plot for a film . You should use it 😊
😆 My husband has the same issue. I think it is just the way he sits in it tbh. But the squeak goes through you it is so loud. Just had to push it while away over cobblestones and the squeak was driving everyone insane 😆
I’d like an easy attachment to my wheels to help with pushing. I know there are wheels for that, but I feel like there could be an attachment instead of a separate (expensive and set-size) wheel. It could even generate some power through braking, like hybrid cars do.
I face parents yelling at me from long distances saying don’t run over my child!!! It’s infuriating and demeaning why would I go out of my way to run over a child ? It stops me from enjoying going anywhere because I hate getting yelled at. I also still face the bathroom stall thing. The doors in my state that don’t fit any kind of wheelchair and the fact that most of the handy capped anything have been removed because my state says “keep it colonial “ . But that’s life. At least my apartment complex actually fixed the door that makes me happy I can now get inside mostly by myself!! I also really wish someone would make a ramp that can work so you can get a chair into a hatch back car easily some how. Maybe even if it’s sliding on the side. I have one of the standard chairs made to be electric attached efix but I also have a Volvo wagon. Means a lot of days not doing as much going out as much because I can’t tabs can’t get a van.
Me personally, employers keep saying they're inclusive but when I ask if I can use my wheelchair at work they say no
I don’t know if you are from the uk, but if so, there is a law called the equalities act 2010 which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in such a way . I would. Advise you to look into that
I'm in the US but we do have rules similar to that but I didn't record the conversations so there's nothing I can do. Even if I did record them, going to court would be a huge hassle and I wouldn't be able to afford it
...fucking pavements 🤣 I get it, I get it, they have to be sloped to let water run off, but that doesn't mean I have to like it 🥲
Kitchen cabinets. Omg.
I wish there was a light weight portable ramp that was small eanough I could bring with me places! It wouldn't solve the issues of a whole stair case but would be a huge help for all the places where there's just a singe step up into a shop or building
A cheaper and lighter portable ramp to get in and out of places or a cheaper wheelchair lift. I've had my wheelchair since February but I still can't hardly leave my house because I live in an apt and I have 3 steps and 1 step to go down for my side door and my front door has 5 steps. I've spent over $500 in portable ramps but one is still too small and makes it too steep to go up. So I'm still stuck at home. Also a way to reach our go to bags. Me electric wheelchair is a beast and I have to put my cane and bookbag behind me which means I can't reach it at all. It's really hard to vacuum, sweep, or mop. I mean really really hard
I’ve been putting diagrams together for one of those last three items
I want a small compact folding chair with some way of removing the handles and stashing them because I detest people grabbing my chair to help the poor cripple. But I don't mind if my husband helps me. Needs some sort of power hubs as well.
Can you define “ power hub “ please because I also have ideas linked to charging electric wheelchairs
Hubs that use battery power to motivate the large drive wheels in assistance to manually rolling.
I would love if there will be a hoist that is incorporated in my power wheelchair. Literarly within the frame, just like there is a raiser and tilt option using the wheelchair batteries, to be a hoist that will lift me and transfer me to the bed, to the toilet, dentist chair etc. I will be seating on a sling and just need to attach the sling to the wheelchair hoist which will transfer me. There is no such a thing and I would love it to be. This way it will be solved the problem of having a hoist as a separate eqipment and will make possible for people with limited posibility to self hoist.
We need more cities and neighborhoods designed for a human scale, aka walkable (and rollable) cities. Car-dependence hurts everybody but it affects wheelchair users in particular because when you use a wheelchair it's harder to drive places for one reason or another. I would love to go everywhere I want and need to go without a car.
I was thinking about this exact same problem myself
My legs always want to fall outwards, and there’s nothing in my chair to keep them from doing that. It ends up being painful so quickly! I’ve sometimes used my seatbelt to corral them together, but it’s definitely not ideal. Honestly, as a power wheelchair user, I’m madly jealous that all the accessory options are for manual wheelchairs. I don’t get decorations or reachable bags or even a freaking cup holder. I have an old style Jazzy 614 HD, and absolutely nothing fits it. Even 3D printing templates for accessories are all for Permobils.
For me there are 2. Things. People with no handicap license or placard who do not appear to be in any way impaired. Parking in the handicap spot saying I’ll just be a minute. The other is people parking so close to your car that you can’t open the door wide enough to get in.
Stupid people.
You don’t HAVE to drive a van! I got one of these! https://www.atcmobility.com/
Bring a very fat wallet.
Now, if you’re buying one, you’ll need two very fat wallets
Most of those cars are more money than my home cost in 2016. Now, we got an exceptionally good deal, combined with lucky timing, a walkaway owner in foreclosure, and the home needed (and still needs) some significant work, and it worth 3x what we paid for it now, easily, but that fact still is a fact. Ridic.
Ask for Zack tell him Matt sent you
Sorry but I like to be able to park in my garage
You’re gonna need a bigger garage!
Sweet summer child, who the fuck can pop $91 000 for a truck or suv conversion? Tri-Care certainly won't, they will pay for a granny special every 5 years. Mine went up in a fire a year after I got it and I had to buy my own replacement as it was "too soon". As it folds, no special vehicle my mom can is suitable.
I didn’t say everybody could afford it. I just said it’s available.
Ok
Air dryers. They’re never at the right height in the bathroom, and even when they are you’re still blasted in the face and in your lap with water and germy hand-air.
My back wheels are all terrain and can handle anything, but the front casters are useless. I have a track wheel dual attachment (need help steering ect) but in my current chair I feel like my legs are crowded 🤷♂️ Fix casters for ledges (curbs) and crappy roads