Keep The Wheels Rolling Repair Fund – Now Accepting Applications from Nonprofits in California!

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund (KWRF), sponsored by Clearinghouse CDFI and Batteries Plus. Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund is designed to provide small grants of up to $300 for the purchase of parts and/or repairs needed to refurbish a wheelchair or scooter so it may be reassigned to a low-income Californian with a disability for free.  

Application Information - for the complete guide to the application rules, go to http://www.atnet.org/kwrf/.  To apply, an organization must:

• Be an established nonprofit that accepts donations of used wheelchairs and scooters;

• Currently provide cleaned and/or sanitized and repaired/or refurbished wheelchairs and scooters to low-income Californians with disabilities;

• A member of the AT Network. (If you are not yet a member of the AT Network, join now for FREE: http://atnet.org/membership/join-atnet.php).

Uses for the funds from KWRF include, but are not limited to:

• Wheelchair batteries;

• Non-custom parts (custom seating and other parts specific to the individual will not be included);

• Missing or broken accessories essential to the device's use.

Funds may also be used to pay for the labor costs of specialized repairs that cannot be completed by program staff. The total repair cost of the wheelchair or scooter may not exceed 50% of the device's estimated value.

Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until the fund is exhausted. Only one application per month (30-day period) per program will be accepted. Applications will be reviewed by staff for completeness first, then for content. Each device repair request must be submitted in the Application for Funding online.

Important Note: The KWRF may not be used to pay for repairs to a device already owned by an individual with a disability. The fund is intended to support the reassignment of used and donated devices to new individuals who need them.

Our goal is to support as many reuse and refurbishment programs as possible. Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received funding. For complete application information and guidlines, go to http://www.atnet.org/kwrf/.

 

Sports, Accessibility & AT

by Kirk Aranada, YO! Disabled and Proud Youth Advocate

It’s fall again, and it’s during this time of the year that lots of people start watching and playing team sports again. There are many, many different sports and sport activities that individuals with disabilities can participate in and oftentimes that means searching for some helpful assistive technology (AT) to use. For some people that use wheelchairs, soccer, basketball and rugby are possible options. They are three of the most popular sports and have a growing number of competing local, regional, and national leagues. Check out Disabled Sports USA  for more information on a variety of sports and to view active chapters in your area. 

 

U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team in Bejing

The world of AT has made the rough-and-tumble game of rugby accessible for all in the form of wheelchair rugby. In fact, currently, there are over 25 countries playing wheelchair rugby! It is played indoors on a hardwood court with two teams of 12 players each. The AT involved includes a manual wheelchair that is custom-made and specifically designed for wheelchair rugby. The customization includes having a bumper in the front so that players are able to strike and hold opponents, an anti-tip device at the back, wings  positioned in the front of the main wheels to make it more difficult to stop and hold an opponent, and, lastly spoke protectors to prevent damage to the wheels. Having this specially-designed AT equipment prepares players to really give it their all in taking down their opponents.

Power Wheelchair for Soccer

Wheelchair soccer is pretty similar to rugby when it comes to that AT that is used and its game structure.  It is also played indoors on a hardwood court, but power wheelchairs are used instead.  These power wheelchairs have a metal bumper that surrounds the front of the wheelchair. The soccer ball used is slightly larger and the ball ricochets off of the wheelchair bumpers for passing, scoring and blocking as well for defense. Soccer wheelchair is another sport that is becoming increasingly popular thanks to assistive technology.

Germany's Female Wheelchair Basketball Team

Finally, there is wheelchair basketball. It is one of the most popular sports around! The wheelchairs used for playing basketball are usually non-folding and have a pronounced negative camber for the wheels in order to provide more stability while making the necessary sharp turns.  The rules are pretty much the same as standard basketball; they use a normal-sized court and a ten foot hoop.  "Traveling" in wheelchair basketball occurs when the athlete touches his wheels more than twice after receiving or dribbling the ball. The person with the ball must pass, bounce or shoot the ball before touching their wheels again. In some countries, it is becoming more common to have mixed teams competing side by side with each other - teams with both wheelchair-users and non-wheelchair users. 

YO! Youth Advisory Council Member, Ania, has competed in wheelchair basketball for a long time and has been playing sports since she was five years old.  Ania feels that her getting into wheelchair basketball at a younger age was a great decision and one that she has never regretted.   

“It has done a lot for me.  Playing sports has helped boost my confidence as a person; it made me more competitive and helped me to learn to be more aggressive on and off the court.  It’s helped me be more self-assured in knowing what I want in life,” said Ania.

Accessible sports are making an impact all over the world. They are bringing people together and boosting confidence and athleticism among participants.  Do you play or have you watched any of these wheelchair sports? Share your experience with us in the comment box below. 

Happy Halloween! Creative Costume Ideas for People That Use a Wheelchair

There have been many pictures floating around on the internet of creative costume ideas for people that use wheelchairs.   

Here are a couple of websites that have some great compilations of Halloween costumes:

20 Creative Costume Ideas for People In Wheelchairs

Halloween Costumes for Kids in Wheelchairs

These costumes are fun to look at and obviously many of them took a considerable amount of time to make.  So, how does someone go about creating their own unique design?  Check out the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s Paralysis Resource Center’s page for some more ideas and specific instructions on wheelchair costume design. This page will inspire you to re-create one of these amazing costume ideas or to come up with your own desgin idea.  On this page, there is even a how-to video where they show the viewers how to create a flower-in-a-garden costume for a young girl that uses a wheelchair.

Another great site that includes links to instructions for making some unique costumes a reality is called DIY – 25 Halloween Costumes for Wheelchairs.    

Furthermore, we also found a couple of Halloween costume ideas for someone that uses a walker. Click here for instructions on how to make a KingKong (with the Empire State Building) costume or click here to make a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs costume. 

Finally, we also found this site, Coolest Wheelchair Costumes, that includes even more links to instructions -including some preparation tips- should you decide that you are ready to create a similar design yourself.

Have you incorporated AT into your Halloween costume? Or, have you thought of a great costume that uses your AT? Tell us about it! Write in the comment box below to share your Halloween AT costume idea.  

Enjoy the photos and have a happy and safe Halloween everyone! 

AT for Your TUSH!

Whether you call it your butt, backside, behind, bottom, bum, buttocks, cheeks, derrière, fanny, gluteus maximus, haunches, heinie, hindquarters, keister, posterior, rear, ass, rump, seat, or tush… one thing is for sure—you gotta keep it clean!

There are many reasons why a person may have difficulty in

Installed Toto Washlet

keeping their tush clean independently. Surely, we can all agree that the paper-in-hand method does not work for everyone.  Sometimes people turn to incontinence products like pads and specially-designed underwear, or some folks may turn to caregivers and family members for assistance with this task. However, there is an AT alternate option that could help many people accomplish this task completely independently.

Coco 1035 Bidet

The alternate option we are talking about is an assistive device for a toilet more commonly known as a washlet. A washlet is a toilet seat that includes a water spray that rinses the user clean. While it is rare for a bathroom in the U.S. to have a washlet, they—along with their similar original French cousin version called a bidet—are very common in many other countries. In fact, 79% of households in Japan use washlets and 97% of households in Italy have bidets. A washlet has many of the same functions of a bidet, but rather than have a separate system like bidets, washlets can be mounted to your existing toilet.

There are a variety of washlets available on the market.  Some washlets have controls on the side of the seat, others have wall mounted displays and some even use remote controls. There are even washlets with heated seats! The different options and controls allow the user to determine the water pressure, direction of the spray, air drying system, temperature options, and more depending on the model.

Portable Washlet

The cost of washlets vary and prices range from $350 to $1200. Installation requires an electrical source near the rear of the toilet and professional installation by a licensed contractor. However, there are other more inexpensive non-electric versions that are also available starting at $59. These can be installed by a motivated do-it-yourselfer. There is even a portable travel-sized washlet available for $100.  

Have you ever seen or used a washlet?  Can you recommend one?  Write your comments in the box below.

New Partnership to Move People with Disabilities into the Digital Age

California Emerging Technology Fund invests $260,000 in California Foundation for Independent Living Centers to provide discount home Internet, Digital Literacy training and low-cost computers

San Francisco and Sacramento– October 15, 2013 – The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) today are launching a new statewide partnership to connect people with disabilities to affordable high-speed Internet at home and the tools they need to succeed in the Digital Age.

CETF is announcing a 2-year, $260,000 grant to CFILC to launch Digital Access, an unprecedented initiative to help improve the lives of Californians with disabilities by providing access to broadband service, low-cost computing devices and Digital Literacy training.  Digital Access will engage 40 organizations statewide to help more than 2,100 people with disabilities and their families subscribe to broadband at home for as little as $10 a month.

Slightly more than half of Californians with disabilities have access to high-speed Internet at home, according to recent polling.  With 60 percent of working-age persons with disabilities unemployed or underemployed, affordable universal access to broadband at home is crucial. Those without high-speed Internet access at home must deal with an obstacle course to reach public-use computers, which includes transportation barriers, lack of accessible software options and inaccessible locations.

“We are working to close the Digital Divide in California by accelerating the adoption of home broadband among those who can benefit most.  An online connection is a link to opportunity for all Californians, and new assistive technologies are allowing Californians with disabilities to gain access to online educational, employment and civic engagement opportunities,” said CETF President and CEO Sunne Wright McPeak.  “CFILC has strong connections to Independent Living Centers throughout the state, making them a critical conduit in connecting people with disabilities to affordable broadband service, training and computers.”

CFILC Executive Director Teresa Favuzzi said, “The return on investment for people with disabilities is significant, ranging from live streaming video and instant text communication that liberates people who are hard of hearing from the phone to software programs that read text and describe visual content aloud for the visually impaired.   Attending classes remotely, online medical consultations and operating home Internet businesses eliminate the need for unnecessary trips or commutes and those with certain learning disabilities can access digital teaching tools.”

CFILC will work with device lending libraries, which provide digital devices to people with disabilities throughout California, to "try before you buy" or to meet an unexpected or temporary access need.  Broadband service and refurbished computer options will be offered as a part of digital device loans. The AT Network, reachable at atnet.org or toll-free at 800-390-2699, TTY: 800-900-0706, will be used to provide support and follow-up to organizations and individuals seeking to subscribe to broadband, purchase refurbished computers, and attend digital literacy training at accessible sites, as well as online training resources.

About California Emerging Technology Fund

The mission of CETF is to close the Digital Divide in California by breaking down barriers to high-speed Internet access at home through its Get Connected! campaigns and other initiatives. The goal is to reach 98% of all residences with broadband infrastructure and to achieve 80% home adoption by 2017.  This statewide goal can only be accomplished if the following specific hard-to-reach target communities achieve at least a 70% adoption rate:  low-income populations, Latino households, rural communities, and people with disabilities.  For more information, visit www.cetfund.org and www.getconnectedtoday.com.

About California Foundation for Independent Living Centers

The mission of CFILC is to increase access and equal opportunity for People with Disabilities by building the capacity of Independent Living Centers.  For more information, visit www.cfilc.org.