Donate Your Used AT for Earth Day

Do you have any gently used AT sitting around in your closet or garage?

 

Donate it for Earth Day!

It is that time of year again... time for some good old-fashioned spring cleaning!  Why not use Earth Day as your impetus to get organized, clean out that garage, basement or closet, and reduce, reuse, and recycle while you are at it. Chances are you have something collecting dust that someone else could use to be independent.

In honor of Earth Day and to promote our reuse partners, the AT Network is excited to announce our first annual Earth Day Reuse Drive with participating organizations throughout California .

 

Did you know that there are many organizations throughout California that accept gently-used donations of medical equipment and other AT devices?  Thanks to a generous donation from Molina Healthcare, the AT Network is kicking off its first annual Earth Day Reuse Drive to promote these amazing organizations' efforts. Not only are they keeping AT equipment from laying useless in landfills, but they are also getting it into the hands of people that really need it!  People like Araceli in Bakersfield. 

Araceli, a mother of two, uses a wheelchair because she has Cerebral Palsy.  She calls her wheelchair her "legs with wings" because it allows her to live independently and do all of the many things a mother of two needs to do. When she was in a car accident and her power chair was destroyed, Araceli's life stopped. She was distraught because she couldn't afford a new one or a rental and was told she would have to wait months for her insurance to cover it. Thanks to the Independent Living Center of Kern County and the AT Network's Keep the Wheels Rolling Repair Fund, Araceli was able to use a refurbished power wheelchair in the meantime. Araceli was greatful to have her "legs with wings" - and life - back.

You can further this great cause by donating any gently used items that might be useful to individuals with disabilities. Please contact each program directly to find out what equipment they accept and please let others know about these programs.  

Click here for a listing of other Reuse Organizations in California. 

Earth Day Sponsored by Molina Healthcare

 

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/.

 

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.