4 Products that Make Living with a Disability Easier
My name is Alyssa Brown. I have a physical disability known as Cerebral Palsy. Being independent as a person with a disability who also uses a wheelchair has its challenges throughout life; therefore, I decided to share four products that I find useful when wanting more independence. This article will include a description of a loofah with a stick, a foldable grabber, a cross-body purse, and Nike Flyease shoes. The article will also cover how the items help me be more independent and where I found them.
The first product is a loofah on a stick. This product is a regular loofa anyone would use in the shower to wash, but it has a stick on it so that people have an easier time reaching and cleaning parts of their bodies while using less energy. I enjoy using the loofa on a stick because it prevents the number of falls while bathing. All of the soap stays on the loofa once put on during the shower, so I don’t have to bend repeatedly to get more body wash. Lastly, one of my hands can always stay on my shower chair to help me balance, while the other washes my body using this product. The loofa on a stick is at Target or Walmart and you can check it out here.
Secondly, having multiple grabbers helps with independence as they are used to pick up things that are out of our reach or require us to bend over. Having various grabbers allows for the ability not to search for them in different places as accessibility is already limited in rooms. Foldable grabbers like this one from Target allow for easier access to things we cannot reach in public because they can fit in backpacks.
The third product is a two in one backpack. The backpack can function as a regular bag and hang on the back of a wheelchair to carry things like a grabber and parking tag. When there are valuables such as a phone, wallet, or keys, the backpack can transform into a cross-body bag so that it goes over a shoulder and stays right next to someone. The cross-body bag allows for the things we need not fall off our lap or get stuck in our chair’s wheels. The bag is at Target.
Lastly, my most favorite product is Nike Flyease shoe. The Nike Flyease shoe resembles a regular tennis shoe but has a zipper in the back so that the person can slide their foot straight in without having to fight their body into doing movements it doesn’t feel comfortable doing. The Nike Flyease also doesn’t have laces, so the person does not have to worry about not having the strength or ability to tie a shoe. I get my Nike Flyease from the following link.
Zappos just came out with a shoe line that allows people with different shoe sizes or the need only to buy one shoe to buy just one.
Have you tried these products? Which product has or seems to be the best fit for you? Let me know!
