Category Archives: information

Options For Driving From A Wheelchair

There are two options for a person who uses a wheelchair to drive an accessible vehicle. They can drive from their wheelchair and or transfer to the driver’s seat.

Drive from your wheelchair
Driving controls can be adapted to operate from your wheelchair. Usually this means some form of hand controls, though other solutions are possible. There will also be an automatic docking system to secure your wheelchair. All of this will be designed around you and your wheelchair as part of your assessment from an experienced mobility installer.

Safety

Because you have the opportunity to travel by yourself, you need to be sure you are able to get out in an emergency.
Typically wheelchair accessible vehicle have fail-safe devices for the doors, ramps/lifts and docking systems. These include battery backups and manual over-rides.

Other drivers

In many wheelchair accessible vehicles, the front passenger seat can be switched to the drivers side, and there is a docking system on both sides so you can travel as a passenger.

Assessment and training

If you’re going to be using adapted controls, you will need a professional driving assessment and training.

Transfer to the Driver’s Seat
Some wheelchair users prefer to transfer to a driving seat because they find it more comfortable or easier to drive. Sometimes it’s necessary because your wheelchair may not be suitable for driving. Using the standard car seat also means that you don’t need to fit a specialist seat belt.

By contrast, transferring into the driver seat may not be suitable if you have a specialist seating system in your wheelchair and may be difficult if you have limited mobility.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles can be adapted to allow you to enter with your wheelchair or scooter (by ramp or lift), secure the wheelchair or scooter in the vehicle, and then transfer to the driving seat. You can replace the standard car seat with one that swivels and slides so that you can transfer into it more easily.

Safety

You will need a docking system for securing the wheelchair – you need to be able to do this by yourself.
Because you may be traveling by yourself, you need to be sure you will be able to get out in an emergency.

Transferring

Transferring between the wheelchair and the seat does take some effort – make sure you can do it even on a bad day.
Make sure there is enough room in the vehicle to let you transfer comfortably and that there are handholds and supports where you need them. You may need to fit extra hand rails or other supports.

Assessment and training

If you’re going to be using adapted controls, you will need a professional driving assessment and training.

Tuberculosis (TB) Awareness

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Tuberculosis (TB) may seem like an obscure disease; perhaps you were once tested for it during a pre-employment or school physical. But for people in some countries, tuberculosis infection is a real threat, the symptoms are well known, and the death toll is still too high. With the emergence of resistant strains of TB, currently used medications are becoming less effective, and for some strains, treatment is extremely difficult.

And TB is more common than you may think. About one-third of the world’s population is currently infected with TB, with one new infection occurring every second. Not all infected people are sick with active TB; in fact, 90 percent have “walled off” the bacteria within their lungs and are not ill. But the other 10 percent will develop active, contagious tuberculosis each year, and each person who develops active TB will likely infect at least 10 to 15 other people before s/he is treated.

Tuberculosis Is All About Human Contact
Eradicating the tuberculosis infection in a particular country isn’t a matter of simply providing a clean water supply or non-contaminated food — it’s about setting up an organized system for recognizing the infection, treating it, and reducing transmission from person to person. Tuberculosis is spread by the tiny droplets that become airborne when a person with active TB coughs.

Preventing Tuberculosis Infection
Limiting transmission sounds simple in principle, but it is an elusive goal for many countries. To stop the spread of tuberculosis, people must be treated as soon as they contract it.

The United States has an extremely low incidence of tuberculosis — around 12,000 to 13,000 new diagnoses per year. That’s because the United States has the human resources, an existing healthcare system, and funds needed for controlling the disease. Many countries have none of these things. And those countries, including many in Asia and Africa, are still plagued with high numbers of tuberculosis cases. Effective medications are needed to control tuberculosis and unfortunately some parts of the world either can’t afford or can’t administer them.

How To Choose A Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle

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When you’re choosing a wheelchair accessible vehicle, you need to think not only about all the same things you do when you’re choosing a standard car, but also other, more specific, things too. Just as when you’re choosing any other car, you may need to compromise and decide which features are most important to you.

Things To Consider

Size

Will it fit on your driveway or in your garage? Don’t forget you need to think about the space required for the ramp/lift to be deployed
Will it be easy to drive in traffic and on the roads you normally drive on?

Money

What’s the price?
If you’re buying it yourself, what’s the resale value likely to be?
What will it cost you to insure?
What’s the fuel consumption like?

Comfort and convenience

Can you get in and out easily?
Can you use the controls?
Is it quiet and smooth when you’re driving?
Is there good visibility for everyone in the vehicle?

Space

Is there room for all the people and luggage you want to carry?
What about times when you might want to carry a lot of luggage or equipment (ex. holidays)?

Features

Does it have everything you need?
What about air conditioning, automatic transmission, electric windows, remote start, heated seats, etc?

Performance

Does it give you reasonable speed and acceleration?
What about braking, ride and handling?

Specific considerations

Getting in and out

Will you choose a ramp or a lift?
Will you have someone to assist you?
Can you get in and out without hitting your head or having to duck?

Traveling position

Where will your wheelchair sit?
Will you be able to see out of the windows?
Will you be able to talk to other people easily?

Safety

How will you secure yourself and your wheelchair?
How will you secure any equipment you use to get in and out?
How will you secure anything else (unattended wheelchair, luggage, equipment, etc)?

Reliability

Can you rely on the equipment you use to get in and out?
What happens if it breaks down?
Are there manual over-rides for any powered equipment?
Do you have a suitable dealer nearby for servicing?

Build quality

Different conversions have been built to different standards, so some will be more comfortable and less noisy inside than others.

Project 22

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The cost will be $12.50 for civilians and FREE for Veterans.
VETERANS STILL MUST CLICK ON THE LINK AND RESERVE THEIR TICKETS!

Tickets will go fast and this will be a one night only show so make sure you get yours today! Just go to www.clickitevents.com to purchase yours!

For those riding, there will be a link up at Harley-Davidson of Frederick and then will have an after party at Hardtimes Cafe And Cue.

Saturday, May 2
at 7:00pm
MDL Holiday Cinemas official
100 Baughmans Ln, Frederick, Maryland 21702

For more information on this event please visit the Website or Facebook Page
Click here to view the trailers!
If you can’t make it to the event but still want to support the cause you can Donate Here!

ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT 22 NEEDS A FACE

The making of Project 22
Project 22 was a 22 day, 6,500 mile motorcycle awareness campaign from San Francisco to New York City to raise awareness of the high rate of suicides within the Veteran community. As we traveled across the country, we spoke with many Veterans who had contemplated or attempted suicide and asked them for their stories; what led them to it and what brought them out of it. The responses regarding the challenges were in remarkable unison although the hope they found came in many different forms. We were able to explore the therapeutic potential behind sailing, pottery, education, activism, family, service dogs, painting and more.

We also spoke with leading researchers of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress, mental health clinicians and educators, as well as, leading experts in warrior culture and combat stress. Coupled with the insightful and potentially life changing information we captured in interviews, we filmed the motorcycle awareness campaign, including camping, several organized rides and our final ride being escorted into World Trade Center by the Port Authority Police Department. We gathered incredible footage and news coverage in multiple cities, including Pittsburgh and New York.

Project 22 was entirely crowd-funded via an IndieGoGo campaign and private donations. In addition, the crew was offered food, lodging and assistance wherever we rode, helping keep production costs low. Project 22 is fiscally sponsored by From The Heart Productions, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, while Medicinal Missions applies for independent non-profit status. All donations are tax-deductible and are made payable to From The Heart Productions via the PayPal link on our website or by check to: From The Heart Productions 1455 Mandalay Beach Road Oxnard, CA 93035-2845

From The Heart has been successfully funding films since inception in 1993 under the 501(c)3 Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Also classified as a public charity under section 509 (a) (2) of the Code. Monetary donations to the Fiscal Sponsorship Program qualify as charitable contributions under the U.S. Tax Code for 95 444 5418.

Current Campaign
Statistically, 22 Veterans of the US Military will take their own lives and 22 families will lose loved ones today due to combat-related stresses and injuries. Project 22 follows two combat-wounded Veterans on a mission to find hope. Riding motorcycles from San Francisco to New York, Daniel and Doc speak with Veterans about post-war challenges that lead to suicide and the healing Veterans are finding in alternative forms of therapy such as sailing, pottery, education, service dogs and more.

During the 6,500 mile journey, our riders interview leading researchers, mental health clinicians and educators who specialize in Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress, as well as a leading expert in Warrior Culture and Combat Stress. Asking hard hitting questions and opening up about their own struggles, Daniel and Doc will stop at nothing to reach tomorrow’s twenty-two.

Mission Statement
To raise awareness of Veteran suicides and to educate on methods to overcome symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in order to prevent Veteran suicides and make alternative therapies available to Veterans with PTS and TBI.

Universal design

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Universal Design makes things safer, easier and more convenient for everyone.
Universal Design involves designing products and spaces so that they can be used by the widest range of people possible. Universal Design evolved from Accessible Design, a design process that addresses the needs of people with disabilities. Universal Design goes further by recognizing that there is a wide spectrum of human abilities. Everyone, even the most able-bodied person, passes through childhood, periods of temporary illness, injury and old age. By designing for this human diversity, we can create things that will be easier for all people to use.

Who Does Universal Design Benefit?
Everyone.
Universal Design takes into account the full range of human diversity, including physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities, as well as different body sizes and shapes. By designing for this diversity, we can create things that are more functional and more user-friendly for everyone. For instance, curb cuts at sidewalks were initially designed for people who use wheelchairs, but they are now also used by pedestrians with strollers or rolling luggage. Curb cuts have added functionality to sidewalks that we can all benefit from.

What can be Universally Designed?
Everything.

Universal Design can apply to anything that can be designed, including products like door handles, kitchen utensils and smartphones.
Universal Design can be applied to architecture and the built environment, including public and commercial buildings, as well as residential buildings and family homes.
Universal Design can also be applied to the community at large through urban planning and public transportation.

Universal Design vs. the Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a piece of legislation that protects the civil rights of people with disabilities by ensuring that they are not unfairly denied access to job opportunities, goods or services due to their disability. The ADA includes the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which outlines accessibility requirements for buildings and facilities. There is a great deal of overlap between what is required under the ADA and what would be suggested by Universal Design, but there are also differences. The ADA outlines the bare minimum necessary in order to curb discrimination against people with disabilities, while Universal Design strives to meet the best practices for design, which are always evolving and improving as we continue to learn more about how to best meet people’s different needs. The ADA focuses solely on the civil rights of people with disabilities, while Universal Design is designed with everyone in mind. The ADA does not apply to single family residences, while Universal Design can and should.

Below are some examples of universal designs:

Low Force Flooring Materials
There is actually a reason that short, stiff carpets and hard surface floors are found in most public buildings. If you use a wheelchair, you know how difficult it can be to push through even slightly plush carpet. Wheelchairs, handcarts, strollers – they are all easier to operate on hard surfaces.

Seamless Room Transitions
Room thresholds are most common in transitions between areas of carpeting and hard surfaces, and those lips can be not only difficult, but painful to maneuver over. Sticking to a consistent flooring style and removing those thresholds can make a huge impact on ease of maneuvering an interior.

Access for Pools
An hour of freely moving around in the water gives people with severe arthritis, muscle atrophy, and more a way to recover and live a significantly more pain-free life. This is why an increasing number of public pools have accessible chairs on metal arms by the side of the pool.

Lever Handles Instead of Knobs
Knobs, while being visually more appealing, require quite a bit more arm and wrist torque to move the bolt. Lever handles require both less force and overall motion.

Close Captioning/Large Print
Tablets, eReaders, smartphones, and more have shortcuts to increase font size easily – another great example of subtle universal design. This is the same principle behind why Netflix, YouTube and others alike now have captioning built in. Disability or not, these features can make life easier.