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October Is Car Care Month: Is your vehicle prepared for winter driving?

Is your car ready to handle freezing conditions? Frigid temps can take a toll on your car and make winter driving even more hazardous than usual.
Here are a few tips to adapt to winter roads and preparing your car for the extreme cold.

Check the car’s battery
Cold weather takes a toll on batteries and requires a full charge. A battery is 35 percent weaker at 32 degrees and 60 percent weaker at zero degrees.

A load test by a qualified technician can determine whether a car’s battery is strong enough for winter. Keep in mind that if the car started with a jump start, the problem is not fixed and the battery most likely needs replacing.

Starting
Avoid excessive cranking. If the car doesn’t start after 20 seconds of cranking, wait a couple of minutes to let the battery recover.

Tire preparation
Tires should have sufficient tread depth that can handle New England’s winter weather. All-season tires are adequate for most vehicles but to get the greatest traction for both starting and stopping, snow tires are recommended. When considering snow tires, they should be installed on all four wheels

See and be seen
Clear windows, mirrors, and lights with an ice scraper, brush, or a spray de-icer. Driving with a snow-covered windshield, windows, side-view mirrors or lights invites a crash.

Completely clean snow from the roof, hood, and trunk. Windshield wipers and defrosters should be in good working order and washer reservoirs should be filled with no-freeze windshield washer fluid.

Consider specially designed winter wiper blades that prevent snow and ice buildup and improve visibility.

Reduce speeds
Most winter crashes happen from driving too fast for the weather conditions. Remember, everything takes longer on snow-covered roads, including accelerating, stopping, and turning.

Nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement so allow time to maneuver by driving slowly.

All-wheel drive is best
All-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive will help to get a car moving, but bear in mind it does little to improve braking. Don’t become overconfident and drive too fast for winter road conditions.

Anticipate stopping distance
In temperatures at or just above 32 degrees, a thin layer of water can cover the ice and cause slippery conditions, especially at intersections where snow and ice tend to melt first. The distance needed to stop on ice at 32 degrees is twice as long as at zero degrees.

Keep the engine cool
Mix certain cooling system antifreeze with an equal portion of water for maximum protection.

Asperger Syndrome

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About AS:

It is a neurological disorder that affects the way information is processed in the brain.
AS is a hidden disability. Many people appear very competent, but they have difficulties in the areas of communication and social interaction.
AS has a genetic and hereditary component and may have additional or interactive environmental causes as yet unknown.
AS is a developmental disability. All individuals have social/emotional delays, but continued growth seems to be life-long.
The incidence of AS is thought to be 1 in 250. As many as 50% of people with AS may be undiagnosed.
There are currently four males diagnosed with AS for every one female, but the true ratio may be as high as one female for every two males.

AS affects each person differently, although there is a core set of features that most people with AS have, to different extents:

People with AS have normal to very high intelligence and have good verbal skills.
Challenges with the use and understanding of language in a social context.
Trouble understanding what someone else is thinking and feeling (called theory of mind or perspective taking).
Needing to be taught social behavior that is “picked up on” intuitively by others.
Difficulty understanding non-verbal cues such as hand movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice.
Challenges with organization, initiation, prioritizing, all called executive functioning tasks.
Focusing on small details rather than the bigger picture
Most people with AS have intense interest areas such as movies, geography, history, math, physics, cars, horses, dogs or reptiles. These interest areas change every 3 months to several years
Friendships are usually formed through mutual interest areas or activities.
Most people with AS view the world in black and white with difficulty compromising or seeing the gray areas.
Most individuals with AS describe themselves as feeling different, like aliens in our world.
Anxiety and/or depression are major components for many people with AS and may affect their ability to function.
Some individuals with AS have extreme and debilitating hyper- or hypo-sensitivity to light, noise, touch, taste, or smell. The environment can have a profound impact on their ability to function.

Accessible Easter Egg Hunts

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Create Your Own Egg Hunt
If your town doesn’t have an accessible Easter egg hunt you can always make one yourself! You can hide eggs in your own home or backyard. Consider having the eggs out in the open to make them easy to find. If you have several children in your home, select one color for each child. This ensures that everyone will get the same amount of eggs.

For Children in Wheelchairs
You can hide mini eggs and trinkets in a big Easter basket full of Easter basket grass/confetti that is at table level. This is also a fun activity for kids working on sensory issues. For children with vision impairments, you could look into purchasing beeping or talking Easter eggs.

Work on Skills While Having Fun
Older children may enjoy an Easter egg treasure hunt. Write clues on how to find deeply hidden Easter eggs. This is a good exercise for children learning to follow step-by-step instructions or working on vocabulary skills. Children can follow a series of clues such as: Look near the toaster in the kitchen; or you can put together a riddle by writing: I’m hiding behind a small appliance that makes things toasty.

Glow In The Dark Easter Egg Hunt
You can make the eggs glow by using glow-stick bracelets and LED finger lights. If you are hosting a fully inclusive egg hunt, a great idea would be to use beeping or talking Easter eggs as well. You might place a sound egg and a glow egg in the same spot so children could use either hearing or sight to find them, or both senses if applicable.

Easter Baskets
Are you looking for a healthier alternative to put in your child’s Easter basket this year? Here are a few ideas!

Egg-Shaped Chalk
Craft Kit
Spring Coloring Book and Crayons
Stickers
Puzzles
Bouncy Ball
Nail Polish
Small Rubber Animals
Cars
Legos
Play dough
Kite

The Importance of Regular Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Maintenance

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Whether it’s an oil change or tire rotation, regularly servicing your wheelchair accessible vehicle can help save you time and money, as well as keep you safe on the road. Just as our bodies begin to show the signs of aging, cars, SUVs and vans also can experience diminished performance as time passes. Due to this natural process, it’s vital to get your vehicle checked out by professionals in order to ensure your vehicle’s longevity.

Save Money
While most things wear over time, regular maintenance can significantly decrease the chances of a major problem later on. Preventative and scheduled services are normally small and inexpensive jobs, and can also preserve resale value, saving you even more money.

Save Time
A major breakdown not only costs thousands of dollars, it can also put your vehicle out of working condition for weeks. The worse the damage is, the longer it will likely take a mechanic to get your van or car ready for the road again. Even if the downtime for your car isn’t more than a few hours, a breakdown on the road can be particularly difficult for people with limited mobility operating or riding in the vehicle.

Protect Yourself
Not only does maintenance and regular service save you time and money, it’s an important way to ensure you are safe inside your vehicle.

A wheelchair accessible or other adaptive vehicle can mean the difference between social freedom and considerable limitations. Take care of the investment in your freedom by following regular maintenance schedules and ensuring your ride is in the best shape possible!

October Is Car Care Month: Is your vehicle prepared for winter driving?

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October Is Car Care Month- Is your vehicle prepared for winter driving