Abstract
This paper aims to look at the history of wheelchair development, examine the difficulties and complications of wheelchair bound patients and report some of the legislations which intend to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities.
Keywords: wheelchair, disabilities, mobility
Introduction
Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible, due to illness, injury, or disability. Obviously it allows them to move around and improves their quality of life, but it has also negative effects. Some suffer chronic pain due to over exertion; it contributes to depression, and causes a great deal of embarrassment and social anxiety. Some patients prefer to remain at home rather than go outside. Getting in and out of the wheelchair is difficult, and they sometimes need assistance going to the toilet. Wheelchair bound patients have also extra expenses;the home has to be adapted to the wheelchair, zero-step entries and door widths adequate for wheelchairs to pass through, and sometimes, especially the elderly, have to hire a live-in caregiver.
The wheelchair development
The exact time
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Though this helped many millions of people to gain their mobility, there was still the matter of those who had upper body disabilities, or other cardiovascular issues, who were unable to use self-powered wheelchairs. This was solved by the 1950 's, with the creation of the first motorized wheelchair [3]. The use of an electric powered indoor/outdoor chair (EPIOC) in severely disabled, non-ambulatory patients has greatly improved patient 's quality of life
Karen recently bought Gary a motorized wheelchair for Gary to get around easier. 17.1 What if… Gary is having difficulty getting around the house, due to lack of mobility? You are doing an initial home health visit with him. What things do you need to watch for to advise Gary to be safe in the home and when Gary goes out?
After evaluating her existing bathroom, it was determined that the bathroom was too small for her to maneuver her wheelchair. Freda was also unable to independently transfer in and out of the bathtub or on and off the toilet. The option of reconfiguring the bathroom was discussed. Moving the shower/bathtub unit, toilet, and vanity would open up the center of the bathroom to allow Freda more space to turn her wheelchair and safely utilize the bathroom fixtures. Installing a barrier-free shower with a shower seat, grab bar, and handheld shower head would increase Freda’s independence with bathroom ADLs.
In the article, “When Wheelchairs Are Cool”, the author, Ben Mattlin discusses why he believes it is okay for able bodied people to ride around in wheelchairs and take on the look of a disabled person, but it is not okay if you are making fun of disabled people. It is also not acceptable for people that are bound to wheelchairs to take advantage of able bodied people’s sympathy for their situation whether it be through accepting free things or getting a discount. The main strategy Mattlin uses to persuade his reader is pathos, particularly humor which creates a light tone throughout the article. Also, Mattlin proves his credibility and proves his point by planning the time at which he published his article. Mattlin’s main claim in his article is that being in a wheelchair is not as bad as it seems.
Society perceives disable people as unable of doing the daily duty’s that a normal person could do. But in fact, they are wrong. Nancy Mairs describes how she was able to teach writing courses and teach medical students on how to give neurological examinations, making reader able to see that although , she was a “cripple” , she was able to perform some of the work of a professional person in the work- field. According to Mairs’essay “with only one usable hand, I have to select my clothing with care not so much for style as for ease of ingress and egress, and even so, dressing can be laborious”(3). Making it almost impossible for Mairs to dress up, she was to put on the necessary clothes that she needed to be covered by a piece of fabric clothing.
“2.2 million people in the United States depend on a wheelchair for day-to-day tasks and mobility. 6.5 million people use a cane, a walker, or crutches to assist with their mobility”. Every single day, people varying in ages, struggle to live their lives due to conditions out of their control. Whether it be life threatening or not, it can have effects that are both socially and emotionally harming. Although some of them may change appearances on the outside, other people cannot forget that all people, not matter the disability, have brains and personalities of their own that may not be seen to the human eye.
A few years ago, my aunt was diagnosed with diabetes and renal failure. Together, the two illnesses were crippling, forcing her into months of hospitalization. She eventually became wheelchair bound due to chronic weakness from multiple treatments and surgeries. Ultimately, she was admitted into a rehabilitation facility, where she began receiving occupational therapy services three hours a day, three days a week. After weeks of intense leg treatments, she regained her ability to stand and walk with relative ease.
Occupational therapists use knowledge of sensory integration in planning and adapting activities for individuals with disabilities to achieve the desired outcomes. A routine of organized sequences of five stages reestablish the likelihood of an automatic, habitual response as well as restore environmental interaction for impaired individuals. Since the OBRA-87 requires nursing home to create individualized care plans for residents to focus on maintain and improving the ability to walk and complete ADLs, the five stages method is one of the treatment methods can be used by occupational therapy practitioners to focus on maintain and improving the ability to walk and complete ADLs, the five stages method is one of the treatment methods can be used by occupational therapy practitioners to facilitate balanced healthy routines in institutional care settings. It helps clients to achieve the greater ability in ADLs and decrease disruptive behaviors throughout the day. In addition, it helps clients to shift an attitude from “I can’t” to “I can” in order to improve quality of life, happiness, and
Nancy Mairs forces a sharp-witted and blunt tone on the reader in her essay, “On Being A Cripple.” A new perspective is explored, on being disabled as well as the word “crippled” which is found offensive by most of society. While keeping the piece light and relatable, she shines a light on the guilty pity thrown on the disabled, treatment no one asks for. Although it is a generally light piece, Mairs uses humor, anecdotes, and diction to improve the treatment of physically disabled. Humor- Mairs lives with multiple sclerosis, and when the reader realizes this it immediately makes them feel sympathy for her.
Andre Dubus was once able-bodied, who then lost both legs in a car accident. He has experienced both ends of the spectrum, pitying for the disabled and rejecting that pity placed on him. He begins his essay, Why the Abled-Bodied Still Don’t Get It, with two contradictory anecdotes: “I read the newspaper story about a 34-year-old man...he is a quadriplegic.” (Dubus). He then juxtaposed to “I was hit by a car...lost my left leg above the knee; my right leg was too damaged to use.” (Dubus).
In an early years setting their a variety of different children that have certain needs that need to be met in order for them to be healthy, safe, secure and welcomed into the setting. Therefore if a child had a problem which led to them being in need of a wheelchair constantly while in the setting. Then their needs would have to be met in a variety of ways for example someone needing to push the child to get around the nursery correctly, having support to complete tasks, someone holding the doors open to allow the child to join in outdoor activities and finally helping the child to get ready into the correct wear for example if they need a coat on to go outside. Although when doing activities for example outdoor play and learning how to catch and throw the ball over the parachute.
For anybody, being employed can have a crucial impact on their lives. It also has great importance on our social and material well being. Income, self-esteem, identity and sense of independence are just a number of benefits that people can gain from being an active and useful member of the workforce. Yet from a historical perspective, many disabled people have been denied such benefits because of their exclusion from mainstream social and societal activities such as worthwhile employment in particular. Interestingly, disable workers have in the past found themselves welcomed and encouraged into employment during time of shortage of able bodied workers during times of war (Barnes, Mercer & Shakespeare 1999, p.22).
In this report I will discuss both the Social and Medical Models, define their pros and cons and give a short reflection on my own opinion of the two models in everyday use today. Both the medical and the social models of disability describe how they see disability and how they feel disabilities and those suffering should be treated. Both models have very different views on the causes of, how disabilities should be taken care of and by whom and both have their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to caring for those with disabilities. Medical Model
The responsibilities that come with caring for a disabled patient are huge. Their quality of life depends on
Accessibility is a concept that essentially applies to the customization of products, services, appliances and environments in a way that enables them to be used by people who have various types of disabilities. Effectively speaking, these products and services are designed in such a manner that enables people with special needs to gain both ‘direct’ as well as ‘indirect’ access to them. At the same time, the benefits of accessibility also extend to a wider category of individuals such as senior citizens and medical patients. Assistive technology is a term that is closely associated with the concept of accessibility. For instance, the application of assistive technology is what makes electronic equipment such as computer screen readers accessible to all categories of end users, including those with disabilities or special needs.
Disabled people are people who have mental or physical limitation so they depend on someone to support them in doing their daily life needs and jobs. Although disabled people are a minority and they are normally ignored, they are still a part of the society. The statistics show that the proportion of disabled people in the world rose from 10 percent in the seventies of the last century to 15 percent so far. The number of handicapped exceeds a billion people all over the world, occupied about 15 percent of the world's population, as a result of an aging population and the increase in chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, blood and psychological diseases that are related with disabilities and impairments. Every five seconds someone