The Seated View

“ "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. " — Margaret Mead Do you live in Ontario? Then we need your help! A few months ago, I became involved in t he Older Women's Network's "Living in Place" campaign . It’s calling for the Ontario Building Code to be changed to require that ALL new residential buildings be 100% universal design or easily adaptable, so that anyone of any age or ability can live there.  Toronto City Council has endorsed this campaign. How does this affect you? As I wrote in my post about the day Living in Place went to Queens Park , disability increases as we age. In fact, as former Lt. Gov. David Onley once said, disability is the only minority group that anyone can join at any time. But accessibility isn’t just important because of how your body might change, either temporarily or permanently. It also affects your social l...

I love my Loopy Case . It has solves a many of the problems I have in using smart phones, problems related to my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and disability. Because of lifelong RA, I can’t hold a smart phone — it’s just too wide for my grip. Not to mention that I don’t actually have much of a grip, what with my fingers being mostly fused straight. And then there is the rest of my upper body, which makes it near impossible to hold anything to my ear. And so on. When I first got a smart phone several years ago, I bought a case with a cover and it worked fairly well. There were still a lot of things I couldn’t do and one I did remarkably well. Dropping the thing. Phones are slippery. After my medical adventure last year, I had an additional problem. I came out of the ICU with damage around my ulnar nerves causing numbness and tingling in my hands and fingers . The one on the left is still especially sensitive and holding the phone case required turning my lower...

Does your disability or chronic illness make it difficult for you to use using regular cutlery when you eat? Then do I ever have a great giveaway for you! Isabel Heubl created Integrale because adaptive cutlery “wasn’t only ugly, but didn’t fulfil all the functional aspects needed either.” She worked with a large group of people whose chronic conditions and disabilities affected their ability to use their hands to develop something that was not just functional, but also beautiful. “The users were the ones telling me what they needed and wanted and I was simply the one that put it into a shape.” Integrale has been on the market in Europe for two years now and Isabel often receives notes from people whose lives have been changed by using the cutlery. “I t is so practical and I use it all the time. It allows me to eat the way I used to be able to eat. It sits so well in my hand” – Edith from Hamburg “dinner out with our children and their spouses yesterday,...