The news stories are too common, with too common a thread: A student in a wheelchair is left behind during an active shooter drill because taking that child down stairs is too big a hassle. Or an adult wheelchair rider is left in an office stairwell as coworkers evacuate because that fire alarm is probably…
Reviewing RESNA’s Evacuation Standard: Performance Requirements, Installations, Inspections … and Why They Matter
Briefly: Wheel Loader Concept Vehicle Eliminates Operator Cabin; Survey for People Living with Parkinson’s Is Now Open
Featuring Fluid Power World, CASE Construction, and the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Accessibility Highlight: Wheel Loader Concept Eliminates Vehicle Cabin, Is Remotely Operated From our sister publication Fluid Power World: CASE Construction Equipment has shown off a new wheel loader concept called Impact, with a design that eliminates the traditional vehicle cabin. As Fluid Power World reported, “Instead of being controlled by the driver from inside the…
University of Michigan Launches Vehicle Controls Study
The study’s goal is to make motor vehicles displays and controls easier to use for all stakeholders.
The University of Michigan has launched a survey on vehicle controls and displays, “part of a larger research project to make vehicles easier to use for everyone,” according to a social media post from Kathleen D. Klinich, a research scientist at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The Vehicle Controls and Displays Usability Survey…
Briefly: Dates Set for CRT Fly-In; RESNA Calls for Members to Develop Adaptive Golf Car Standards
Featuring the National Coalition for Rehab & Assistive Technology, the International Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers, U.S. Rehab, and the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.
CRT Legislative Fly-In Set for September A Complex Rehab Technology (CRT)-focused legislative fly-in has been scheduled for Sept. 16-17 in Washington, D.C. The National Coalition for Rehab & Assistive Technology (NCART) announced the dates in an April 16 bulletin to stakeholders and noted that additional information on the event would be released soon. The fly-in…
United Spinal Introduces Tech Access Product Guide
The crowd-sourced directory includes products in a range of categories, from wheelchair accessories to electronics, meal preparation, and home management.
United Spinal Association has launched a Tech Access Product Guide, “a crowd-sourced database of products designed to make life easier for people with physical disabilities, ranging from spinal cord injuries to age-related arthritis,” the organization said in an April 8 press release. “The Product Guide offers something for consumers from all backgrounds within the disability…
IKEA Enters Accessibility Market with Launch of BÄSINGEN Line
The new product series includes a shower chair and a shower shelf.
Move over, Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam. IKEA, the Netherlands-based manufacturer of affordable home furnishings has entered the accessibility market. In an April 2 news announcement, IKEA introduced its BÄSINGEN line, “an inclusive design for the many, consisting of six products designed for convenient support in the bathroom and throughout the rest of the house.”…
International Briefly: ‘Standing’ Voting Method Ended in French National Assembly; At-Home MS Dosing Offered in England, Wales
Featuring the National Assembly of France, the National Health Service, and the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
France’s National Assembly Abolishes ‘Sitting and Standing’ Voting Method Thanks to the efforts of French politician and wheelchair rider Sébastien Peytavie, the National Assembly has discontinued its par assis et levé (“sitting and standing”) voting method because it excludes people who are unable to stand. Yaël Braun-Pivet, president of the National Assembly, said afterward on…
United Spinal Launches Advocacy Impact Fund to Protect Disability Rights
Association references recent threats, including possible Medicaid cuts and airlines’ lawsuit.
United Spinal Association has created an Advocacy Impact Fund in response to multiple new threats to disability rights and programs that support people with disabilities. “United Spinal is fighting to protect decades of progress toward accessibility and disability inclusion that are under threat by cuts to Medicaid, attacks on accessible air travel, and efforts to…
Airlines Sue Over DOT Rule Strengthening Protections for Wheelchair Riders
The rule, which began taking effect in January, holds airlines accountable for wheelchair damage and delays.
Five U.S. airlines have filed a lawsuit asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (New Orleans) to review the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers for Disabilities Using Wheelchairs rule. On Feb. 18, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways Corp., Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines asked the court…
Adaptdefy’s LapStacker: Helping Wheelchair Riders to Carry Life’s Loads
Magnetic, retractable strap system fits both manual and power wheelchairs.
So often in life, it’s the little things that add up and make — or break — your day. That might be some of the wisdom behind LapStacker, a “click-and-go” wheelchair carry system that uses retractable straps, magnetic buckles and finger loops to secure a wide range of objects on the laps of power and…