Handi Accessories’ fishing palm cuff is featured in the recreation and leisure section.
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 community. Users are encouraged to contribute reviews and reflections on products they submit to the database, making the guide both a unique handbook and a barometer of market sentiment.”
While United Spinal generally focuses on advocacy and support for wheelchair riders, the new directory features products that could help consumers with a range of disabilities. Products are sorted into categories such as self-care activities (which includes the subcategories of toileting, dressing, bathing, and personal hygiene and grooming), electronics, wheelchair accessories, mobility aids, meal preparation and eating, recreation and leisure, and home management.
Product listings range from high tech — for example, the MouthPad hands-free Bluetooth mouse that controls computers, tablets and phones via tongue, head, and breathing movements — to lower tech, such as a self-closing toothpaste cap. The directory includes products — such as urological aids and transfer equipment — marketed to people with disabilities, as well as products marketed to the general public, such as motion-sensor touch-free faucets and smart thermostats and light switches.
“The Product Guide is the latest contribution from United Spinal’s Tech Access Initiative, which now has half a decade of experience advocating for the rights and interests of consumers with mobility disabilities in the tech industry and representing the disability community’s voice during all stages of the product development process,” the organization said.
“The Tech Access Initiative is a venue where United Spinal’s grassroots joins forces with industry insiders from Silicon Valley and the start-up space to create a more inclusive and accessible world. The guide aims to raise awareness within United Spinal’s constituency around products that can enhance the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities.”
