The Importance of Assistive Mobility
Assistive mobility is the ability to move and interact with your surroundings. It can be restricted gradually, for example, in an illness like MS or at a moment's notice, such as in a spinal cord injury or loss of limbs.
Assistive devices can help people with disabilities that affect mobility to achieve. However, before you decide on the device you want, it is important to conduct a thorough assessment by a professional.
Human Assistance
Mobility aids help disabled people to overcome the effects of their limitations on their everyday lives. They are available in a variety of categories depending on the needs of the person and range from basic equipment like walking sticks and adapted cups to specialized computer software/hardware and motorized wheelchairs. They are also designed for specific environments, e.g., home school, community, and home.
Many assistive technology are not suitable for remote areas or countries with low incomes. They must be carefully matched with people's needs and environmental factors. The most appropriate technology is simple, effective, affordable, uses local techniques, materials and tools, and is easily maintained. They should be designed with the needs of people in mind and accessible to people with disabilities.
It is essential to collaborate with a team of AT experts with experience in the field. The team should comprise a range of professionals in the field, including family physicians, regular education teachers and special education teachers, as well as rehabilitation engineers. Other experts could include occupational therapists as well as speech-language pathologists.
A good assistive technology team will also include someone with a disability. They are a great source of information about assistive technology and can guide you through your decision-making. Additionally, they can explain the way in which the device functions and provide you with the chance to try it out.
Koris, one of the women who is deaf in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea, was fitted with ear molds as an example of a suitable assistive technology. Koris was incapable of sending her daughter, who is deaf, to school because of her hearing loss. However, thanks to CBR workers from Callan Services for Disabled Persons specially trained in this area, she was introduced to schools for children who are deaf and was able enroll her.
CBR programs can also be used to instruct local artisans in the repair of small assistive devices. This can help reduce the need to travel long distances for maintenance and repair, which may make disabled people reluctant to use their devices. A national group of disabled people in Lebanon for instance has set up production units and workshops for assistive devices and wheelchairs, as along with repair and distribution centers across the country.
Navigation apps
Being able to navigate around the surroundings can be a challenge for anyone, but this can especially pose a problem for those who are visually impaired. In the past, blind people relied on others to guide them however, now there is an array of navigation apps that can help blind people navigate with confidence and independence. These apps provide features such as audio descriptions, GPS technology, and adaptive capabilities. They offer unimaginable levels of accessibility and freedom.
Apps like Google Maps and Commute Booster are some of the most popular navigation tools available with a range of useful features that can be tailored to the individual's needs. For instance the former provides offline accessibility across the globe and allows users to download maps for specific regions, and avoid having to use data while navigation. The latter however provides real-time updates of public transportation schedules and routes that allow users to plan their trips ahead of time and reach their destinations faster.
These apps also put safety first by ensuring that users comply with the rules of the road and take appropriate precautions during their journeys. For instance, some apps provide guidance for lane usage to ensure that drivers are staying on the right side of the road, and others have voice-guided navigation that can warn of upcoming obstacles or pedestrian crossings. These apps can also save parked locations. This can be especially helpful for drivers that are unable to remember where their car is parked.
Multi-modal navigation is another feature that could improve the user experience. It lets users plan and navigate through a variety of landscapes by using different modes of transportation. Certain apps let users save their preferences, allowing them to exclude toll roads or specific areas from their journeys. This provides a personalized experience that is tailored to your personal preferences.
Many of these navigation apps use audio signals to inform users about their environment, with some providing tactile feedback through vibrations. My Mobility Scooters can also provide step-bystep instructions, helping users understand how to accomplish complex tasks with confidence and ease. This can help users develop abilities that allow them to be able to handle themselves, regardless of whether they're in a difficult location or rushing to work.
Complex Venues
At first, it might appear impossible to provide mobility access in large spaces like airports or stadiums. However, there are a variety of ways to ensure that those who are disabled do not face obstacles when they visit public spaces. It is also important to provide them with devices that fit their profile, not the generic one they might be offered in a general store or renting wheelchairs. CBR programmes can identify local artisans interested in producing these orthoses custom-made for individuals and assist in training.
Other measures include accessible information desks as well as checkout areas with counters that are lower. It is essential to have accessibility to elevators, escalators and wide aisles where wheelchairs can turn around or take an uturn. In addition, indoor wayfinding apps like Evelity created by Okeenea can be helpful in helping people with physical disabilities comprehend their environment and navigate it.
Freedom
In low- and middle-income countries in the middle and low-income countries, only 5-15% people who require assistive technology have access to it. This is mainly because of limited production capacity and scarce resources. Some people do not know the importance of assistive technology.
A comprehensive assessment is needed to determine if assistive equipment is the best fit to the person. This includes a medical exam as well as a physical exam and a discussion of the individual's goals. This is particularly important in the case of power mobility, along with other kinds of assistive devices. Poor selection or fitting may cause discomfort, frustration and other conditions, like pressure sores.
The purpose of assistive mobility is to enable a person to move freely throughout their surroundings, including the workplace, school, home and in the local community. This freedom is a right explicitly recognized in section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Assistive Mobility is an empowering tool that improves independence and self-confidence and helps to promote social inclusion. It can also improve quality of life and help people maintain or regain their functional abilities. For many people with disabilities assistive mobility means getting back the things in their lives that they may have lost or not been capable of enjoying due to injury or disease.
Freedom Mobility helps disabled veterans and first responders by donating modern mobility and lift technology and specially modified pickups to transport people. The organization is backed by national corporations and foundations that partner with it to give back to heroes of the military and civilian world who have suffered injuries while in the service of their country.
Additionally, Freedom Mobility is committed to providing a better experience for its customers by offering an innovative tool for the client-centric management of mobility that offers evidence of functional improvements and allows routine follow-ups with a certified RESNA ATP. The company is then able to immediately take preventative measures to avoid negative health outcomes such as skin breakdown or early pressure ulcers. This means less downtime, more independence, and the ability for its clients to stay active and involved within their communities and their careers.