Opt for technical aids for people with reduced mobility (PRM)
It is well known that autonomy and safety are among the essential criteria of well-being for every human. We want to come and go, do what we want simply without necessarily needing outside help.
To help people with disabilities move around safely, many technical aids have been developed and put on the market. We can mention among others: the wheelchair, canes, running board, crutches, wheelchair door locker, electric scooter, half-step for outdoors, illuminated walking stick or rollator rollator. These different solutions are used to make everyday life easier for injured or elderly people with disabilities.
Undertake a development project for PRM
Seniors and people with disabilities often tend to fall more easily. To limit this situation, which can be very trying and dangerous for them, it is important to secure their movements within the home. Unfortunately, most of our accommodations have not been designed upstream to accommodate people with reduced mobility.
If you are in the same case, you must think about carrying out adaptability and PRM development work on your home. Today, there are a variety of solutions to transform a dwelling into a dwelling accessible to people in wheelchairs. For this purpose, you will find companies experts in home adaptation to accompany you. The latter generally focus on the 3 risk areas for people with disabilities.
The bathroom
All experts agree on this: the accessibility of the bathroom is an essential point in a project of adaptability and PRM development It is one of the rooms that presents the most risk of falling for people with disabilities. To overcome this, it is possible to install suitable equipment such as the shower with the T grab bar. The latter is more suitable for PRM than the conventional bathtub.
If you prefer the bathtub, it is recommended to use bath lifts, fixed or swivel bath seats or running boards. This equipment makes it easier for your disabled parent to enter and exit the bathtub. You can also find on the market, models of adjustable sinks with remote control.
Stairs and other accesses
To allow people in wheelchairs to move easily in a home, it is necessary to rethink its different accesses: stairs, doors and corridors. Ideally, the stairwell should be more than 0.80 m wide. Make sure that the steps are not too high (18 cm at most). Corridors and stairs should be very well lit. As for the handrail of your stairs, it must protrude about 30 cm at each end.
Also to facilitate the movement of people with disabilities, you can consider a mini-elevator or even a lift chair. It is also possible to set up technological tools for home automation.
Do not hesitate to ask experts in PMR adaptability for advice to choose the dimensions of your doors and corridors.
Toilets
As for the toilets, it is possible to install equipment such as: armrests, lift bar, backrest, or toilet grab bar. These different equipment have been designed to make accessible and secure the different rooms of the housing. They aim to make the patient as autonomous as possible.
Choosing the right wheelchair
As we have mentioned, the idea of being dependent on others to do simple things or to go somewhere is the greatest fear of people with disabilities. Most of the time, they are offered to adopt the wheelchair. This solution will give your parent the freedom to go where they want without needing you. He can even go out shopping with his friends.
However, there are many models of wheelchairs on the market: manual wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs. At the same time, we live in a modern era where medicine and technology are constantly advancing. So you will find on the market, very advanced models with many features. You really have to know a lot about it.to make the right choice.
Among the best known are lightweight folding or rigid manual wheelchairs with self-propulsion. It is true that the fact that the patient has to use both hands (or legs) to move forward has often discouraged many people. But, you should know that manual wheelchairs have many benefits for users. They have much larger rear wheels than the front wheels.
Thanks to this constitution, they offer a more comfortable ride than other models on uneven surfaces. If the user does not have enough strength to propel his manual chair, you can always choose manual wheelchairs to propel with electric assistance. Once he has gained experience with this model, you will find that he will be faster in his movements and will have more ease.
Otherwise, there are also models of electric wheelchairs for indoors, outdoors and mixed models. These technical aids save you the physical effort required to move with the manual wheelchair.
When choosing the right model, electric wheelchairs can easily be used on off-road surfaces (forests, gravel, etc.). They have a good autonomy and are easy to transport. The best models can drive the user 24 km.
