#disability hacks

[disability-can-be]

One of the most useful disability hacks I've discovered:

I tied a handkerchief through the handle of my water bottle! It makes it much easier to pick up and carry, I can hang it over my wrist or really anywhere, and I can change out the color and pattern!

Give it a try and see if it helps you. Anything that helps carry water with you will help you stay hydrated!

I love you!

[crippl-hacker]

Life pro tip: after a shower spread a dry towel on your bed and lay on it to fully dry off and not have moist clothing. It helps prevent moist socks and underwear!

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Sometimes, I need to un-sand my -wich.

I understand that a sandwich is meant to be "the main protein of a meal between two layers of bread in a meal, such that it can be eaten with one hand while playing cards."

But sometimes, the filling of a sandwich is too sloppy, saucy, or otherwise Just Too Much to be held in the hand.

In which case (in 'wich' case?), I put the filling in a bowl with extra sauce, tear up the bread into bite-sized pieces (dense, chewy bread is best), warm it up in the microwave for about a minute, and eat it like a salad.

[lord-hand-me-spoons]

A lit has happened since I last logged on here. I got accepted to my dream school and I have moved far away from my home town. It has been a hectic (and scary) time, but I feel excited for this change.

Mentally I am not great. This is an exciting time with a lot of new things, and I have been able to stay afloat and get some nutrition, but I would be lying if I said that it hasn’t been a struggle. I feel so alone with my thoughts, I have no support system here and it will take months before I can get a new therapist here, the waiting list is so long. There is no one here that knows anything about my past, which in a way feels good, it feels like I can start fresh. But at the same time, there is no one here that I can talk to of ask for help with the food.

[cozycoffeereads]

Calling all chronic illness friends!

I saw this hack on Tik Tok by the user chroniclexi_ that I thought would be helpful to share with everyone else in case they haven’t seen it!

She took a book cart and turned it into a chronic illness cart that she keeps by her bed. It's filled with meds, drinks, snacks, and medical equipment. This is perfect for days you can't get out of bed due to bad pain or feeling sick. Just wanted to pass this along in case someone hasn't heard of it. I've been using one and it’s been helpful.

[spacequeer]

embracing the mobility scooter by taking it to the grocery store and for every Look that I got, asking myself: "would Muffin care what these people think? no? OK moving on then." and folks, it really really works

[gon-and-killuas-mother]

figured out how to put clothes away! sorta. it's a work in progress.

instead of putting my laundry basket by the hanging rack in my bedroom (which has very little space and no sitting spots) i started to put it either by my couch or my desk with a bundle of hangers

this way, if i'm watching TV i can put a few shirts on hangers every so often. it takes up space in the living room so i will eventually get annoyed at looking at it, AND i can sit while doing it. it still takes a while but it's better than letting it pile up in my bedroom!

[featherbrainfairy]

#2 Mumming with Disability- Top 5 hacks with babies

We all know the newborn phase can be the most beautiful, crazy, emotional, messy but rewarding roller coaster of experience ever. Especially for first time mums, who had no concept of the true reality of sleep deprivation, the immensity of the feeling of pressure to get it right every time, or the depths of despair caused from raging ever-changing hormones. I don’t care who you are, I believe ALL mums need help, therefore, ALL mums need MumLife Hacks! More specifically for us though, ability friendly ones…

After the birth of my second cheeky gremlin, my body was so nutritionally deficient that the poor thing spiralled into a hardcore crumpled MS MESS.  SO here are some of the little mum hacks I came across during my second newborn phase. Some of them would probably have been super helpful with regular 'first time mum-ing' after my eldest was born, but never mind! Maybe  some of these will help to make the crazy more manageable!

Nappy Change Time! - its all about minimising unnecessary movement back and forth. Conserve your energy!

When you are setting up your babies room, choose a change-table that is height appropriate to you, so you can change them sitting down. I used an office chair on wheels for a while there, but do what's safe according to your level of ability obviously. Another option I found great was to set up a ground level change station in the play room! Then I didn’t need to go far when the PooFairy struck again… and again! Also be sure to set up your nursery change station so that ALL the things are in easy reach. Choose a baby table with under-storage, and get creative with wall hangings!

Wipes. Nappies. Clothes. Bin Bags. Powders and Creams. Nail clippers! Yes, them too, baby nails are like razors!

Feeding Time! Extra comfort

2. Again, foresight is key here. Make sure you have your water bottle and little snacks already on hand if you're breastfeeding, and choose a very comfortable nursing chair with pillows to support your arms. If your fatigue is anything like mine, babies are unexpectedly heavy and twisting yourself into a position to get a good "latch" is a MISSION. 

The 'nursing chair' I chose was actually a recliner, this helped with the pain and swelling from oedema, I could put my feet all the way up and elevation may assist with lymphatic drainage. It was also great during cuddle time! If you can't do a recliner, at least get a foot-stool.

I need rest…

3. So this one is so hard for mums everywhere. Even moreso for us. We often begin the day fatigued on a good day, and it just gets harder as the day goes on. Then put chronic sleep deprivation and probable malnutrition on top, and we have a hormonal Featherbrained ZOMBIE-Fairy. In fact this is such a big topic I might have to do a whole post on just this one thing, but for now ill say this…

I have learned there is some truth in the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps", even though its ridiculous and feels completely unachievable, counterintuitive and counterproductive.

I feel like it should be more along the lines of… 'when baby is asleep, either Eat, Sleep, or Meditate!'

Don't push yourself to clean or do anything beyond what is absolutely vital and wear you already exhausted self into the ground. This time needs to be spent pouring your energy into your own cup, it's nourishing time, not work time.

Getting Dressed?

4. With dexterity issues, its so important to choose your kids clothes wisely. Whoever invented onesies with 10 thousand tiny buttons or even snaps was an A-hole. Onesies with Zippers are your friend!!! Laces and ribbon ties are obviously not.

Having baby wear a bib while breastfeeding or regular feeding is helpful for drips and makes for less frequent wardrobe changes. There are great stretchy cotton ones that go straight over the head in one flowing movement, and others that have a little velcro patch that does up behind the neck, both of which I found to be good.

Got Stuff?

5. Time to DOWNsize the amount of stuff you have. If you're anything like me, you have somehow accumulated enough baby stuff to clothe and entertain FIVE kids when you only have two! Less stuff means less to clean, organise and put away. Keep your fav's though and have a sentimental box for you to go through on the moments when you are finding yourself asking 'why the ACTUAL f*** did I agree to this again?'. We've all been there.

Hopefully some of these have been helpful for the baby mummas out there! I have another post coming for Disability Friendly Hacks for the toddler age coming up soon!

Have you got any hacks you'd like to share? Send them through and I'll put them up!

Embrace your featherbrain… lists are your friend.

[disability-can-be]

Here's an (unfortunately expensive but likely worth it) accessibility lifesaver when it comes to dental health: the Samba toothbrush!

This toothbrush by Curaprox features a full-mouth brushing system that does the work for you. You only need to be able to hold it in place. The handle is thick for easier grasping and the bristles are positioned so that you get a fully clean mouth in just 1 minute. The website tells us that the Samba was "designed to make oral care more accessible, especially for people with limited mobility or dexterity."

They are sold for $299.99 from the manufacturer with a 60-day money back guarantee.

Don't forget to take care of your teeth! They connect to the rest of you!

[cowsabungus]

Art Hacks for Physical Disabilities!!

I know art can be inaccessible to physically disabled people for a lot of reasons, and I think art should be accessible to everyone, so here’s a couple of the things I found to help for a few different issues you may face that stop you participating!

I have a link to all these items (UK) in my link tree!!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION

Slide one: illustration of a white woman with pink hair, wearing a pink outfit, sitting in a power wheelchair, looking at the viewer with thumbs up. Text Reese “hacks to make art more accessible”

Slide two: illustration of three different kinds, using three different types of pencil grips. One hand uses a circular grip. 100 is a large, rectangular grip. Another uses a grip that is ergonomic and fit into the hand. Main text reads “Paul, grip, strength and dexterity”. Subtext reads “there are loads of different types of pencil, grips or design for different disabilities and conditions. Increasing the width of the pencil can give more texture for a better grip using a pencil with a thicker with also reduces the amounts of pressure needed to hold a pencil you can make your own using items like pool noodles. KT tape an air dry clay. You can also put these groups on things like paint brushes.“

Slide three: illustration of a hand using a tool that looks like a wrist support with a paintbrush connected to it text next to it reads “this talk next a paintbrush to your hand in a way that means you don’t need to hold the paintbrush with your fingers and you will need to move your arm around“ on the bottom right hand corner is in photograph of a guided hand device. Text read “regarded hand as a tool designed to reduce the need for moving your hands and fingers and relies on the movement of your shoulder and upper arms and can be used with different materials like paintbrushes, pencils, pens and styluses.

Slide four: main header reads “when in bed“. Illustration of an iPad pillow with a iPad in it is next to text that reads “iPad pillows, put your tablet at an easier to access level when sitting or lying down“. In the bottom left hand corner is an illustration of a girl sitting in bed in her pyjamas with a pillow behind her and a bed table as she is drawing. On the left hand side is a photograph of a bed table with the text reading “bed tables are used to give you a flat tire up surface while in bed, and are often height adjustable”. In the bottom right hand side is a bedsit, a pillow with the text underneath, reading “ bedsitters of specially shaped pillows that you put behind you in bed to help you set up and give you a soft surface to lean back on”.

Slide five: maisie had a read out “at a desk left”. On the left hand side is a photograph of the document holder with the text “document holders put your paper at an angle to help prevent crane in your neck down”. On the right hand, middle side is an illustration of someone using a armrest and on the bottom left hand side is a photograph of the armrest. Text next to them reads “economic arm rests clip onto your table or desk and give you a surface you lean you’re forearms or elbows on. This can be used to steady your arm and reduce pain and fatigue while sitting at a desk”.

Slide six: maisie reads “foot and mouth painters” . on the right hand side is an photograph of swapping Augustine, an Indian woman with no arms, wearing a sari painting with her left foot. In the bottom left hand corner is an illustration of a woman with green hair painting using her mouth. Text reads “foot and mouth painting is a technique used by artists who do not have, or cannot use their arms so hold the paintbrush in their mouth or using their foot. Swapna Augustine is a foot painter who has painted with her feet and participated in multiple exhibitions of foot and mouth painters. Her art is stunning and I would definitely recommend checking some of help work out.“

Slide seven: main text reeds “art without brushes and pens”. On the left-hand side is a photograph of a spin art device. Text next to read it reads “spin out involves using bottles of ink and squirting them onto a spinning piece of paper to create spiral art. On the middle right hand side is a illustration of a laptop with coding art written on the screen. Text me next to it reads “coding art involves making programs that design and create art pieces digitally. This could be used in conjunction with an eye tracking software.“ On the bottom left hand side is a photograph of a child in a power wheelchair with paint on their wheels painting onto a large piece of paper. Next to this is text reading “wheelchair painting involves putting paint on your wheelchair wheels and moving around and large piece of paper. Sometimes you can connect a roller to create more marks.“

Slide eight: text reads “what do you do to make art accessible for you?”

End of ID.

[snekky-arts]

he gonna burn someone's house down

(click for Actual Details, why does Hack have to be 9ft to Koala's 5)

I just couldn't get this meme out of my head for them. And I learned that I need to draw more buff men and also I really want to draw Koala again.

[twinknote]

i just stumbled upon this video and it feels life changing enough that i'm not only going to try it out myself, but i'm also going to share a written summary here!

PROBLEM: routines are especially difficult for anyone who has fluctuating energy and motivation levels from day to day (this often includes people with ADHD, autism, mental illness, and disabilities)

SOLUTION: having three options for a routine according to your energy and motivation levels makes it easier to be consistent, even if you're not doing the exact same thing every day

THE METHOD:

(the video and this post uses a morning routine as an example, but this technique can be used for any kind of routine)

list all the things you would ideally like to accomplish on a perfect day. this is the list she includes in the video:

(imo this is a lot of things! your list might look different and that's ok!)

this is your IDEAL ROUTINE. personally, i'm going to call mine the two spoon routine because 1. 'ideal' sounds a bit moralistic to me and 2. she specifically says that this is NOT the routine you'll be doing the most often. this is the routine you'll do when you wake up feeling the most energized and motivated.

next, you're going to make a second version of this routine. think of how you feel on an average day and get rid of the things that you don't generally have the energy or motivation to do. this is her list:

this is your MOST-LIKELY ROUTINE. i'm going to call this my one spoon routine. this is the routine you'll probably do the most often. it's for days when you're not incredibly energetic or motivated, but you feel relatively decent.

next, you're going to make one last version of this routine. think of how you feel on a bad day and get rid of the things that you don't generally have the energy or motivation to do. this is her list:

this is your MINIMUM ROUTINE. i'm going to call this my no spoon routine. this is what you'll do when you wake up with no energy or motivation. she also says in the video that if your minimum routine is simply having a bowl of cereal to fuel yourself, that's perfectly okay and so much better than not getting out of bed for hours and/or leaving the house without eating.

remember to be realistic about what you'll have the ability to accomplish for each of these! you can always add more things in the future, but starting off with too intimidating/strenuous of a routine will prevent you from being successful.

[caveate]

Oh, that is an excellent idea for those of us with hand grip or strength issues!

[the-salty-avocado]

So I have one of these electric scrubbers and I wanted to share that they exist. They are great for POTS or other chronic illnesses/pain. You can scrub with no effort from you. Plus the long handle means no bending.

I personally clean my shower/tub by sitting on the toilet next to it and using one of these on the long pole. It’s effortless.

[crippl-hacker]

I’ve found some low spoon hacks for managing my teeth. Absolutely 0 spoons - picking the plaque off my teeth with my fingernails. I didn’t brush my teeth for 6 months and used the above but my dentist said my teeth looked great and to keep up the good work brushing >.<

A little bit more energy I can use a wet washcloth to wipe my teeth down. Mouthwash is also a good option and I keep a spit cup by my bed that I can dump when I go to the bathroom. Using dental floss can also help if I don’t have the spoons for standing up and brushing my teeth.

I also figured out that I can keep a disposable water bottle to help me brush my teeth in bed along with the spit cup. Put toothpaste on, wet toothbrush over spit cup, brush teeth, spit out into spit cup, rinse mouth out with disposable water bottle, spit cup.

My heart breaks more and more everytime i got to the dentist and realize just how much is effected when your chronically ill and suffer from chronic pain, it effects more that just the symptoms you’re having. mine effects my ability to brush my teeth, therefore my teeth decay. and i’m left feeling embarrassed at my inadequacies to take care of myself and the sideways glances from the dental assistant just jabbing it in more.

rationally i know im doing my best, that my disabilities hinder my ability to take care of myself sometimes. rationally i know to give myself grace, and be more understanding towards myself. but i can’t help but feel ashamed and horrible of my lack of care each time they point out another cavity. i can’t help but feel pure anger and resentment towards myself after each cleaning. and i can’t help but hate myself for being the way i am after ever dentist appointment.

[audhd-space]

Hi. Do you have any tips on how to be productive and how to stick to a routine? I create routines but can barely stick to them, and it's stressful trying to stay on top of schoolwork and other extracurricular activities. Thanks!

Hello, been away to focus on my health.

I’ll try to keep it simple: so a lot of the times people with ADHD fail to stick to routine or have difficulty forming habits is mostly due to our object impermanence.

So taking account object impermanence when forming a routine means :

1. Creating ADHD friendly space at home.

• some people with ADHD have struggles with teeth cleaning / brushing teeth, so what you can do is place it near your bed

• some people with ADHD have problems with misplacing items, so what you need is not to be more vigilant, BUT YOU NEED VISUAL CUES, and place the items where it is EASY TO SEE AND REACH. If putting it in the middle of hallway is easy for you to take it every morning (even if it is odd place), then that’s the routine that works for you!

• same as eating, if you have problems forgetting to eat, having a few snacks/ready to eat food placed in front of you will reduce the amount of energy/spoon you need to take in order to get food.

• some adjustment I made to make my home ADHD-friendly is to have a lot of label stickers (at door, at switches, at kitchen). I also switched to transparent container so my items can be seen and easily found.

2. Your body already has its own routine, you just need to tune in and listen to it.

• What is automatic for you? Observe your one week and track the pattern. What is the best task you have ever completed and why is it so engaging? This is not going to be straightforward, but it shouldn’t be because everyone is different and unique.

• If you have ever felt guilty for playing games while eating, then that’s also how your ADHD brain trying to keep you engaged and focus doing your routine (eating).

• same as if you need to do your homework while watching a documentary or listening to podcast, sometimes adding more distractions can help people with ADHD concentrate better.

• if your body relies and thrives on novelty, then you have to find ways to keep improvising your daily tasks. Don’t feel bad for not being able to stick to routine, you probably thrive more from sticking to your routine from variety of places or working with different people.

3. Always gamify your task and keep it fun.

• this is how I try to keep daily tasks and routine less daunting.

• it sounds weird but do your routine/daily task with the craziest approach you have right now.

• just like in games, it works better if you have a buddy or enemy you need to squash in order to tackle the tasks!

Most important lesson, for me with ADHD, is ACCEPTING THAT I HAVE AN EVER CHANGING ROUTINE.

It is part of how I move, it is part of how I get things done.