wheelchair solutions

From: "David Whalen" <
>
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2003 11:06:25 -0500

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You might be interested my friend is making a special lightweight =
wheelchair desk
it hangs on the side of the chair near your knee. its hollow about 1.5 =
inches wide[12x10x1.5] the sides are made of hard foam. i'm trying to =
find a good pda or portable computer to place inside it for voice =
recognition [ANY IDEAS ANYONE]. we used two pvc pipes to create a =
sliding track and a handlre on its edge so you can drop it on your side =
or pull it accross your legs flip lid open and use your portable pc[or =
have someone assist for setup] we will set up a website and share =
pictures and designs shorrtly if you are interested.
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: =20
  To: =20
  Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 10:31 AM
  Subject: Re: Telephone headset for blind individuals who work with =
screen reading soft...

   writes:

    >I find it to be quite unbelievable that a braille
    >display can cost $10-$15k and keyboards can be $500
    >just for special keys for poor motor skills. Are
    >the peizo parts for braille terminals THAT expensive?

    It's not the common parts.  It's the costs of design,
    manufacturing, marketing, etc. a product with a limited
    market -- those costs have to be spread across fewer
    units than mass-market products.  It's the same reason
    a Twiddler2 costs what it does.  And, sadly, HMDs.

    >How does anyone afford assistive tech?

    Many ways:
    It's more important than other things they could buy.

    It may be purchased by a company as part of a reaonable
    accomodation of a disabled person per the ADA (in the
    US).

    Covered by insurance as part of rehabilitation?

  I think insurance and other fund providers are a major reason for the =
inflation. This is because most adaptive tech is covered by insurance, =
Vocational Rehab, the school board, or other disability-specific =
charities. This supplemental money source artificially increases the =
amount most mid-class people are willing to pay. Also, these funders =
(especially gov't sources) make adapt equip dealers jump through so many =
hoops, and take so long to pay, that the dealer feels he has to charge =
more just to make such hassles worth the effort.

  For example, when I recently needed to replace my 11+ year old =
motorized wheelchair (I don't have insurance), my only source of funds =
was Medicare, and we had a hell of a time finding a dealer that would =
even consider doing business with me. Most said it wasn't worth the =
headache. One guy wanted me to pay cash up-front and let Medicare =
reimburse me personally. Even if I bought the cheapest chair capable of =
meeting my needs, that would cost me $9-12,000. Well, someone online =
eventually referred me to a place that was willing.

  If you want to see evidence of this inflation for yourself, try =
dropping in on a dealer online. Take a look at what they charge for =
onscreen keyboard programs (available elsewhere for free), =
text-to-speech, and X10 compatible environmental controls.

  -Jonathan 
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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>You might be interested my friend is =
making a=20
special lightweight wheelchair desk</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>it hangs on the side of the chair near =
your knee.=20
its hollow about 1.5 inches wide[12x10x1.5] the sides are made of =
hard=20
foam. i'm trying to find a good pda or portable computer to place inside =
it for=20
voice recognition [ANY IDEAS ANYONE]. we used two pvc pipes to create a =
sliding=20
track and a handlre on its edge so you can drop it on your side or =
pull it=20
accross your legs flip lid open and use your portable pc[or have someone =
assist=20
for setup] we will set up a website and share pictures and designs =
shorrtly if=20
you are interested.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title==20
  href=3D"mailto:"></A> =
</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title==20
  href=3D"mailto:"></A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, April 04, 2003 =
10:31=20
  AM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Telephone headset =
for blind=20
  individuals who work with screen reading soft...</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica><FONT lang=3D0 =
face=3DArial size=3D2=20
  FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF"><A=20
  href=3D"mailto:"></A> =
writes:<BR><BR>
  <BLOCKQUOTE=20
  style=3D"PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"=20
  TYPE=3D"CITE">>I find it to be quite unbelievable that a=20
    braille<BR>>display can cost $10-$15k and keyboards can be=20
    $500<BR>>just for special keys for poor motor skills. =
Are<BR>>the=20
    peizo parts for braille terminals THAT expensive?<BR><BR>It's not =
the common=20
    parts.  It's the costs of design,<BR>manufacturing, marketing, =
etc. a=20
    product with a limited<BR>market -- those costs have to be spread =
across=20
    fewer<BR>units than mass-market products.  It's the same =
reason<BR>a=20
    Twiddler2 costs what it does.  And, sadly, HMDs.<BR><BR>>How =
does=20
    anyone afford assistive tech?<BR><BR>Many ways:<BR>It's more =
important than=20
    other things they could buy.<BR><BR>It may be purchased by a company =
as part=20
    of a reaonable<BR>accomodation of a disabled person per the ADA (in=20
    the<BR>US).<BR><BR>Covered by insurance as part of=20
  rehabilitation?</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I think insurance and other fund =
providers=20
  are a major reason for the inflation. This is because most adaptive =
tech is=20
  covered by insurance, Vocational Rehab, the school board, or other=20
  disability-specific charities. This supplemental money source =
artificially=20
  increases the amount most mid-class people are willing to pay. Also, =
these=20
  funders (especially gov't sources) make adapt equip dealers jump =
through so=20
  many hoops, and take so long to pay, that the dealer feels he has to =
charge=20
  more just to make such hassles worth the effort.<BR><BR>For example, =
when I=20
  recently needed to replace my 11+ year old motorized wheelchair (I =
don't have=20
  insurance), my only source of funds was Medicare, and we had a hell of =
a time=20
  finding a dealer that would even consider doing business with me. Most =
said it=20
  wasn't worth the headache. One guy wanted me to pay cash up-front and =
let=20
  Medicare reimburse me personally. Even if I bought the cheapest chair =
capable=20
  of meeting my needs, that would cost me $9-12,000. Well, someone =
online=20
  eventually referred me to a place that was willing.<BR><BR>If you want =
to see=20
  evidence of this inflation for yourself, try dropping in on a dealer =
online.=20
  Take a look at what they charge for onscreen keyboard programs =
(available=20
  elsewhere for free), text-to-speech, and X10 compatible environmental=20
  controls.<BR><BR>-Jonathan</FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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