I've gone on at length about my irritation with the design of the new e-books, because although they could be ideal for people who cannot use their hands, up to this point there has been no way of accessing the units by voice, or through environmental controls. But out of the blue, there is a solution!
Kindle, the e-book reader distributed by Amazon has just been produced in the form of a free download for Windows PCs (a Mac version is to follow). This means that anyone who is able to use a PC via voice recognition or other system will be able to read Kindle books. Once the book has been opened, the only key that is really needed to move through the pages is the 'Page down' key.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking users will be able to use the new software and read completely independently.
Result!
You can download the new software from, http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311
I would be very interested to hear how other people get on with it.
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Sunday, 8 November 2009
A stay in hospital
We have had reason to test the NHS over the last few weeks! Christine developed a bad chest infection that turned rapidly into pneumonia. It all happened within about 24 hours. The GP came, took one look, and called an ambulance. It's all quite spectacular with a paramedic arriving firstly in a Volvo, followed by the ambulance.
In many ways, the hospital experience was very good and without prompt availability of antibiotics and oxygen, Christine would almost certainly have died. But if the medical treatment is excellent, there are aspects of being in hospital when you are quadriplegic and having no movement at all that could be so much better. And an awful lot of money is being wasted!
Some of the stuff is really basic, like having a call system available that can be operated without having to press a button on a handset. Christine uses an environmental control system which she operates via a switch using her chin. There are all kinds of switching options available for people with severe mobility impairments, but hospitals don't have any of these.
And bathing is a nightmare due to a lack of any suitable system to transfer Christine to a bath. Eventually, after a lot of complaining we were able to take her to another ward which had a system for transferring patients to a bath without having to sit up in an uncomfortable plastic chair. We can do this because we know enough about systems and equipment to press the right buttons, but what about patients who don't have this sort of knowledge?
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing was that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been completely wasted in installing tracking ceiling hoists in each bay. These are not being used and have never been used either because they are broken, the remote control (they operate via infrared) cannot be found, or the unit has been left in the wrong place and is not charged. What a waste of money!
On the other hand, staff are beginning to learn that the presence of Christine's PAs (someone needed to be with her 24 hours a day for the first few days) is neither a criticism nor an intrusion on their responsibilities. It simply that we all know Christine best and can manage her condition. It doesn't take long before nurses and care assistants begin to know us, trust our judgement, and appreciate that it is better for Christine's care and recovery and takes pressure off them.
In many ways, the hospital experience was very good and without prompt availability of antibiotics and oxygen, Christine would almost certainly have died. But if the medical treatment is excellent, there are aspects of being in hospital when you are quadriplegic and having no movement at all that could be so much better. And an awful lot of money is being wasted!
Some of the stuff is really basic, like having a call system available that can be operated without having to press a button on a handset. Christine uses an environmental control system which she operates via a switch using her chin. There are all kinds of switching options available for people with severe mobility impairments, but hospitals don't have any of these.
And bathing is a nightmare due to a lack of any suitable system to transfer Christine to a bath. Eventually, after a lot of complaining we were able to take her to another ward which had a system for transferring patients to a bath without having to sit up in an uncomfortable plastic chair. We can do this because we know enough about systems and equipment to press the right buttons, but what about patients who don't have this sort of knowledge?
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing was that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been completely wasted in installing tracking ceiling hoists in each bay. These are not being used and have never been used either because they are broken, the remote control (they operate via infrared) cannot be found, or the unit has been left in the wrong place and is not charged. What a waste of money!
On the other hand, staff are beginning to learn that the presence of Christine's PAs (someone needed to be with her 24 hours a day for the first few days) is neither a criticism nor an intrusion on their responsibilities. It simply that we all know Christine best and can manage her condition. It doesn't take long before nurses and care assistants begin to know us, trust our judgement, and appreciate that it is better for Christine's care and recovery and takes pressure off them.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
There's no such thing as 'hands-free'!
A particular bugbear of mine is technology which is advertised as 'hands-free' but isn't!
Christine and I have been trying for years to find a genuinely hands-free mobile phone. You may wonder what I'm going on about as virtually all mobile phones advertise a 'hands-free' facility, and yes they do all have this, particularly in relation to voice dialling. But they are not hands-free - you have to press a button to access the facility, and that is something that Christine cannot do.
Now I can see that we are about to go through the same frustrating process with e-book readers. Like them or loathe them, they do away with the need to turn pages, a complex skill which is beyond many disabled and older people. E-book's should be the ideal solution. But they won't be, not because the technology isn't available, but because the designers haven't bothered to apply it.
I've already checked with the Sony e-book, and I see that the Amazon Kindle 2 is about to be launched in the UK. Same problem - you have to be able to press buttons to use them.
There would be two solutions, neither of them beyond the reach of current technology. The first is the control (Christine uses a Sony Ericsson K 700i mobile phone at the moment which has partial voice control), or alternatively an interface that would allow phones, e-book readers etc to be operated with environmental controls such as Fox and Possum.
I would love to be wrong, so if anyone knows of a mobile phone (or e-book reader) that has a genuine hands-free facility Christine and I would be very pleased to hear from you.
Christine and I have been trying for years to find a genuinely hands-free mobile phone. You may wonder what I'm going on about as virtually all mobile phones advertise a 'hands-free' facility, and yes they do all have this, particularly in relation to voice dialling. But they are not hands-free - you have to press a button to access the facility, and that is something that Christine cannot do.
Now I can see that we are about to go through the same frustrating process with e-book readers. Like them or loathe them, they do away with the need to turn pages, a complex skill which is beyond many disabled and older people. E-book's should be the ideal solution. But they won't be, not because the technology isn't available, but because the designers haven't bothered to apply it.
I've already checked with the Sony e-book, and I see that the Amazon Kindle 2 is about to be launched in the UK. Same problem - you have to be able to press buttons to use them.
There would be two solutions, neither of them beyond the reach of current technology. The first is the control (Christine uses a Sony Ericsson K 700i mobile phone at the moment which has partial voice control), or alternatively an interface that would allow phones, e-book readers etc to be operated with environmental controls such as Fox and Possum.
I would love to be wrong, so if anyone knows of a mobile phone (or e-book reader) that has a genuine hands-free facility Christine and I would be very pleased to hear from you.
Saturday, 3 October 2009
Frustration, frustration..!
We think we have learned to be pretty good at overcoming the many barriers that face disabled people - that some, you can't do anything about!
We were recently have reminded us of this. I know it's sad, but we wanted to go and see Cliff Richard and the Shadows (remember them?) at Sheffield Arena. The concert had just been advertised on TV so I rang up straight away to book tickets. Any seats available? No problem. Good so far, but we need one wheelchair space? Very sorry, no wheelchair spaces available.
Sheffield Arena is a large and modern venue but we miss 80% of the shows that we might want to see because when you try to book, all the wheelchair spaces have gone. It should be possible for venues to be more flexible so that wheelchair space can be matched to the demand for any particular performance. Until it is, this is certainly an area in which we will continue to feel discriminated against.
We were recently have reminded us of this. I know it's sad, but we wanted to go and see Cliff Richard and the Shadows (remember them?) at Sheffield Arena. The concert had just been advertised on TV so I rang up straight away to book tickets. Any seats available? No problem. Good so far, but we need one wheelchair space? Very sorry, no wheelchair spaces available.
Sheffield Arena is a large and modern venue but we miss 80% of the shows that we might want to see because when you try to book, all the wheelchair spaces have gone. It should be possible for venues to be more flexible so that wheelchair space can be matched to the demand for any particular performance. Until it is, this is certainly an area in which we will continue to feel discriminated against.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Testing out the holiday accommodation
Christine and I have just come back from our annual holiday. Anyone who uses a wheelchair will be all too well aware of how fraught with difficulties and disappointments finding suitable accommodation can be.
For us, we do at least have the advantage of choosing from the range of high quality accessible holiday accommodation advertised on the APR website. This year we chose Fowl Green Farm in North Yorkshire as we like the North York Moors and wanted to spend a bit of time in Whitby as well.
The accommodation is converted from old farm buildings and has been very well done. We could park right beside The Cow Byer(!), and because the conversion had been done from scratch with access in mind the whole experience was just about as pleasant and easy as it could be. Things like really wide doorways, mainly open design, and a really large level access shower room with a decently powerful shower make all the difference.
The owners had also taken the trouble to check out that personal assistance could be booked via a local agency. This can make such a difference when you are working with someone who has no independent movement and Carol, the PA who came for two hours every morning was excellent. I think this idea of checking the availability of help from a local agency is something that a lot of owners could learn from. It costs nothing in terms of investment, but it can certainly help to encourage bookings from those who need or prefer a little help.
The one thing that units at Fowl Green don't have is profiling beds. This can be a costly investment (and probably between £500 and £2000 depending on the quality and functionality), but it does open up the option of holidays for a not insignificant group of disabled people who need this level of equipment. We take our own! Well, it's actually a reclining garden chair that it happens to have exactly the right profile to suit Christine's needs. However, it would be better if we didn't need to do this.
We also take our own mobile hoist. Reasonably straightforward if you have a largish vehicle, but again investment in a hoist that can be made available if needed by guests gives the right message and makes the choice of destination that much easier.
Final point while I'm thinking about it - where owners get it right, they do get bookings. We had to take our holiday two months later than planned because September was the first available slot.
If you haven't got the message by now, let me beat you over the head with it! Investment in access benefits everyone. With more than 10 million people in the UK identifying themselves as disabled and an ageing population demand is only going to increase.
For us, we do at least have the advantage of choosing from the range of high quality accessible holiday accommodation advertised on the APR website. This year we chose Fowl Green Farm in North Yorkshire as we like the North York Moors and wanted to spend a bit of time in Whitby as well.
The accommodation is converted from old farm buildings and has been very well done. We could park right beside The Cow Byer(!), and because the conversion had been done from scratch with access in mind the whole experience was just about as pleasant and easy as it could be. Things like really wide doorways, mainly open design, and a really large level access shower room with a decently powerful shower make all the difference.
The owners had also taken the trouble to check out that personal assistance could be booked via a local agency. This can make such a difference when you are working with someone who has no independent movement and Carol, the PA who came for two hours every morning was excellent. I think this idea of checking the availability of help from a local agency is something that a lot of owners could learn from. It costs nothing in terms of investment, but it can certainly help to encourage bookings from those who need or prefer a little help.
The one thing that units at Fowl Green don't have is profiling beds. This can be a costly investment (and probably between £500 and £2000 depending on the quality and functionality), but it does open up the option of holidays for a not insignificant group of disabled people who need this level of equipment. We take our own! Well, it's actually a reclining garden chair that it happens to have exactly the right profile to suit Christine's needs. However, it would be better if we didn't need to do this.
We also take our own mobile hoist. Reasonably straightforward if you have a largish vehicle, but again investment in a hoist that can be made available if needed by guests gives the right message and makes the choice of destination that much easier.
Final point while I'm thinking about it - where owners get it right, they do get bookings. We had to take our holiday two months later than planned because September was the first available slot.
If you haven't got the message by now, let me beat you over the head with it! Investment in access benefits everyone. With more than 10 million people in the UK identifying themselves as disabled and an ageing population demand is only going to increase.
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Cross with Cardiff!
I'm cross with Cardiff! Well, I'm slightly miffed with the whole of Wales but that's for a different reason.
Actually, it's just Cardiff estate agents that I'm cross with. Trouble is, what is true in Cardiff is equally true for a whole lot of cities across the UK.
We were asked this week to find an accessible property (sale or rent) for a disabled person in Cardiff. There are none currently advertised on the APR website so I used our favourite database to see what I could find. The answer is that, although nearly 3000 properties are available for sale in Cardiff, not one can be identified as wheelchair accessible (actually, that's not quite true - there is one but it's sold!).
The reality is that, like most places, there will be a number of accessible properties available, including some which might well meet the requirements of our specific client, but estate agents don't identify them. If estate agents don't identify accessible property there is no way that we or any other search can do so. So, it's all down to estate agents...
Except is it? Are we all too accepting the situation? We don't expect estate agents to identify accessible property, so they don't recognise a demand, so they don't identify it, so we don't expect them to.... etc, etc. More pressure needed here, I think. And just about everywhere else in the UK.
My more general miffedness is to do with tourism board website Visit Wales. Both Enjoy England and Visit Scotland now make it fairly easy for visitors to identify accommodation that will meet their access needs. I sort of assumed that it would be the same with Wales but there is simply no way of identifying wheelchair accessible accommodation from the website.
I did get an apology and an acknowledgement that they are 'aware of the situation'. Let's hope being 'aware of the situation' turns into some sort of action sometime soon.
Actually, it's just Cardiff estate agents that I'm cross with. Trouble is, what is true in Cardiff is equally true for a whole lot of cities across the UK.
We were asked this week to find an accessible property (sale or rent) for a disabled person in Cardiff. There are none currently advertised on the APR website so I used our favourite database to see what I could find. The answer is that, although nearly 3000 properties are available for sale in Cardiff, not one can be identified as wheelchair accessible (actually, that's not quite true - there is one but it's sold!).
The reality is that, like most places, there will be a number of accessible properties available, including some which might well meet the requirements of our specific client, but estate agents don't identify them. If estate agents don't identify accessible property there is no way that we or any other search can do so. So, it's all down to estate agents...
Except is it? Are we all too accepting the situation? We don't expect estate agents to identify accessible property, so they don't recognise a demand, so they don't identify it, so we don't expect them to.... etc, etc. More pressure needed here, I think. And just about everywhere else in the UK.
My more general miffedness is to do with tourism board website Visit Wales. Both Enjoy England and Visit Scotland now make it fairly easy for visitors to identify accommodation that will meet their access needs. I sort of assumed that it would be the same with Wales but there is simply no way of identifying wheelchair accessible accommodation from the website.
I did get an apology and an acknowledgement that they are 'aware of the situation'. Let's hope being 'aware of the situation' turns into some sort of action sometime soon.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Approved estate agents
One of the most difficult features of developing the Accessible Property Register has been persuading estate agents to get involved. Quite a number have posted an individual advert when they have suddenly found themselves with a property containing some strange feature like a through the ceiling wheelchair lift and haven't really known what to do with it. I suppose it's progress that they bother to advertise rather than demand that the vendor rip it out! But persuading agents to identify and advertise accessible property consistently has proved nigh on impossible.
We are trying a new tactic - publishing the contact details of APR Approved Partner estate agents in a new APR Approved Partner database. This is certainly a first as there has never been a database of agents committed to promoting accessible property before. Agents are offered free advertising and vendor referral as an incentive to sign up. It's early days, but at least the database is up and running and we will have to see how it progresses.
If you happen to be an estate agent, have a look at our Information for estate and letting agents.
The other thing that helps enormously in building this database is if anyone with accessible property to sell and looking for an estate agent uses our 'Find an approved estate agent' service. It's absolutely free - and we now have a colleague with extensive experience of the estate agent business identifying suitable agencies for us. Any agent recommended will be a member of an appropriate professional association and will be members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme.
We are trying a new tactic - publishing the contact details of APR Approved Partner estate agents in a new APR Approved Partner database. This is certainly a first as there has never been a database of agents committed to promoting accessible property before. Agents are offered free advertising and vendor referral as an incentive to sign up. It's early days, but at least the database is up and running and we will have to see how it progresses.
If you happen to be an estate agent, have a look at our Information for estate and letting agents.
The other thing that helps enormously in building this database is if anyone with accessible property to sell and looking for an estate agent uses our 'Find an approved estate agent' service. It's absolutely free - and we now have a colleague with extensive experience of the estate agent business identifying suitable agencies for us. Any agent recommended will be a member of an appropriate professional association and will be members of the Property Ombudsman Scheme.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
