Fair Mobility

Organizations such as Axis Dance Company and Full Radius Dance are helping to bring together the dance community and the disabled community by promoting change in how people engage and view the performing arts community.

Also known as integrated dance, wheelchair dance has been in existence for over two decades. Integrated dance companies have been forming around the world since about 1980, and the first international dance competition took place in Sweden in 1977.

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The Wheelin’ Sportsmen group in Virginia is planning some new events for this year’s hunting season. Roanoke.com reported today that the U.S. Forest Service has upgraded a disabled sportsman hunting area on Potts Mountain in Craig County, Virginia and is taking applications for keys to the area.

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Case Logic, best known for their CD and DVD wallets, has launched a new product line called “Health and Mobility.”

The catch-all fabric storage pack is designed to fit on the backs and sides of a wheelchair or scooter.

Other items in the Health & Mobility line are:

• Lap Organizer: fits on top of the user’s lap, and detaches easily for transportability.
• Armrest Organizer: Hooks on the arm of a wheelchair or scooter and has a “flip-to-lap” feature.
• Backpack systems, which includes the featured Catch-All.
• Under Seat Organizer: a water-resistant bin to fit under the seat, large enough for coats and/or bags.

Click here to read the official Press Release.

Our friendly scooter makers, Amigo Mobility International are releasing a new model called the Amkar. The Amkar is a battery powered mini-car that allows drivers to roll in to the driver’s seat without leaving their scooter.

The Amkar can serve as a vehicle on its own, or can be modded to serve as a docking station for Amigo scooter drivers. It’s a little larger than a golf cart, and can serve the purpose of a more reliable form of local transport while giving users more range in mobility without having to get in to a regular car.

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The Personal Energy Transport Project is a program that builds hand-made, hand-cranked, wheelchairs for use in the developing world, where environmental conditions such as terrain may not be suitable for traditional wheelchairs. It comes in adult and child size (pictured) and is sturdy, rugged, and has a caddy in the back for storage.

For the past 10 years, the program has operated through the United Methodist Church but was originally founded in Mel West’s garage. Now the organization has three building locations in Missouri, Florida, and Tennesee. All three locations are operated under the name of a church that performs missionary work in developing countries.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have recently made some positive changes to their scooter accessibility rules and limitations. In May 2005, CMS announced that MAE (Mobility Assistive Equipment) is available to “beneficiaries who have a personal mobility deficit sufficient to impair their participation in mobility-related activities of daily living such as toileting, feeding, dressing, grooming, and bathing in customary locations in the home.”

The evaluation for coverage eligibility is function-based, and assumedly takes place on an individual level. While this is a big step toward the right of all state residents to have their medical and mobility needs covered, it still contains several stipulations that could make the process long, confusing, and sometimes worthless to those who do not qualify.

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Due to be commercially available later this year, the Wijit by Superquad promises to be the “next evolution in wheelchair mobility.”

The original widget was a lever system that worked with the stock wheels on a wheelchair to improve braking, accelaration and steering.

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The IKAN Bowler is the world’s first operative, dynamic wheelchair bowling system. With the use of assistive technology, a former General Motors engineer designed the equipment to act upon the bowling ball just as the force of motion does when the ball is released from someone’s hand from the standing position.

The mod makes wheelchairs bowler friendly, while still depending on the bowler’s skill and accuracy to get a good shot. It has been approved by the United States Bowler’s Congress and was the first mechanical device to have been approved for professional participation in the history of the USBC.

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This law, passed in 1996, guarantees a 1-year express warranty for customized wheelchairs.

Around the web, there is talk of a new iBOT Mobility System - the 4000 series.

For those visitors that aren’t familiar, the iBOT is a wheelchair that can …

• Maneuver off-road
• Rollover curbs up to 5 inches tall
• And climb stairs!

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