What Would You Invent?

Plato said, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” We asked our Health Leaders, who live with spinal muscular atrophy, "What accessibility-related invention would you like to see, that would make your life better/easier?"

A robotic PCA

Mike:
A robotic PCA. Unfortunately, people in my condition have to rely on others for our daily tasks. I consider myself lucky that I have my partner fulfilling that role. However, no one is able to do everything that I want when I want it and how I want it.

That’s where a robotic PCA comes to mind. Having a robot that could provide the physical tasks that a person with a disability can’t do would be a lifesaver.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing would probably be cost-prohibitive to most disabled people. That’s a gap that we as a society need to help close. The “disability tax” hurts most people with disabilities. It adds an extra financial burden that people without a disability don’t experience.

Portable powerbank to recharge my wheelchair and portable transfer devices

Ainaa:

I would love to see an affordable, durable, and portable motorized wheelchair that doesn't have a battery that weighs more than 30 pounds, maybe? I wish someone would invent this in the future. Those who helped me lift the wheelchair in and out of the car would be very happy to hear it.

Also, we can have a power bank to charge our phones. Can we have the same for wheelchairs? It will be a very useful device to have that. With that, I don’t have to worry about running out of wheelchair batteries.

Another cool thing I would love to see is automatic transfer devices I can take anywhere. Imagine having a portable transfer device that you could take with you wherever you go that would help transfer you from a wheelchair to another seat without help from anyone else. It could be something like a power board just to make your life easier.

Gosh, I hope one day at least some of these will happen.

Hacks that already exist

Read these articles about inventions and hacks that can make living with a disability easier:

• Fashion Within the Disability World
• SMA and Snow days
• How Do You Handle Cold Weather
• Hiding Medical Equipment
• Smart Independence