Welcome To Access Engine
Welcome to AccessEngine.com, Your Local Accessibility Directory.
AccessEngine.com is a resource designed to help people with disabilities make informed choices when they are out and about and when they are making choices for their daily lives.
Whether it may be getting around in the city in which they live, eating out, looking for a way to deal with an everyday problem, traveling to other places, or whatever other situation; AccessEngine.com will help people with disabilities, their families, friends, and coworkers to more easily find solutions that are friendly to their needs.
Join our community to add your reviews and suggestions for businesses, solutions, and places all over the USA, Canada, and we hope eventually the world.
Our community can only grow if you contribute your knowledge and opinions to the site so please do your part and add resources to this site.
Accessibility & Insurance Coverage
It’s something you may not think about but if anyone in your family has a disability it is something that will have likely come up.
For those who don’t have these problems it’s also something that is easy to forget or perhaps just something that you don’t think about.
However old age, accidents, and other situations can cause problems when you least expect it and anyone who has become disabled may be very well familiar with whether their insurance covers certain necessary aids to help them cope with their disability.
It is always good to check your health insurance policy in order to make sure that you are covered for equipment and treatments that related to vision loss and loss of mobility.
For example when choosing health insurance keep in mind that all personal health insurance policies have statements written into their policies about whether they will or won’t cover wheelchairs.
Does your health insurance plan cover you for a wheel chair?
Perhaps you have recently become disabled and haven’t thought or had the time to check.
Always examine the terms and conditions of your policy.
As laws change so do insurance policies and staying on top of the terms of your policy can make the difference between having the accessibility you need and doing without.
Exterior Accessibility Tips
It can be a troubling experience for a disabled person to move from the home to the outdoors if consideration is not given to the design of exterior featires of the home.
A few tips to make the exterior of your home a bit more accessible are as follows:
Put a shelf or bench next to each exterior door.
This can be very helpful when moving things in or out of the house as it will provide a place to rest items while allowing for free hands to open the door.
If you have problems with vision make sure to add sufficient lighting to all areas of the home especially stairways, ramps, and outdoor pathways.
Make sure to create grippy surfaces to prevent slipping.
For landing areas (like a deck or porch) allow for a 5 foot radius as this will provide a comfortable amount of room for most wheelchair users to navigate their way in and out of doors.
To allow for easy access in and out of vehicles driveways and parking areas should be designed wider than normal to accomodate both a vehicle and wheelchair access.
Provide well designed ramps with an easy slope (1:12 max or 1:18 for easier maneuverability) at entrances to the home and other strategic locations
(ie: from sidewalks to driveway, or in any other area where there might normally be steps).
While there are many more things to do to the exterior of a home and many more considerations the above tipscan get you on your way to making life easier for those needing wheelchair access.
Moving from the Car to A Wheelchair – Video
This video demonstrates a very simple way to move from what appears to be a 2 door compact car to a wheelchair.
It includes taking the wheelchair out of the car from a sitting position in the driver’s seat with no assistance all the way to closing the door.
With the proper wheelchair this is a very simple technique that allows for maximum independence.
Getting Off The Floor – Video
It may happen that you fall out of your wheelchair and onto the floor at some point and if it’s never happened before it can be a scary thing.
Watch this video for excellent technique to move from the floor back to your wheelchair with minimal trouble.
Reaching for Quadriplegics – Video
This video demonstrates the use of a reacher / grabber tool by a quadriplegic man and the variety of things that he is able to use it for.
He gives a few suggestions.
Accessible Cooking Tips – Video
Bonnie a wheelchair user with hand paralysis gives tips and demonstrates how to make doing things in the kitchen a bit more accessible.
Home Design Accessability Ideas – Video
While nothing groundbreaking this video gives a few design ideas to make an older home or even a porrly designed newer home more accessible to those who have disablities,
More Office Organization – Video
More good office organization and accessibility tips for wheelchair users.
The woman that made this video is a wheelchair user with limited use of her hands and she shares more of her simple solutions to deal with being disabled.
Garage Organization Tips – Video
A video that gives tips on garage organization for wheelchair users.
Office Organization Tips – Video
This resourceful woman has come up with some useful tips to make doing things in her home office a bit easier in a wheelchair and with limited use of her hands.