Choosing a Wheelchair: A Guide for Optimal Independence
Gary Karp
Patient Centered Guides, 1998-01-15
Price: $9.95
Keywords: Consumer Guides, Disability, Disabled, Disorders Diseases, Health, Mind Body, Law, Nonfiction, Parenting Families, Physical Impairments, Reference, Social Sciences, Special Groups
Reviews:
Choosing a Wheelchair
I found this book from Spinlife.com where they publish excerpts as an online aid to selecting wheelchair components.
The author is a long term wheelchair user and athelete who had a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). He knows more about wheelchairs than anyone writing for the public. As such he is an effective advocate for wheelchair use.
The book is logically laid out from wheelchair history to the selection process to wheelchair maintenance. The style is informative without being too technical. However, the wheelchair is a machine so expect a little tech talk. The chapter on maintance is wisely a primer and checklist - most people who use a wheelchair are not advised to tinker with them.
I recommend the book, even to someone who is already using a chair with two provisos.
1. For someone with neuromuscular disabilty, the advice to use a manual chair is ill advised. All the PT's and OT's I have seen in the past few years recommend power chairs to save your arms and avoid turning a parapalegic into a quadrapalegic. As Dr. Silver puts it "Save your arms. They are your independance." and "When do I recommend a manual chair? Almost never..." (Post Polio Syndrome: A Guide for Polio Survivors and their Families)
2. Don't try chasing down his references on wheelchair reviews or evaluations. They are non-existent from any official sources and this reflects the age of the book (1998). If you want reviews and opinions on chairs, try wheelchairjunkie.com.
The author is a long term wheelchair user and athelete who had a Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). He knows more about wheelchairs than anyone writing for the public. As such he is an effective advocate for wheelchair use.
The book is logically laid out from wheelchair history to the selection process to wheelchair maintenance. The style is informative without being too technical. However, the wheelchair is a machine so expect a little tech talk. The chapter on maintance is wisely a primer and checklist - most people who use a wheelchair are not advised to tinker with them.
I recommend the book, even to someone who is already using a chair with two provisos.
1. For someone with neuromuscular disabilty, the advice to use a manual chair is ill advised. All the PT's and OT's I have seen in the past few years recommend power chairs to save your arms and avoid turning a parapalegic into a quadrapalegic. As Dr. Silver puts it "Save your arms. They are your independance." and "When do I recommend a manual chair? Almost never..." (Post Polio Syndrome: A Guide for Polio Survivors and their Families)
2. Don't try chasing down his references on wheelchair reviews or evaluations. They are non-existent from any official sources and this reflects the age of the book (1998). If you want reviews and opinions on chairs, try wheelchairjunkie.com.