Wheelchairs

Carbon fibres are tiny filaments made mostly of carbon atoms that are smaller than a human hair. Thousands of filaments are gathered and either used separately or woven together to create cloth. Since its discovery in 1958, carbon fibre has revolutionised a wide range of industries, including wheelchairs and high-end athletic goods and aerospace. One of the top 20 engineering feats of the 20th century, according to the National Academy of Engineering, is the development of composite materials, which includes carbon fibre. Why is carbon fibre used to make a manual wheelchair, and what clinical uses does it have? Your best option for manual mobility should be carbon fibre due to its numerous applications and the answers to these questions. Read More

More wheelchairs are being damaged on planes. Travelers want action. The Transportation Department has announced several new accessibility measures, but advocates say progress is too slow. Jessica Dalonzo was worried the first time she flew with her power wheelchair last month. She’d heard horror stories from other travelers, and her manual chair had been damaged on previous flights. [caption id="attachment_15725" align="" width="691"] Alvaro Silberstein, co-founder and chief executive of Wheel the World, in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. (Joyce Silberstein/Wheel the World)[/caption] But the 22-year-old entrusted the customized device — with careful instructions attached — to Delta when she flew from New York to Orlando for a Disney World vacation. It was damaged upon arrival, but fixable in about an hour. Things got much worse on the way home, she said. Read More

Exclusive: former ballet student Joe Powell-Main will take part in a duet at Greenwich + Docklands international festival The Royal Ballet is staging a performance in which one of its dancers performs a duet with a disabled dancer, recognising that being inclusive is “not just about diversity of race, but also about diversity of physical ability”. Joe Powell-Main, who uses a wheelchair and crutches to perform and describes himself as a “differently abled dancer”, will appear with the Royal Ballet dancer Isabel Lubach in a lyrical piece created for the Greenwich + Docklands international festival next month. [caption id="attachment_15714" align="" width="620"] Joe Powell-Main will perform in Sleepwalker in September at the festival. Photograph: Kate Green/Getty Images for The National Lottery[/caption] Read More

Wheelchair To Access St Andrew’s West Sands Beach

St Andrew’s West Sand Beach is an iconic spot with plenty of beautiful sceneries to watch. Just taking a stroll along its shore is sure to leave you with great memories and unmatched experiences. Exploring this magnificent West Sand Beach on a wheelchair is now a reality, thanks to a special pony-pulled vehicle.

Named the iBex, this vehicle lets the wheelchair users roll onto it and stay seated even as it tackles the multiple terrains at the beach. The pony itself is named Obama.

The first trip took place on the 28^th of this month. Luckily to those who missed, there’s another trip scheduled for 31^st July. On their tour of Scotland, Pony AxeS, a service that runs this great initiative, is scheduled to visit St Andrews on this day again.

Other places that have been lucky to host Pony AxeS them include Portobello, Balmedie, and Broughty Ferry.

Away from the iBex, there will also be another special facility that will make things even smoother. PAMIS will be fetching to the beach one of its innovative changing places toilets. It’s a special accessible toilet that accommodates those with various disabilities.

PAMIS has been around for 25 years and their support towards people with complex healthcare needs and learning disabilities has been incredibly phenomenal. And all through the years, they have done this using creative and innovative ways.

St Andrew’s Tourism Vice Chair, Debbie McCallum remarked that the decision to bring the special facilities to the town was informed by the need to make the beach accessible to any person who wants to explore it. Before this, there was no access to the beach for wheelchair users.

She also added that they look to making the beach not just accessible but all inclusive over time through working with many other organisations that support such initiatives. (In addition to PAMIS)

McCallum lauded Pony AxeS and promised to take the necessary steps towards ensuring that it comes back the next year. More importantly, she mentioned that they will take it upon themselves to ensure such facilities (changing places toilets and beach wheelchairs) are ever present in the town.

Pony AxeS is among the few services that lest PAMIS families have a chance to explore St. Andrews. McCallum agrees that the service is a great opportunity and one of the best things to ever happen to PAMIS families.

Andrew Smart, who works with PAMIS, also stated that the majority of the families the service was working with expressed immense joy at the prospect of exploring the town.

And as one would expect, the event has elicited so much excitement as well as anticipation amongst these families and Andrew only hopes that in addition to that, there will be a long list of such events in the coming days.

If you wish to be part of iBex, please call 07510 736 518 or simply send your email to simon@ponyaxes.com and don’t leave out any important detail.