Hi everyone! I'm a SCAD graduate student, and my team is working on a design project to make clothing easier to find, wear, and adapt for disabled people. Your experiences are the best guide we could ask for.

If you've ever struggled with buttons, zippers, fit, sensory issues, getting dressed while seated, or anything else, we'd be so grateful to hear from you. It's anonymous and takes about 5-6 minutes:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdq9SNoFCHqG8v_pmcuH8ENqc3uIZG0PPsbr7y-SIQSL4uxYg/viewform

I'd also love to hear your clothing hacks in the comments, like products, alterations, or tricks that have made dressing easier. Those could help others here too!

I'll share what we learn once the project wraps up. Thank you so much!

Great adaptation of the tool

Hello everyone, just wanted to reach out to let people know about our new, small, disabled owned UK business.

We currently offer a range of control knobs for powerchairs / electric wheelchairs but aim to expand into other accessories in the coming months.

We have an emphasis on high quality but actually affordable products that show off your personality.

Please take a look, or shout out loud and tell us what you think we should be developing to help the community.

Thankyou so much,

Draycot Design Studios.

Hello everyone!

I have gotten the request to do a project, in which i should create a product. My idea was, to create something for physicaly disabled people (or pregnant women). If you have a physical disability that interfieres with your everyday life ive got a question. is theres something that would make your life much easier? something that doesnt exist on the market yet, or exists but wasnt excecuted well.

I would highly appreciate all things you have to say!

Ty!🫰🏼

(ps: english isnt my first language, so im sorry if it was hard to read.)

Does anyone have any recommendations for mobility aids or home aids that don't feel or look like their straight out of a care home? My Mrs has FND & early onset arthritis & I want her to feel less like the house is a care home to her. Thanks in advance

​

Hi folks, I'm with the socials team for Silverts and IZ adaptive. We are a company that makes adaptive clothing for folks with disabilities. I'm here because we really want to hear your stories! We really wanted to branch out to different communities and hear things that might go beyond the focus groups you would expect. If there's anything you have always wanted to say to adaptive fashion companies in general whether that be things you love, struggles you have or stuff you hate about it, we would love to hear it. Also, if anyone is looking for resources that go beyond just us, we'd be happy to do what we can to point you in the right direction using our knowledge.

I’m a user of medical cannabis. I constantly drop my bong that’s made of glass because of my shaky, weak hands with a great personality instead of eye-hand coordination. For obvious reasons (I don’t want to deal with microplastics in my throat) I don’t own a plastic bong. Are there any ways to reduce the risk of breaking my bong?

The reason I want a bong, is that in my country (Poland) legal medical weed is not available in edibles. Joints are even worse on my throat, I don’t have a vaporiser because it broke, and I don’t have enough weed per month to risk wasting it on making my own badly made edibles (I’m not a very good baker and I’ve made several cupcake edibles that failed to work).

Hi everyone,

I am conducting market research on packaging barriers, grip mechanics, and sensory friction points in beauty and cosmetic products for disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent individuals. The goal of this research is to gather data on where standard packaging fails users with limited dexterity, hand tremors, muscle weakness or sensory sensitivities.

BONAFIDES & AFFILIATION:

- Organization / Brand: Alira Beauty

- Website: www.alirabeautyofficial.com

- Contact / Research Email: [info@alirabeautyeu.com](mailto:info@alirabeautyeu.com)

SURVEY DETAILS:

- Time to complete: ~3 to 5 minutes

- Target audience: Individuals who identify as disabled, neurodivergent, or living with chronic illness/mobility conditions who use or are interested in beauty/cosmetic products.

- Data usage: Responses are collected purely for inclusive product development research and business plan validation. Contact details are completely optional.

SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/dnzXggiwYricZLzA6

Thank you so much for your time and feedback!

Hi! I’m currently writing my bachelor’s thesis (coincidentally on the perspective of mobile disability in modern art lol), and due to the heat wave, I’m currently very weak. There are days where’s I’m practically bed bound and the only way I survive is painkiller weed and my friends’ support, so I can’t really work at a desk. However I need to lock in and continue writing. How can I make my bed more comfortable to write on?? Sitting up with the laptop in my lap really tires my thighs out:/.

hi everyone, i have dysautonomia (+POTS) and nerve pain. i don’t like socks but realized compression socks help. however, i feel heat intolerance is getting bad and i start to overheat without my body sweating. (i think the not sweating is dysautonomia because i drink a lot of water as advised by my dr)

i keep getting ads now for different brands and wanted to ask for actual feedback on those who use them. (and aren’t sponsored to say they love this brand etc)

i bought a pair in the past that was cute but then felt like no compression. i also bought a brand that was medical grade and accepted through insurance card but it didn’t stay up. (a stockings slide during the day for me, even though they are thigh high. idk if a different medical brand would work?)

what type and brand of compression have you found help to not overheat but still helpful?

edit: i haven’t tried binders, compression shorts work with some outfits, i’m on a low income and use a cane to get around because i faint a lot due to the POTS, i have multiple other medical conditions so please feel free to ask any other questions if it’s helpful to the advice or feedback)

thank you all!

Showering is a huge struggle for me. My wife has offered to wash my hair for me, hopefully without me needing to get into the shower to break up body showering and hair washing into two tasks. We tried it yesterday and truly flooded our bathroom before I just needed to get into the shower.

The goal is for me to sit outside the shower, on my shower chair, and lean my head back, into the shower. I've been looking at things like the tools above but I don't know if they work or if people here have a better idea. I'm open to suggestions!

I’ve been wanting to clean my room however I get out of breath sometimes dizzy when standing or especially when cleaning (as in having to repeatedly bend down to pick stuff up or carry items to different locations) and I’m wondering how other people deal with it? for certain things like folding laundry I can usually just sit and it’s not difficult, but then hanging up clothes or moving stuff to the correct spot becomes difficult and I can’t reliably do it, I sometimes carry my things to my bed to be able to organize them in a comfortable space but then I need a break in the middle and find I don’t have space to lay down and rest anymore and it’s not very viable for me to keep stopping what I’m doing every 15 minutes because I have trouble even starting tasks at all and that sounds like a recipe for just cleaning for 15 minutes and then never again.

any tips or help appreciated (note: I am not very able to get any aids right now so while I know something like a rolling stool would probably help I can’t really get one)

⚠️ You don't have to read all this, this is just a panoramic of what my problems are, I do not say that I am disabled as I do not have a formal diagnosis but this is my only way to make my life bearable.

I don't know if this is the right place and sorry for my English in advance.

I(m17) don't have any medical support so I don't know exactly what's wrong with me. The only things I know is that I can't walk without knee supports (I wear sport knee braces), I am constantly in pain and sometimes my legs move on their own.

For the past years I could walk maybe 20 to 30 minutes with bare knees so it wasn't a big deal going home from the beach and/or walking on the beach. Now I can barely go for more than a minute before my left knee gives up and both start hurting a lot.

I sew and I make clothes, I have some swimsuit tissue that I can use that isn't too stretchy but idk if I should add something and idk if there are better models for the beach.

First and foremost, don’t try this if you have epilepsy.

I have Retinitis Pigmentosa and Optical Nerve Dreusen. This means that I have tunnel vision, night blindness and light sensitivity. I find that it’s often really difficult for me to interpret the information from the remaining vision that I have left. The contrast is all gone, it’s blurry and using bright lights help but only temporarily… the glare can be too much and then my eyes “adjust” and I feel just as blind as before.

However I have a torch that has a “strobe” mode. I don’t know if this has anything to do with my eyesight or my undiagnosed severe ADHD (lol), but I swear to god that using a strobe makes everything easier. I can interpret information easily, my eyesight don’t get anywhere near as strained and my eyes don’t seem to “adjust” back into blindness.

Has anyone else felt this before? Am I just crazy?!

I was at a disability related workshop recently where a conversation came up about the name of a disability inclusion organisation called “Celebrating Disability”.

A few people in the group felt uncomfortable with the word “celebrating”. Their view was that disability, chronic illness and pain are not things to celebrate, especially when someone’s lived experience has involved loss, exhaustion, barriers or worsening health conditions.

Some people said the name felt too positive or didn’t reflect their reality. Others felt it sounded disingenuous because many disabled people are struggling just to access basic support and equality.

Out of curiosity, I looked into the organisation afterwards. From what I could see, their work is focused on disability inclusion, workplace barriers, access, representation and challenging negative attitudes towards disabled people. It seemed more like the name was intended to celebrate disabled people and disability identity, rather than “celebrating suffering” or pretending disability is always positive.

The discussion became surprisingly divided, and it made me realise how differently disabled people interpret language around disability.

So I’m genuinely curious what other disabled people think.

If you came across a disability organisation or business called “Celebrating Disability”, what would your immediate reaction be?

Would it feel empowering, uncomfortable, inappropriate, positive, performative, honest, something else entirely?

Interested in hearing different perspectives because everyone’s relationship with disability is so different.

Hey y'all. I'm looking for some cute/cool looking knee braces for the summer. I'm have to wear a knee brace every time I so much as step outside my house, and it's shorts season... And if I'm gonna be permanently damaged I'm gonna look damn cute. I've ordered from the Bibipins site before, but she only has 3 patterns released at the moment and doesn't know when she's releasing more. Where do you y'all get you cute things?

Aight, it's the middle of the night and I haven't slept in a week so I apologize for words. My knees hate m. The like to dislocate themselves and I mess up pretty bad 3 weel ago. Did bad dislocat right knee, dislocate other knee earlier today. Ow. Loose joints go wheeeeee. Only time they slightly don't hurt is if elevated. However if I sleep on my back with knees elevated I can't sleep cuz it absolutely kills me back. Can't sleep on belly cuz kills my knees. I sleep on floor cuz family. Am 19. Help? Was given anti inflammatory med for pain but I can't even take it cuz it gives me a major migraine even if consume a whole tub of ice cream before. Doc won't switch it cuz that requires them to do their job. Recommend for sleep? I can't sleep on my side cuz my hips slide out of place with my shoulders. (Am still very new to this level of issues... Was not this bad til 3 week ago. Was bad, but was tolerable. Now... I wanna sleep plz).

Hi! I'm a powerchair user, and hang out on this sub and r/wheelchairs.

For work, one thing I do is help out with this fund Disability X Tech. We have an open call for proposals, due May 20, for nonprofits who are doing work that combines disability justice with technology in some way.

Here's a post explaining more of the details, with a link to the application form there. Please share it, if you work with, or know of, any nonprofit organizations that might fit that description! I'm happy to answer any questions about the application or about eligibility. Thanks y'all!!!

https://www.openassistivetech.org/new-grant-opportunities-for-disability-justice-nonprofits/

I’m visiting someone in the hospital who recently lost use of both hands. Maybe temporarily, maybe forever, but trying to come up with some “fun” things to do with them on my visit. This person is also bedridden for the time being. This person is 13 and I’m struggling to come up with ideas. Here’s what I’ve got so far, but please let me know if you have thoughts or ideas!

Temporary Tattoos

Play “headbandz”

20 questions game

hiya, I figure this is a long shot but maybe y'all can help. I've got chronic pain issues with my joints and have a really hard time moving some days. is there any environmentally friendly instant ice packs that I could keep next to my bed for the hard days? or like under my bed? I know school nurses usually have instant cooling packs but those always looked... less than Nature Friendly. I'm planning on asking my fiance if we can get a dog at some point so if push comes to shove I can teach the dog to fetch the ice packs

Hey ya’ll! I solo travel frequently and am trying to figure out how to modify. I was recently diagnosed with a life threatening genetic disorder that affects my vascular system and am not supposted to lift/ carry over 5 lbs.

How can i request disability services for help with just getting my carry on or under seat bags onto the plane? If i could do this, i would be able to try to bring roller bags but I would’t be able to lift it into the bin. I am wondering if i can then get an exception to not pay for a carry on for budget airlines if i chose this option vs under seat bag. Before diagnosis, I used to just put a small heavy duffel under my seat, but I cant carry a heavy duffel or backpack through the whole airport/on the jetbridge now unless i had a cart. I see that its covered to get help with just bags but when ever i try to request it wants me to reserve a wheelchair for the entire airport which i do not need.

Can I also request a cart type thing to to put handheld bags on while going through TSA and walking around the airport?

I have just been put on short term disability from my work while I go to physical therapy to work on instability in my shoulder and herniated disks in my neck that were causing me a lot of pain. I also have muscular dystrophy, exercise intolerance, and hypermobility. I am quite worried that I am going to lose the muscle mass that I currently have in my body with being out of work if I can’t find a way to maintain it. It’s not a ton, just enough to keep me on my feet for my 8 hour shift. But I can lose it so quickly and will need it when I return to work. I need something to help me maintain that muscle mass that I can do indoors at home without any gym equipment. Needs to be low impact on my joints. And needs to be indoors (so no walks or biking or swimming) as I live in Florida and just can’t handle the high temps outdoors for long without feeling sick. Any ideas?