Last week, I had to teach my speech recognition software a new word – one which I had erroneously assumed would be required so briefly that it wasn't worth adding to the vocabulary on a permanent basis.

Brexit is, however, clearly going to be shaping our landscape for the months and years to come, so it has joined the 50,000-plus options in my personal dictionary.

Not being possessed of a crystal ball, I am no more able to predict the future than anyone else. I am holding onto some wise words from the weekend's commentary: "it will probably turn out neither to be as good as you hope, nor as bad as you fear", depending which side of the debate you inhabit.

An illustration of the widespread concern about what the future holds – I posted an article about likely Brexit consequences on disability rights, and it is already the most-read article on the entire Independent Living website (well over 10,000 as I write this), dwarfing previous front-runners on welfare reform and Motability changes. From readers' comments, fear of an erosion of legal protections is uppermost in many minds.

 

Tomorrow sees the annual awards ceremony for the engineering charity Remap, when the most ingenious solutions developed by their volunteers are celebrated.

You can find the winning products here:

Annual Remap awards

They are wonderfully diverse, ranging from the elegant cutlery holder shown here, to an adapted racing yacht and a tongue- operated control for an e-reader.

I have interviewed Remap volunteers Harry Kirby, Brian Unitt and Graham Stabler, as well as Sue Brown and Hazel Coleman, recipients of two of the award-winning solutions – you will be able to listened to the podcast next week.

 

Stephanie Leaf is shown here sitting behind the steering wheel of a car, but that is only because of her role as an Ambassador for the recent Mobility Roadshow.

The 24-year-old has Friedrich's Ataxia, a rare progressive disease that causes damage to the nervous system and affects coordination. She uses a powerchair to get around, and you might be forgiven for assuming that she would also, therefore, qualify for a Motability vehicle that she could drive to college, to the shops, to training for the Electric Eels powerchair football team, and all the other places she wants to go, without having to depend on someone else to get there.

Unfortunately, Motability in their wisdom won't supply a drive-from vehicle unless you are working or in full-time education, and Stephanie can't access work or education without the car... it's a vicious circle. She is trying to raise the funds she needs here

 

A new option for manual wheelchair users who would appreciate some power assistance on occasion.

Ottobock's new eSupport is a wheel hub motor system which combines a good range (up to 30 km) with a top speed of 6 km/h. It can be recharged in just four and a half hours, ready to go again. As well as being light in weight, the eSupport is transport friendly: the wheelchair can still be folded as usual with the power pack in place.

You can read more about it here, and we have an area of Independent Living dedicated to wheelchair power add-ons

 

Rober has developed some innovative solutions to help protect high-risk patients from developing pressure injuries. Their alternating air mattress replacements and overlays emulate the body's natural movements, to relieve pressure and improve comfort.

The company has two ranges – the premium NoDec range, which includes amongst others, a bariatric mattress and one with specific protection for the heel area, and the AirFlex TRIO, a cost effective solution designed to meet the requirements of affordable healthcare.

To see more details, follow this link

If you provide high quality products and services, and you would like to reach our site visitors and newsletter readers, please email derek@independentliving.co.uk

 

The Care Agency has a fresh new look, and a new website to go with it. Experienced care providers, they specialise in the so-called third option – providing live-in care so that people can continue to live in their own home, rather than moving into residential care.

Coming up - as I mentioned last week, I am looking at Disabled Facilities Grants. So far, I have had accounts where the system has worked well, and where it certainly hasn't. Please let me know if you have any experiences of DFGs, either professionally or as an applicant.

As always, there are various ways you can get in touch with Independent Living: email me; visit our Facebook page and leave a message there; or if it's short and sweet, Tweet!

Previous newsletters are archived here.

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Until next time, all good wishes,

Frances