Food, clothing, housing and transportation
In the daily life of wheelchair friends, clothing, food, housing, and transportation have their own challenges. This article will try to explain the relevant situation so that everyone can have more understanding.......
In the daily life of wheelchair friends, clothing, food, housing, and transportation have their own challenges. This article will try to explain the relevant situation so that everyone can have more understanding.
Clothes
Wheelchair friends are subject to physical restrictions, clothing is often a part of daily life troubles, how do wheelchair users who cannot stand change their pants? When they wear pants, they need to sleep on the bed with the help of others, turn around three or four times, and lift the pants to make them feel comfortable. Therefore, wheelchair friends usually take a long time and work hard to dress.
However, wheelchair friends want to find easy-to-wear clothes. The reason is that the disabled market is relatively small, and there are no general brands on the market designed specifically for the disabled. The clothes that are designed are only provided by companies with a small number of clothing design, such as PolyU’s health clothing. The price of customized clothes is more expensive and the waiting time is longer. Therefore, wheelchair friends do not have many choices. Accept the inconvenience.
In fact, it’s not difficult to design clothes for wheelchair friends. only needs a little creativity and thought to make their clothes simpler and more beautiful, such as designing clothes that are wide enough Loose, because the loose fit makes it easier to wear, and it will also make the clothes more beautiful to hide the seat belt on the chest, or change the buttons and zippers to magnets, which can be easily worn by disabled children and their caregivers
If you don’t want customized clothes, how can wheelchair friends buy suitable clothes for themselves?
For those with spinal cord injury who can’t get up in a wheelchair, the the most difficult part is that they can’t try on them in a clothing store, especially buying pants, which often cannot look like healthy People can generally try left and try right/strong> to ensure that they fit and look good before buying, and makes it unsatisfactory to buy or return the clothes More.
The key is to measure the size, not the body, but the clothes worn
Dressing is a basic human need, and it can also give others a good impression. Therefore, it is very important to have a suitable and beautiful clothing. I hope that more clothing design companies can take a step for wheelchair friends and give full play to their creativity and thoughts, So that wheelchair friends can also enjoy the fun of 'walking the streets to buy shirts' and solve their daily worries.
food
Hong Kong has the reputation of being a gastronomic capital. It gathers restaurants from all over the world. There are Michelin-starred restaurants on the top and street snacks on the ground. You can find everything you want. It is not difficult to find, but wheelchair friends will still find it difficult in such a busy environment. Foraging and inconvenience.
The reason is that wheelchair friends tend to do not dare to go to a new restaurant/restaurant by themselves, even if they are very yearning for a new restaurant, consider There are too many unknowns about personal mobility and the actual environment and location of the restaurant, so as to avoid the fact that when they arrive at the restaurant, they find that there is a level at the door, making it impossible for wheelchairs to enter, which greatly reduces their desire to explore new restaurants. Because of this, wheelchair friends will try to choose familiar restaurants as much as possible, so as to avoid the 'something to see but not to enter' situation, which narrows the range of options, and when looking for a restaurant, they will also use Practical considerations are the primary consideration, and the degree of craving or eating often becomes secondary.
In addition, wheelchair friends generally wait for a long time for seats, because the dining table needs to be suitable for wheelchair driving and dining, and there are fewer choices in disguise, such as fixed chairs, The height is not suitable, or because the interior is narrow, you can only choose the table near the door, so has to spend more time waiting for the waiter to arrange a suitable seat, which often makes wheelchair friends difficult It takes a long time to eat inside.
Finally, wheelchair friends will also avoid going to the restaurant alone during peak hours, because more crowds will bring all kinds of Inconvenience, take the example of buying tickets and taking meals at a large fast food restaurant. The ticket channel will be narrow due to the increased flow of people, making it difficult for wheelchair friends to move around when waiting in line, and the waiter’s assistance is required to get meals. When he is in a hurry, he needs to wait very patiently. Therefore, wheelchair users should try to eat with friends as much as possible during peak hours, otherwise they often have to postpone their meals and starve to stagger the peak hours of restaurants.
If you want to go to a new restaurant, but also want to avoid the 'something to see but not to enter' situation, wheelchair friends can
1. Use Free Guider website/Apps for data collection, easily know the restaurant package
2. Share and evaluate to Free Guider, and use your own experience to assist other wheelchair users with the same situation
All in all, it is not easy to find a barrier-free restaurant in Hong Kong that meets the needs of wheelchair users. Looking forward to the future, more restaurants will work together to create a suitable dining environment for wheelchair friends and solve their various inconveniences and worries, so that wheelchair friends can relax I've exhausted the food of Hong Kong.
Live
Life in Hong Kong is not easy in an inch of land. The rent is expensive and the housing demand is high. So far, even the general public feels pressure. However, wheelchair friends face more difficulties and considerations when housing, which can be said to be difficult. It's harder.
Wheelchair friends need basic barrier-free design at home. When everyone thinks the safest housing enterprise, However, it turns out that will be in danger. The uneven ground may also cause a fall or reverse the vehicle, which brings great danger and inconvenience. The home of the general disabled needs to pay attention to:
- There is a gate threshold / iron gate when entering outside the home, so an auxiliary ramp is required to enter and exit
- If there is a rock in the room, the floor is uneven, it is difficult to drive the wheelchair in and out, and an auxiliary ramp is required
- Restrooms should be equipped with handrails to help the disabled use their strength to prevent falls
- The wash basin in the bathroom and the zinc basin in the kitchen are too high and need to be modified
- Additional facilities (large area, convenient for wheelchair access)
- Auxiliary supplies (such as crutches, commode chairs)
An unobstructed and accessible living environment must be designed with enough space and suitable height to make wheelchair friends comfortable and convenient. Here are some barrier-free homes Design suggestions:
Secondly, the community barrier-free facilities are insufficient, which will greatly limit the choices of wheelchair friends. due to physical limitations, They are unable to cross the stairs. If they live in an old building (living in the lobby with a staircase), wheelchair access will be very inconvenient. can only 'not enough Going out', or if there are only multiple stairs but no elevators in the vicinity, wheelchair users can also can only travel long distances or look at the door to make wheelchairs Friends have difficulties going out and bring troubles to life.
After the completion of the Housing Authority in 2008, all housing estates have fully implemented the concept of 'universal design', in order to cater for the different needs of residents, community design will be inclusive and capable Helping/assisting the living environment and indirectly affects activity ability in life. Greatly improve community barrier-free facilities and facilitate the daily life of wheelchair users.
Having said that, these barrier-free facilities are often built only in accordance with the code, so will occasionally appear off the ground or unrealistic designs (e.g., barrier-free toilets have long stairs , Or have to go through multiple narrow fire doors), so wheelchair friends suggest to to inspect first to avoid losing the budget before choosing an area.
Due to the relationship between work and 'convenience', shops or residents in some areas will place goods and sundries in the main passage, making them narrow and difficult for wheelchairs to pass. Therefore, the living considerations of wheelchair friends should be paid attention to at home, local facilities and nearby environment.
This is in line with the public’s insufficient awareness of accessibility. Before placing goods and sundries, they did not consider the needs of wheelchair friends. Looking forward to the future, as Accessibility promotion, the public raises awareness and civic awareness of people with disabilities, can work together to create a barrier-free inclusive community< /strong>.
OK
Wheelchair friends are not necessarily easy to travel. They often encounter different situations and bump into walls everywhere and have many difficulties. So before going out, please pay more attention to the tools, weather and destinations (city and suburbs) It is necessary to plan well and collect sufficient information. Only in this way can you have fun and rest assured.
Wheelchairs are a good helper for people with limited mobility, but both electric and manual wheelchairs have their difficulties.
a) Electric wheelchair
First of all, electric wheelchairs are of course more energy-efficient, users only need to drive with their fingers, and the operation is simple and convenient, but always make sure The power is sufficient. Because each wheelchair model is different, the fork electric adaptor is heavy and inconvenient to carry and cannot be shared. It is almost impossible to find a fork electric place on the street< /strong>, in case there is no electricity or a broken car on the street, the user can only wait for rescue on the street. In case of rain, the drive must be covered with a plastic bag to avoid Failure due to getting wet.
The electric wheelchair will be more bumpy when it encounters uneven roads, and it is completely inflexible to cope with passing some tall door frames or steps of shops. Also, because the wheelchair is heavier, there is no opportunity for others to help.
b) Manual wheelchair
Suitable for users with good physical condition and strong upper limbs, if they encounter high or low door frame barge positions, it is more flexible than electric wheelchairs Large, and can be folded and placed at the rear of the car, making it easier to store and go out.
Compared with electric wheelchairs, manually requires users to have a lot more physical strength. If they encounter slopes or walk for a long time, they will inevitably make the users sweaty and exhausted, and also have to The user is more flexible and careful to operate, otherwise it is easy to use force and make mistakes and cause himself injury.
Unpredictable weather, in the face of rainy weather, wheelchair friends go out preferably wear a raincoat, it will be very inconvenient if you encounter strong winds with an umbrella, Also worry that the electric wheelchair will get wet and fail, and the wheels will be more likely to slip and get stuck, which will cause danger to life, so the wheelchair friend most It’s good to pay attention to the weather forecast and the destination, make the best preparations before setting off, and you can travel easily.
a) City traffic
Hong Kong’s transportation can actually be regarded as quite barrier-free. Whether it is buses, taxis, or MTR, there are related supporting facilities. The only disadvantage of is that it is not humane and universal.< /strong>.
Humanization-Two wheelchair friends traveling together often need to separate two buses. For example, most low-floor buses only have one wheelchair space, and MTR can only handle one per train Champing wheelchair friend
Popularization-Not all bus lines are equipped with low-floor buses, or the time between two types of low-floor buses is still long; the supply of rehabilitation buses is still in short supply, so make an appointment Long; booking a barrier-free taxi is more expensive;
With the continuous promotion of the concept of accessibility, the situation is actually expected to improve. For example, low-floor buses with two wheelchair spaces will be provided in the future, the density of low-floor buses will be increased, and low-floor minibuses will be replaced. We hope that related service providers can continue to improve. Wheelchair friends provide more intimate, safer and comfortable transportation services.
b) Road
Hong Kong has many people and narrow roads, which often brings challenges for wheelchair friends to travel abroad. Because of the limited space, in addition to Pavement and stairs, when encountering whole roads, repairs, and a long flow of people, it is even more difficult for wheelchairs to move in or retreat. The only way to go around or return home is helpless.
The government often advocates making Hong Kong a 'barrier-free city', but the space in all aspects shows that the facilities are not perfect, the lacks access ramps and lifts for the disabled, or the ground clearance Barrier-free design, I hope the government can continue to work hard towards the goal of barrier-free cities.
There are also assistive tools to assist wheelchair friends to travel out, such as the Google MAP disabled route, but unfortunately it is not perfect for the time being, it is still less It will inevitably cause wheelchair friends to travel more wrongly. Looking forward to the continued development of technology in the future, we can bring you the best outbound routes.
Being close to nature is everyone’s basic right, but in the world of wheelchair friends, it’s not easy, except because outings are relatively remote and related transportation facilities lack barrier-free facilities (For example, most island buses do not have low platforms, and ferries lack barrier-free facilities), and because most mountain trails inevitably have narrow roads, slopes, and roads Roughness and stairs severely hinder the wheelchair from moving forward, making it difficult to move.
In fact, outing routes suitable for wheelchair users are not non-existent, but it takes a lot of time to explore the route. It is necessary to test the route on the spot to ensure that the route is safe and suitable, so related information Very lacking.
In view of this, the hiking organization-Oasistrek created a special topic with 'Barrier Free Picnic Routes' to introduce outing routes suitable for the disabled. From the perspective of wheelchair friends, pay attention to relevant details, such as public transportation, roads, and barrier-free facilities along the road. , Let more people know that barrier-free outings are feasible.
If you want to browse related accessible outing routes, you can go to the following URL
http://www.oasistrek.com/barrier_free_trails.php
Traveling outside is a part of everyone’s life. Although wheelchair friends are physically restricted, there is no need to worry too much. The method is always more difficult than walking around in the city or on the outskirts of the mountain. As long as you collect and prepare data before going out, everyone can still have fun and peace of mind. At the same time, I hope that all wheelchair friends can share the itinerary and related information after traveling, and use their own experience to help others in the same situation and help each other. Create a barrier-free community.