Unique Gifts for Physically Challenged Adults

Do you want to make your physically challenged adult spouse's life easier? Do you want to make your part in a physically challenged friend's life easier? Better? Here are some great gift ideas for adults with physical challenges, such as manual dexterity issues caused by muscular dystrophy, balance issues, weakness and even temporary muscle atrophy, and a few other challenges that we have dealt with in our family. I got all of these cool gifts for my husband and in-laws from Disability Products online catalog, http://www.disabilityproducts.com.

BUTTON HOOK
This handy little item is very helpful for people with arthritis, muscular dystrophy or other neurological impairments that make hand gripping difficult or impossible. The soft, larger sized handle makes holding and using this dressing aid easier for the sometimes-difficult task of buttoning clothes. You just poke the hook end through the buttonhole and slide the whole thing back through the buttonhole to the finished side. The button is gripped by the slotted end of the grabber and pulled right through, buttoning shirts, skirts (my husband would like a disclaimer here - he does NOT wear skirts!), and pants. Made by Good Grips ($7) My husband swears by it!

ELASTIC SHOELACES
When stiffness, back pain or casts make it hard to bend over, elastic shoelaces are great, because they turn a lace-up shoe into a slip on. Even once tied, they still allow enough stretch so shoes can be slipped on or off without bending over. Another great thing about elastic shoelaces is that they give more feeling of independence to the physically challenged person, because the shoelaces can be tied once, by anyone, and the disabled person won't have to ask for help again. ($5 for 2 pair)

EASY TURN STANDARD DOOR KNOB HANDLES
With these doorknob handles, you can easily convert standard doorknobs into an easy-to-grasp handle. These doorknob helpers really help my husband, with his weak grip and difficulties closing his fingertips together, which is necessary for opening a regular doorknob. These doorknob handles fit a variety of knob shapes. I just place them over the regular doorknob, and he has no trouble opening the door. The glow-in-the-dark version of this handle is pretty nice for a quick trip to the refrigerator in the middle of the night. Package of 2, $25.

EASY TURN PORTABLE DOOR KNOB LEVER
I use these to convert many of our indoor doorknobs into easy-to-operate lever doorknobs. They even look a bit avant-garde or Bauhaus design, if you ask me, and I know how much easier they make life for my husband. The design's hook shape is very useful for people with arthritis, or limited grasping ability, due to a variety of medical conditions. This type doorknob lever doesn't fit just any knob, but is perfect for standard, round knobs with a 2" diameter. You can even pop them off and take them with you when you go visiting family or travel across the Pacific. Most hotel rooms have 2" standard knobs. These cost $12 each, but are well worth it and ours have lasted for years already!

EASY TURN TABLE LAMP SWITCH ADAPTER
Ok, these are so terrific that I did a huge reorder within days of getting our first set via UPS. I wanted them on every lamp in the house! People with grasp challenges can easily turn their lamps on and off with these, and criminy, I wanted to be able to, too! The extra large but unobtrusive, three-spoke adapter replaces those tiny, hard-to-hold knobs. You just slip them on to install them. $9

BATTERY OPERATED JAR AND BOTTLE OPENER
This cordless, battery operated jar opener has seven times the power of an average human hand. And for people with physical disabilities, such as manual dexterity or hand strength, it is perfect! What I really like about this model is that even in a power outage, my husband can use it to open jars for me.The cone shaped gripper has seven metal grip strips that open both metal and plastic screw-off lids, or 'childproof' push and twist medicine bottle, from 1/2" to 4 1/2" wide, making it handy for all but the gallon crock size jars of pickles. $45.

These are some of the things we have installed in our home to help my husband maintain his independence. The truth is I like having him open the mayonnaise jars! It is my belief that by helping friends and family who are living with physical challenges remain independent and able to do things, we can enhance their quality of life. Because of the aging nature of the American demographics, more and more of us will want to utilize the fantastic resources available, online and in stores. There are many more stores than my favorite, Disability Products, and you can find them quickly using Google Search or another search engine.