37.
Many libraries will deliver or mail books to your home. Check with your local library for information.
38.
Gardening can be aided by using a length of plastic tubing as a conduit to plant seeds when seated in a wheelchair.
39.
The dimples on a rubber thimble provide friction to help turn the pages of a book or magazine.
40.
For fishermen who have difficulty retrieving a line, several devices are available, including a vest with a lightweight harness which holds the fishing rod in an aluminum tube with a locking feature. Also obtainable is an electronic fishing reel featuring a four-speed control with two manual and two electronic settings.
41.
A spring-loaded billiard cue is available for billiards or pool players who lack strength enough to handle the standard cue.
42.
If you want to play a stringed instrument (guitar, banjo, ukulele, etc.) but have weak hands and wrists, a soft glove can be modified by gluing individual plastic picks onto the fingers, adding a Velcro strap (for quick sizing) at the wrist and opening the thumb area for easy removal. The glove facilitates plucking and strumming stringed instruments by moving the fingers in a clawing manner, either separately or together.
43.
For those who sew, a small magnet glued to the end
of a yardstick makes an effective "retriever" for dropped pins and needles.
44.
The Department of Transportation, Office of Consumer Affairs, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20590 (202/366-2220) distributes an excellent booklet, "New Horizons for the Air Traveler with a Disability," which details one's rights as a disabled person. It is free on request.
45.
"Paddle-minton" is badminton-like game using a short paddle which is easy to handle from a wheelchair. The game's birdie is modified so as not to fly fast or high. The birdie's speed can be adjusted by tying the feathers together for faster play or spreading them apart to slow its flight.
46.
The "Quad-Bee" frisbee has two adaptive thumb clips allowing someone with upper extremity weakness to hold and throw the device.
47.
Hand control in children can be developed with games utilizing rings placed around pegs. Pegs can be made from an old broomstick or other small dowels nailed or glued to a flat board. Rings can be fabricated from the plastic holders found on soda pop or beer cans or cardboard rings can be cut from a cylindrical oatmeal box or a paper towel tube.
48.
Wheelchair archery is made easier for persons with weak arms by using a straight arm splint on the arm that holds the bow and a hook fashioned to the other hand to pull the bowstring. Archery may help correct spinal curvature. The arm pulling the string should be on the side that has the more prominent curve of the spine.
49.
A secure seat for a small child's use on a seesaw can be fashioned from half of a plastic bucket or a section of an automobile tire. Tape the edges with duct tape for safety.
50.
A thick board can be slotted to hold a hand of playing cards for those whose grasp is weak. Ask your handy woodworking friend to make this simple but useful gadget for you.
