Disability costs ? (leisure, adaptations etc? )

Karen_taris

For disabled people with mobility issues (wheelchair), is there a list of costs that could be incurred in their life as they are going to need changes?
Disability is mobility.

so leisure costs, mobility costs, adaptation costs, hiring equipment.

Can you list some of these expenses (if you deal with these people/ scenarios often) please.

what are the common monthly expenditure things that disabled people might require ?

elsien

Depending on where you live, the cost of wheelchair taxis can be very expensive. Taking a relative out locally cost anything from £15 - £20 depending on the taxi company for a trip that in an ordinary taxi would have been £7-£8.
Leisure, it depends where you're going. Some places have the accompanying adult going in free, others just knock a few quid off the price of the second ticket, or have no concessions at all. So it can be quite variable.
Why are you asking, out of interest?

GlasweJen

It depends on the individual person really. I went from dance teacher, Thai boxer and runner to wheelchair bound very unexpectedly.

I've always needed someone with me but my sister only paid for lessons she took part in, no one ever charged her for lessons she didn't take.

In terms of being in a wheelchair now I don't count travel as I'd pay to go to lessons anyway. I have my regular chair which I got for free on the NHS, this one goes to Brownies, days out etc. For sport I have 2 chairs, a dance chair which a charity paid £3500 for (i use this for dancing only) and a tennis chair which I bought with help from the bank of mum and dad for about £1000, I use this chair for tennis, badminton and sometimes a round of wheelchair 7s (I'm rubbish though).

I am very independent though and once picked up/dropped off I only need supervised. The clubs I go to are for wheelchair using adults - not severely disabled people who need support to participate. If I were to buy support then it would be a fortune.

[Deleted User]

Karen_taris wrote: »

For disabled people with mobility issues (wheelchair), is there a list of costs that could be incurred in their life as they are going to need changes?
Disability is mobility.

so leisure costs, mobility costs, adaptation costs, hiring equipment.

Can you list some of these expenses (if you deal with these people/ scenarios often) please.

what are the common monthly expenditure things that disabled people might require ?

be interested to know why you ask this question

Karen_taris

woodbine wrote: »

be interested to know why you ask this question

Its quite touching :sad:

but it involves an accident, hospital and don't know the outcome of what they might tell us, so just being prepared on expenses should the worse case scenario happen.

GlasweJen

Welcome to the world of "mobilising".

A lot of what your relative will go through depends on 3 things; how severe the incident was, how likely it is the person will recover mobility and what the person was interested in prior to the accident.

In my case it was sudden paralysis from belly button down, they don't think I'll ever walk again and prior to the incident I was fairly sporty. If your relative was not a sporty person pre-accident then he/she won't be now, getting a wheelchair doesn't involve a personality transplant. If they are sporty then there's loads of wheelchair sports that should tie into what they like. I know of wheelchair rugby, dance, tennis, badminton, squash, racing, cycling, water sports, basketball and football all within a 20 mile radius of my house.

If they are not sporty then there's not much extra cost at all, wheelchair and cushion are provided on the NHS, wheelchair taxis are expensive but most wheelchair users I know either drive from an adapted car provided by notability or they transfer into a regular car seat with wheelchair in the boot/back seat. Wheelchair users tend to get a free carer for most places and almost everywhere has ramps these days.

Sport chairs are expensive but there are charities that help and you can buy cheaper versions of the more expensive chairs if you're just doing it for fun. (By cheaper I mean £750 upwards).

Parva

Maybe I'm viewing life through different glasses to you GlasweJen but I'm not finding it quite so easy - even with the mobility car. I find that I need to be accompanied anywhere I go and this falls to family and friends, there's no 'free' care and yes I'm aware that part of DLA is to use towards these costs but I couldn't afford to pay for a carer for a weekend away for example.

I agree on the wheelchair and whatnot, the NHS has been very good there and I have a decent one suitable for outdoors although I actually bought my own indoor wheelchair for the home as it had a narrower wheelbase which is better for swinging around in tight spots in the home, particularly kitchen units, the NHS one is more suited to outdoors with it's longer wheelbase and bigger front whhels as it's more stable on uneven ground and gradients, so that stays in the boot of the car.

I was never a big sports fan prior to the loss of my right leg due to cancer at the end of 2011 but I was at least active and enjoyed holidays abroad and getting out and about. Whilst this is still not impossible I do find it an immense challenge in a wheelchair, so much so that I've not been abroad since thus far. There are so many places that are now totally off-limits that never used to be, Scarborough beach for example, with my grandson, fishing down a dirt track, walking on a scenic public footpath through woodlands etc etc.

Back on topic as regards expenditure I couldn't place a figure on it. I pay towards family visiting and helping where necessary and will pay for someone to do my domestic cleaning if needs be but away from the home I would be quite snookered. It's not something you can easily put a cost on.

GlasweJen

I think there are a lot of differences between myself and Parva which explains the different outlook.

I was always disabled having been born with a heart defect that got worse. I've never been truly independent and never expected to be.

When I had my accident I was recovering from a heart transplant that I'd been told I would never get because I'm not from a native British family, my tissue type as a result of being part Israeli was very difficult to match and I'm also a rare blood type. In my head I was quite ready to die and expected that the Christmas before was my last.

I also never lost a limb unexpectedly so I don't have the psychological impact of limb loss to deal with.

In terms of care I meant when out at the science centre you can get a free family member but it is true that nursing care for a weekend away is very expensive. I've been away once since my accident and that was 2 weeks in Disney last year, I went with the other half and coped fine but they had facilities like a water wheelchair and stuff to hire, room service did all the tidying and absolutely everything was wheelchair accessible. I am going to Switzerland in September as they have a reputation for being very disabled friendly. Beach holidays are out for me as I just plough the sand so it's not enjoyable, I also can't get from lying on a towel to chair by myself and paddling In a wheelchair is definitely out.

I got a handy "guide to accessible Britain" from the grabbit board once and it has wheelchair friendly walks in it but not many close to me. I was never much of a leisurely stroll type though so that never bothered me.

shegar

Parva wrote: »

Maybe I'm viewing life through different glasses to you GlasweJen but I'm not finding it quite so easy - even with the mobility car. I find that I need to be accompanied anywhere I go and this falls to family and friends, there's no 'free' care and yes I'm aware that part of DLA is to use towards these costs but I couldn't afford to pay for a carer for a weekend away for example.

I agree on the wheelchair and whatnot, the NHS has been very good there and I have a decent one suitable for outdoors although I actually bought my own indoor wheelchair for the home as it had a narrower wheelbase which is better for swinging around in tight spots in the home, particularly kitchen units, the NHS one is more suited to outdoors with it's longer wheelbase and bigger front whhels as it's more stable on uneven ground and gradients, so that stays in the boot of the car.

I was never a big sports fan prior to the loss of my right leg due to cancer at the end of 2011 but I was at least active and enjoyed holidays abroad and getting out and about. Whilst this is still not impossible I do find it an immense challenge in a wheelchair, so much so that I've not been abroad since thus far. There are so many places that are now totally off-limits that never used to be, Scarborough beach for example, with my grandson, fishing down a dirt track, walking on a scenic public footpath through woodlands etc etc.

Back on topic as regards expenditure I couldn't place a figure on it. I pay towards family visiting and helping where necessary and will pay for someone to do my domestic cleaning if needs be but away from the home I would be quite snookered. It's not something you can easily put a cost on.

Good post parva and know where you are coming from.......

My hubby is in similar situation to you, its physical and mental with him, before he had his stroke we use to go away on holidays every year.......2 years after the stroke I took him abroad , wheelchair bound, and he said never again, the pavements I had real problems with because they were so high , I couldnt get the chair up, it was horrendous , I came back more tired than I went........

The only way to have a holiday is to have a carer with us , but thats totally out of the question.....He also use to go fishing, thats now impossible to even think about , we have to pay for his contribution towards his nursing care when he goes into a nursing home one week in 4 to give me a break, I also have to pay a small amount from the DLA to help pay the daily care for showering , so thats where the DLA go , but thats what its for to pay for things that he needs...........

tokenfield

Karen_taris wrote: »

Its quite touching :sad:

but it involves an accident, hospital and don't know the outcome of what they might tell us, so just being prepared on expenses should the worse case scenario happen.

I would wait until you know what the prognosis is.

What you might think you will need might well not be the case. People adapt to their new lifestyle and in doing so it will reduce the impact of costs.

I'm disabled (mobilising) and to be honest there is little financial difference with now and before. I adapted my life to fit in with my new inabilities. (I prefer to be in my garden than anywhere - before, I found it boring and had an active lifestyle.

Parva

Fairdo's GlasweJen, I too wasn't aware of your struggle which in all honesty makes mine pale in comparison. That said and as you alluded to we each have our own struggles and we have no choice but to adapt and work with what we do have. I know others are on these boards with all limbs intact and whatnot but are in a terrible state of health and whilst I wouldn't recommend anyone undergo a hemi-pelvectomy as I had to (or heart transplant in your case!) I know there's always worse.

Benefits aside and the governments attempts to pigeon-hole all disabled people it's incredibly difficult to put an actual figure on the cost of it all. At 46 years old and with 25 years experience of printing commercial stuff and even full-colour magazines for the likes of Jet2 it is something of an education spending 18 hours a day in a wheelchair and not something I would wish on anyone. All of my years experience are useless due to the damned wheelchair. So frustrating.