Following on from our article that lists some charities that help elderly people in the UK, here is a list of some useful organisations that help and support physically disabled people in the UK.

Condition specifc charities:

Arthritis Care

Arthritis Care, works with and for people with arthritis. It aims to promote their health, well-being and independence through services, support, self-help, information and influence.

Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (ASBAH)

ASBAH works with people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, their families and carers to promote individual choice, control and quality of life.

Motor Neurone Disease Association

The MND Association loans equipment and provides direct care and support for people with Motor Neurone Disease and their carers.

Multiple Sclerosis Society

The society funds MS research, runs respite care centres and provides information on MS. It produces numerous publications on MS and runs a freephone specialist helpline.

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign

Muscular Dystrophy Campaign provides practical, medical and emotional support to people affected by the condition.

Neurological Alliance

The Neurological Alliance unites charities working to improve the quality of life of all those in the UK living with a neurological condition.

Scope

For people with cerebral palsy, and their families and carers.It provides residential services, independent living schemes, education and employment opportunities, support for families and carers, advocacy, support for self-help groups.

Spinal Injuries Association (SIA)

Support for people affected by spinal cord injury, including the family and friends of the injured person.

Stroke Association

The Stroke Association helps stroke patients and their families directly through its community services, and funds research into prevention, treatment and better methods of rehabilitation.

Limbless Association

The Limbless Association provides information, advice and support for people of all ages who are without one or more limbs.

Help and support for disabled people:

Disabled Living Foundation

The DLF is a national charity that provides impartial advice, information and training on daily living aids.

Disability Discrimation Act (DDA)

The Disability Discrimination Act is a piece of legislation that promotes civil rights for disabled people and protects disabled people from discrimination. You can order a copy of the Act in a range of formats from Direct.Gov

Leonard Cheshire Disability

Leonard Cheshire Disability exists to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world. Our principal activity in the UK is the provision of services in support of disabled people in the widest context. These services include care homes, supported living, domiciliary support, day services, resource centres, rehabilitation, respite care, personal support and training and assistance for those looking for work.

The Motability scheme provide a vital lifeline for many people.
Motability

Motability is a national UK charity which provides practical assistance for disabled people to become mobile, including financial help and technical services. It enables disabled people to become mobile by obtaining a car, powered wheelchair or scooter. People who receive the higher rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners’ Mobility supplement may exchange all or part of their allowance in return for a car, powered wheelchair or scooter.

There are specialist organisations and charities where dogs are trained to assist and support their owners with their specific disability; enabling the person to lead a more independent life.

Here are just a few:

Support Dogs

Support Dogs is a UK charity that trains dogs to act as efficient and safe assistants for people with epilepsy and physically disabled people.

Canine Partners

Canine Partners is a charity that trains and places assistance dogs for people with physical disabilities.

Dog AID

Dog AID (Assistance In Disability) is a voluntary organisation that provides specialised training for people with physical disabilities and their own pet dog.

Dogs for the Disabled

Dogs for the Disabled trains and partners assistance dogs for physically disabled children and adults, and for children with autism.

“This Scooter Has Changed My Life!”
By Melanie Preston

I have a Sunrise Medical Elite scooter which I love as it’s given me freedom and independence.

It’s very well designed and the controls are very easy to operate. It’s a smooth ride over pavements and the seat is so incredibly comfortable – like an armchair. I have no trouble being on it for an hour.

This scooter has completely changed my life. For 2-3 years I couldn’t go outside at all to walk around, not even to post a letter, and could only travel around by taxis, which was expensive and you don’t have control over when you come and go. The scooter makes me much more independent. I can go and visit friends – I wasn’t able to do that before. And I can go to local shops, have my hair done, and buy a paper. I feel I’ve been out for a bit of fresh air. I can go to a cafe and sit at an outside table and have a coffee. I also go on it to my Pilates class twenty minutes away.  Friends and family are amazed at its quality.

I think it’s a young, disabled person’s scooter. It is expensive, but as I don’t drive a car, this was my answer to driving. When I was looking for a scooter, I wanted something which reflected my personality – which is to be outgoing and adventurous. I didn’t want a scooter which just went on pavements, but something which could take me through woods and into the countryside. This scooter can go places other scooters can’t manage. It can go 36 miles on one charge, can handle grass, sand and rough terrain and can climb up a 4” kerb.

Before MS, I used to love mountain walking, and now my scooter enables me to climb steep hills again. I can now go for walks with my husband Mark – something I haven’t been able to do for years.  Now we’ve got a large Toyota Corolla, we take the scooter with us wherever we go. We’ve got family on the south coast and can have sea walks along the cliffs. Mark can walk beside me and we can still talk. It’s got a variable speed up to 8mph and if I go a bit faster it can keep him fit.

Before getting this scooter, Mark pushed me in the wheelchair but it’s not the same as walking beside him talking and being able to enjoy the walk. In a wheelchair, you can’t see the person who’s pushing you, but in a scooter they can walk beside you. When you’re in a wheelchair, it feels a very passive thing to do, especially when you’re pushed. I find it very painful when people talk to my husband and not me. When you’re on a scooter, it shows you’ve got all your faculties.

I like the way it looks and chose it in navy. I’ve been out in all weathers and it’s really waterproof. After it’s rained, you only have to wipe it down with a tea towel and it’s completely dry to get into. You can buy a canopy so it’s completely covered like a little car. I’ve got a rain poncho which kept me really dry and my hands dry. If it gets dark while you’re out, you just switch on the headlights and feel completely safe. It’s got plenty of storage space, with a decent size basket and also a little boot. There’s room to put stuff on the base too.

I keep the scooter outside my flat, covered up with a fitted tarpaulin. The charger lead goes through the letter box. I always keep it fully charged and it always takes me where I want to go.

Of all the things I own, it’s my most prized possession. I can’t praise it highly enough.

Source: New Pathways Magazine MSRC

The simple answer is no, not even on the pavement.

In the news today a man riding home on his scooter at less than 4 mph, Eamonn Donohoe wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry and didn’t appear to be a menace to pedestrians.

But when the drunken Irishman ignored a policeman’s attempt to flag him down, the local constabulary decided to take no chances.

As Mr Donohoe, 62, was trundling along the pavement near his sheltered bungalow he found himself surrounded by eight police officers and three marked vehicles.

One patrol car mounted the kerb to block his way and after failing a roadside breath test the disabled grandfather was locked in police cells for 12 hours, fingerprinted, photographed and had a DNA swab taken.

Mr Donohoe, who had drunk six or seven pints during an evening playing dominoes with friends at a local club, was three times over the limit.

He later admitted driving a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst over the limit on 20th April and was given a three year driving ban by magistrates at Chesterfield.

However, despite the nature of the offence he is legally free to continue riding his mobility scooter.

But the bizarre episode has left the retired construction worker from Old Whittington, Chesterfield, feeling disillusioned with the forces of law and order.

He said:’I can’t believe how they treated me – anybody would think that I was a bank robber or a member of Al-Qaeda.

‘The police are always saying they’re short of resources, and then go and employ eight officers arresting someone like me. It’s completely mad, and a total waste of public money.

‘When someone broke into my home and stole my TV and my video two years ago the police didn’t turn up for three days, and yet they can drop everything for something as daft as this. There’s no wonder the police get it in the neck.

‘They must have known, like I did, that the rules of the road don’t apply when you’re riding a mobility scooter down the pavement at three and a half miles an hour, but it didn’t seem to matter one jot.

‘I didn’t stop at first because I wanted to get home, and I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Then a police car turned up all of a sudden, and pulled up right across the footpath stopping me dead.

‘A police van pulled alongside me, and another car parked up on the road behind me so I couldn’t turn round. It was just like something out of a film.

‘There were eight police officers there altogether, and one of them grabbed the keys from the scooter, and said: “Come on – get off that!”

‘When they asked me to do breath test I said: “Don’t be stupid, I’m an old aged pensioner on a mobility scooter – I’m not blowing into anything,” but they insisted so I had to in the end.

‘They actually wanted to put me in handcuffs, but they stopped short of doing it in the end.’

Mr Donohoe, who is handicapped with blocked arteries in his legs, and can only walk a few yards unaided, intends to carry on riding backwards and forwards to see his friends to play dominoes at his local club once a week.

The divorcee, who has three children and ten grandchildren, added – said:’It’s not as if I’m going down the pavement swerving from side to side, and putting people at risk. I’m not a danger to anyone.’

A Derbyshire Police spokeswoman said: ‘He failed a breath test when he was stoppped, and was charged with driving a mechanically propelled vehicle while over the limit.

‘We cannot comment on how many officers dealt with the incident, but a person driving any kind of vehicle when they’re drunk are a danger to themselves and other people as well.’

When it started getting difficult for me to walk, I wish I had taken the plunge and got help sooner. I carried on struggling for too long. I suppose I thought that things would get better. I didn’t realise that I was just making things harder for myself.

I found that I wasn’t going out as often. I definitely wasn’t going as far as I used to. I wasn’t getting the same joy from life that I used to. It was only when I started feeling trapped in my own home that I knew I had to do something to help me get out of the house more.

I could walk, but not far. I felt a scooter was the best option for me. I didn’t want one though. It felt like giving in and I didn’t want my disability and age to win. It is only now that I realise that it is me who has won. My disability is no longer in control of me. It doesn’t stop me getting out of the house. In fact I think I go out more now, as it is so easy. Much easier than before.

At first using my mobility scooter was strange. I have never been a car driver, so it felt like I was travelling at a million miles an hour! I wasn’t though. It could go a maximum of 4mph, and people can walk that fast. Once I got used to the controls it was easy. I had a practice in my road. It is a cul-de-sac and nice and quiet. I very quickly mastered going backwards, forwards, turning round and braking. I learned about the indicators, lights, and importantly found where the horn was and how to use it.

My husband said he would drive in the car and meet me at the local library. It was only about 2 miles away, and I loved that first journey on my scooter. I knew exactly what route I was going to take, checked everything on my scooter – and drove off. Once I got used to feeling like I was going too fast, I felt exhilarated to be mobile and free. I was driving on the pavement, but found it easy to navigate up and down kerbs and around people.

Before long, I was there. My husband was grinning from ear to ear. He knew I could do it, and was so pleased that my first trip had been such a success. We stopped for a coffee, and then I made my way back.

Nowadays, I go to all sorts of places on my scooter. It really has changed my life. I am in control again.