A social worker reports

DISABLED LIVING FOUNDATION Disabled people have individual and varied requirements for aids, not all of which can be satisfactorily met by commercially available products. Finding no commercially available aids to solve the pro-blem , a disabled person must utilize either his own inventive powers or turn to the other resources available. Therapists, technicians, engineers, teachers and many others have been involved for years in the design and manufacture of ‘one-off’ aids and have relied upon personal knowledge, experience and inventiveness, however, difficulties in communication of ideas have sometimes resulted in a ‘reinvention of the wheel’. An awareness of this situation prompted Nigel Ring, Technical Director of Chailey Heritage to initiate a pilot scheme called A.I.D.S. (Aids Information Dissemination Service). The system began with a small selected mailing list, to assess the usefulness of such an exchange of ideas and the scheme was so successfully and quickly expanded, that the need for a central clearing and dissemination scheme was soon apparent. Following a meeting last year attended by representatives from the Association for Spina-Bifida & Hydracephalus, the Biological Engineering Society, the British Rheumatism & Arthritis Association, Chailey Heritage, the Disabled Living Foundation, (DLF), ‘REMAP, and the Spastics Society, it was decided that a collection of information on ‘one-off’ aids could usefully be stored centrally at the DLF, as an extension to the existing information bank. Representatives considered that dissemination of the information was of prime importance and the format for a bi-monthly newsheet was agreed. Five issues of the ‘Ideas for One-Off Aids’ new-

sheet have now been circulated with DLF’s regular mailings, to over 4500 subscribers. The first newsheet was accompanied by a questionnaire asking if the publication of ideas would be useful; the response was encouraging and the information collection is continually expanding. The newsheets give brief details of the aids, accompanied by a line drawing and the address of the designer who can be contacted for further information. Not all the ideas collected will be featured in these newsheets, but people are welcome to contact the DLF for access to all the information which has been collected. It is hoped that this centralized resource will be helpful both to handicapped people and to those developing aids. It will obviously take time for the information collection to grow, but we are encouraged by the help and co-operation already received from the many people involved. The DLF will also be pleased to hear from anyone who has designed an aid or piece of equipment to suit an individual’s needs - and photographs, drawings, and any other information, would be welcome. All those who are already subscribing to the DLF’s Information Service receive the ‘Ideas for One-Off Aids’ newsheets, as part of the bi-monthly information bulletin - but a separate scheme has now been established for anyone else wishing to receive separate mailings of information about one-off aids. Payment of 31.00 p.a. covers receipt of the six newsheets issued per year, and enquiries regarding this should be sent to: Kate 346

Disabled

Thompson Kensington

High

Street

Living London

Foundation W14

8NS

A SOCIAL WORKER REPORTS AIDS AND ADAPTATIONS by Ursula

Keeble

Occasional Papers on Social Administration No 62 The Bedford Square Press, National Council of Social Science 1979, E5.95 pp 320

This detailed study of the provision by local authorities throughout the Greater London area, of aids for the disabled and the adaptation of dwellings, was made possible by a grant from the National Fund for Research into Crippling Diseases. This allowed Ursula Keeble, a former social worker, to undertake research in the Department of Social Science and Administration. The financial and administrative processes involved in implementing the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, are investigated by the author’s detailed interviews with staff at all levels and their

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clients. The report pinpoints the stages at which delays more frequently occur, the ways in which some boroughs have speeded up the processes, and makes constructive suggestions for improving the deployment of scarce resources.

DESIGN FOR THE DISABLED This booklet from INCO describes different designs of taps for plumbing and door furniture, as well as chairs with booster seats, suitable for disabled users and made from nickel products. INCO

Europe

Thames

House

Ltd. Millbank

London

SWlP

4QF

UK