MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry celebrates Disability Pride Month with some top mobility and accessibility gadgets that are as stylish as they are functional
About 16 million people in the UK are disabled, which is about 24% of adults or a quarter of the adult population, and that doesn’t include people who are temporarily disabled by accident or illness.
So, why do so many gadgets and mobility aids designed to help us manage our disabilities look so… beige? We’ve rounded up some of the best-looking accessibility aids and gadgets for people living with chronic conditions to take some of the ‘hospital grey’ out of the picture.
What is an accessibility aid?
An accessibility aid is something that helps a person living with a chronic condition that impacts their ability to do a task. It might be something they need daily, like people living with Parkinson’s who need a walking aid to steady their balance.
However, something doesn’t need to be designed specifically to help someone with limited mobility, fatigue, or other challenge to be an accessibility aid. Some everyday products can benefit anyone, so some things on this list are specialist items and others are not specialist but still used by people living with disabilities that help them with daily living.
Electric tricycles
An electric tricycle is brilliant for so many reasons. Not only is it more stable than a bicycle, the extra power of battery assistance means people can go further and for longer, regaining their independence.
Jorvik Tricycles are a great example of electric tricycles that look great while also being useful for people with limited mobility. It’s not just road tricycles, either: off-road electric tricycles with fatter wheels mean people can enjoy trips to the beach, a picnic in fields, or just manage countryside tracks with ease. Having a disability doesn’t mean you can no longer go on bike rides with friends!
Remember, too, that if you’re buying an electric tricycle to aid a disability, it can be VAT-free – which is 20% off the advertised sale price.
Cool Crutches
Crutches and walking sticks tend to come in a few colours: hospital steel, grey, black, or wood. They’re also not always very comfortable to use!
After a quad bike accident at the age of 19, Amelia Peckham knew she would never walk unaided again. But, when she found the hospital supplied crutches caused pain, blisters, and eventually required weeks of bed rest for hand recovery, doctors told her to get a wheelchair. Which made no sense: her hands were not the reason walking was difficult.
Persevering with crutches, Amelia soon realised a gap in the market: mobility aids that look great as well as perform well, leaving no blisters, not slipping from under you, or have annoying clicking sounds. That’s how Cool Crutches & Walking Sticks was born. Amelia said: “Using our crutches changed my life, it’s the sole reason I’m walking today and why our business has gone on to do the same for over 40,000 others.”
The range is full of bright colours patterns, and even glittery options, with comfort grips and accessories to customise walking sticks and crutches to make them comfortable to use. The Safe Stick is a handy addition too, wrapping around the stick to ensure it can be hung or stood upright anywhere without being dropped.
Chatsie phone
The Chatsie phone is new to the market. It simplifies smartphone use for people who find the usual Android or iPhone devices too complicated and overwhelming. While it’s aimed at older users with less tech confidence, it is also an ideal solution for anyone who finds phones difficult to use because the icons are unclear, the text is too small, or the number of apps is overwhelming.
It looks just like a standard smartphone on the outside, and includes the usual elements like a camera, so you can still take photos. But the best feature is the UK-based support if you get stuck using your phone. It’s easy to get in touch and be guided through, so tech overwhelm doesn’t ever become a reason to stop using your phone anymore.
Drive Nitro Sprint Rollator
Rollators are versatile and useful mobility aids for people with all kinds of disability, from arthritis to Parkinson’s and more. They provide a stable base to help people walk independently, while also providing a seat at any time the user needs to sit down. It’s easy to attach a bag to them, too, so the user doesn’t have to carry their stuff separately.
But many folding rollators can be bulky, or have small weight limits not suited to larger people. The Drive Nitro Rollator at Fenetic Wellbeing has a high maximum user weight of 350lbs while still being sleek and light enough to fold into any car boot or storage cupboard. The bag can be clipped in three different positions, making it easy to customise how it’s used.
1-Up Hair Tie
For anyone with limited hand movement, keeping long hair tied up can be tricky. The 1-Up Hair Tie available from Active Hands is designed for one-handed use, making it super easy to get hair into a ponytail with one hand in seconds.
Costing between £8.95-£11.95, it comes in different colour options and in child or regular size and means anyone with longer hair can be in charge of their own hairstyle by putting it into a ponytail in seconds. Active Hands also produce lots of easy-use gadgets like a cable puller to get charging cables from your phone with ease.
Robo vacuum and mop
The final two gadgets on this list are something ideal for any home, but have extra benefits for people with limited mobility or fluctuating conditions.
Robot vacuums like the Ultenic T10 Lite have gained popularity in recent years, and for good reason. You can quickly ‘set and forget’ your household chore of hoovering the floor, leaving time for other tasks – or rest. The vacuum maps out your floorplan, learns where your furniture is, and uses sensors to move around. You decide when your cleaning gets done, so it can even happen while you’re out of the house, which is ideal for those with noise sensitivities, too.
For those who aren’t sure a robot vac is ideal for them, a light cordless vacuum cleaner like UItenic’s U20 can be the answer – and also gets under the furniture with a flexible wand, snapping up dust and fluff from corners without the need to move heavy items.
Portable air conditioner
Finally, as the summer heat looks set to stay this year and in years to come, a portable air conditioner is an investment anyone with heat intolerance should consider.
Heat can have a negative impact on many conditions, causing bloating, swollen joints, and additional fatigue – not helped by being unable to sleep when it’s too hot, too. A portable air conditioner can reduce the room’s temperature to one that is comfortable, and can be put in any room. The S1 Pro Personal Air Conditioner by Morphy Richards, looks stylish (instead of the boring white box of most air con units) and can also be useful for reducing damp in cooler months, which is ideal for those with respiratory issues prone to flare in winter.
Claim VAT relief
You can claim VAT relief of 20% on products designed or adapted to help manage your disability. This is usually easiest to do direct from specialist suppliers, like those listed above. This VAT exemption also applies to adaptations you make around your home to remain independent, such as installing ramps and handles, or changing a bathroom to a wetroom. Speak to your contractor about the VAT exemption before agreeing to any quotes or starting the work.
- Some of the brands and websites we mention may be, or may have been, a partner of MoneyMagpie.com. However, we only ever mention brands we believe in and trust, so it never influences who we prioritise and link to