Project: Enabling Bucks – customised support equipment for people with multiple disabilities
Grant: £3,644
Fund: HoB General
DEMAND is a charity that is passionate about helping people with disabilities in any way that they can. They offer a range of services, including custom designed products and refurbishment services to support disabled people to live life their way.
DEMAND operate throughout England and Wales but applied for a grant from Heart of Bucks following three successful applications for their help from residents in Bucks.
When a suitable product can’t be found or is not easily accessible, DEMAND will do their best to develop a solution tailored to the needs of the individual. They had visited and carried out full assessments of the three Bucks residents to establish their needs and how they could help them.
They were awarded this grant to cover all the costs for the following three projects:
Mark – A bespoke communication word board:
Mark has severe cerebral palsy which affects his physical ability to speak and move easily. Mark is exceptionally clever and uses a word board for communication. As he is non-verbal. without it he has no voice. Having recently received a new wheelchair, Mark subsequently needed it to be fitted with new brackets and a new word board.
Mark’s new custom wheelchair word board includes phrases he uses frequently, so he doesn’t have to spell them out letter by letter. Mark has been given a voice and is now able to communicate again.
Gregory – Bespoke vibrating alarm:
Gregory is a 17 year old with Sleep Apnea and a hearing impairment and currently sleeps with a Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP) mask which delivers pressurised air through the mask to his airways. The mask allows him to breathe easily and regularly throughout the night and has an integral alarm that goes off when there is a problem. The alarm is connected to his parent’s bedroom but isn’t loud enough to wake Gregory up too. This posed a problem for his independence long-term as it meant he may need a carer at night.
Gregory’s independence has improved as his new vibrating alarm overcomes his hearing impairment to effectively wake him up.
Margaret – Arms & stand for singing chair:
Margaret is a 50-year-old with post-thoracotomy pain syndrome, degenerative disc disease, osteoarthritis in her lumbar spine and asthma. Singing is the one thing that Margaret can still do despite her physical setbacks and she has had lessons to develop a technique for singing sitting down. The chair she used was affecting her arthritis and the clip on stand not far enough away from her body, causing pain and discomfort to her stomach and lap.
Margaret is now able to continue enjoying her favourite hobby which not only releases endorphins and improves her breathing but also has huge social benefits.
To find out more about DEMAND, click here to visit their website
