The AT Bargain Basement

Marvin Williams, AT Specialist, Kent County ATRC

Welcome one and all to another pulse-pounding edition of the AT Bargain Basement. I am Marvin, your guide on this tour of all technology assistive and costing less than $100. I also try to find you bargains that are available in your local stores. However, you might find that some of the biggest bargains are available online, so I will feature web bargains now too.

In this installment of the Basement, I am going to go over some suggestions offered by one of my readers. Eleanor Gregory is an occupational therapist with Easter Seals in Dover. She is a fan of the Basement and had some suggestions for things people could do to create simple AT solutions at home. The first of Eleanor's suggestions was to use the non-slip drawer lining I mentioned in a previous column as a non-slip pad for a mattress. Place the pad between the mattress and the box spring to keep a slippery mattress in place. This is especially handy on a low-airloss mattress or on a mattress that is sealed for an incontinent user. If you have difficulty getting in and out of bed because your mattress keeps moving, a non-slip pad might also be a solution for you as well.

A second idea Eleanor had was to use simple pipe insulation for a built-up handle on eating utensils. I recommend taking a piece of your flatware with you to the hardware store to make sure you get the correct size piping. You can get pipe insulation from Lowe's ® and Home Depot for less than $10 for a three-foot section. That would give you plenty of insulation to handle a good number of utensils. Pipe insulation is also good for building up the handles of pens, pencils, toothbrushes, and hair brushes. If you know of any AT tips, please feel free to send them along, and I will share them with everyone! Switching gears a bit, I recently found a steal of a deal at Wal-Mart ®. The Omron Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor with APS is a great blood pressure monitor with a large, easy-to-read display available for only $74.88. Now for those of you who do not know, APS stands for automatic positioning sensor, which is how the device lets you know it is in a good spot for an accurate reading. While other blood pressure monitors are certainly available for less money, I like the large display on this one. Also, for being compact, it does have good-sized buttons, making operation easy. As with anything, try it out first or at least take a good look at it, to make sure it will work for you.

Omron Automatic Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor with APS

Staying with the Wal-Mart connection for just a little longer, if you have access to a computer and are in the market for a shower chair, you might want to check out www.walmart.com for deals on shower chairs. For my money, the best deal I saw was the LifeCare shower chair with swing-away arms and an EVA soft seat cover. The chair is $79.23 and worth every penny and more. First, it comes with a backrest that can be easily removed or installed without any tools (after initial assembly). The second nice feature of this shower chair is the EVA foam seat cover. EVA refers to the type of foam used in making the seat cover. The cover is sealed, so you do not have to worry about the foam getting wet and ruined. The soft seat is a nice touch if most shower chair seats feel a little too hard for you. Last but not least are the swing-away arm rests. Normally, if you find armrests on a shower chair, they are in a fixed position. On this chair, you can lift an arm out of the way, making it easier to get in and out of the shower chair. If all of these things sound just right for you, then you definitely want to look into the LifeCare shower chair. Remember, it is only available from Wal-Mart online at www.walmart.com.

Not to be outdone, Target ® has some nice deals available on their website. For those of you who use a pill box, Target has the 14-day tapestry pill box for only $11.99. What I like about this pill box is that it has all of the normal pill box functions without the standard pill box look. It features compartments for taking four sets of pills each day. Each day's worth of pills can be removed separately from the rest of the case and each compartment is labeled in Braille as well as with standard print. The outside covering is attractive, and has a special bonus flap that can be used for carrying prescriptions, pill reminders, etc.

Another great deal offered at Target is a combination hot/cold pack. The Thermal Aid Therapeutic Hot/Cold Bear Pack is a nice way to get a child to accept a cold pack or a warm compress. It looks like a teddy bear, not a thermal pack, thus its appeal. It is a little pricey at $19.99, but considering what you are getting and how easy it may make getting someone to take a thermal pack, it is well worth the cost. Both of these items are available only through Target's website, www.target.com.

LifeCare shower chair with swing away arms

And with those last two items, I must bring this edition of the Basement to a close. I would like to thank Eleanor for her very helpful hints, and I encourage all of you to let me know about any hints, tips, or bargains you may find. So until next time, remember: just because it is inexpensive does not mean it has to be cheap!