Touch Lamp

Everybody needs a grope light. You know, that light that's easy to find and smack the switch when you need light in the middle of the night. Certainly there are plenty of lamps available with a nice easy rocker switch that serve this purpose but nothing is quite as easy for someone with paralyzed fingers than a touch lamp. Unfortunately, they are becoming a little bit harder to find and new bulb technology is causing them to function differently than they used to 10 years ago.

My favorite touch lamp, pictured above, still uses incandescent bulbs. Just a nice, small, 60 W chandelier bulb. The lamp is what controls the dim, medium and bright levels. Built into it is a relay that allows only so much wattage through at each of the three levels. Many touch lamps actually require special bulbs which contain three separate filaments and that is how the three levels of brightness is controlled. I understand that this is necessary for lamps of a higher maximum wattage but thankfully smaller bedside lamps do not need the special bulbs.

In most lamps like this CFL bulbs simply don't work. They only work with lamps that have on and off, not multiple levels of brightness. The bulbs that can either cause a malfunction or cause the lamp to no longer have three levels of brightness are LED bulbs. If you notice when you shop for either CFL or LED bulbs they give their ratings in two measurements, actual wattage and equivalent wattage. Eventually we will become accustomed to the amount of light put out by a 10 W LED bulb but for now most of us need to know that that is typically equivalent to the 60 W incandescent bulb that we all grew up with.

In the case of the touch lamp, where the settings are 20 W output for low, 40 W output for medium and 60 W for high, even on the low setting you have already exceeded the LED bulb's maximum draw. So, using that bulb in this lamp would give me high, high, high and off. There would be no low or medium settings. There is no danger in this case because the bulb will not draw more than it needs. The lamp is not going to try to push an extra 50 W of power through the bulb on what would normally be the brightest setting. However, some lamps that function differently have warnings about not using LED bulbs in them and some LED bulbs on IKEA's website indicate that they are not well-suited for all touch lamps. I used IKEA as an example because that is about the most affordable place to purchase LED bulbs.

I don't believe touch lamps are going to disappear forever but they have been becoming more difficult to find. It may simply be a matter of searching hard to find the right one and, before long, we may not enjoy the ease of waking up to a low or medium setting if on or off are our only options.

Source: Lamp – department stores and online.
Bulbs – most department stores but I have found the best deals at IKEA and dx.com.

Pepper Mills

There should be no reason why anyone cannot independently enjoy fresh ground pepper, or other fresh ground spices. And thankfully, there isn't.

A manual pepper mill, even with the assistance of the gloves or other added grip alternatives, is a real pain and tedious even if you can get it to work with paralyzed hands. I have seen pepper mills that have a push to grind technology, where the pushing action causes the shaft to turn thereby grinding the pepper. That may work for some but still requires a reasonably strong grip in order to perform the action while grinding over top of your food. It's not a big deal to grind the pepper into a dish then add it, but there is something better.

Numerous types of battery-powered pepper mills are available and can add that extra enjoyment to the cooking and eating process. The style pictured above, in front of the manual pepper mill in the rear, is a single momentary on/off button. Simply push the button to grind and release when you have your desired amount of pepper. The other most common style I have seen turns on by flipping the mill upside down. Gravity activates a switch that begins the grinding process. Insignificant, but if you are not careful when you re-invert the mill you may spray a bit of pepper when flipping it over to turn it off.

It was a good day when I discovered the joy of fresh ground pepper and even better to discover the available grinders for anyone who has dexterity or hand strength issues.

Source: Most department stores, but I suggest searching online to find the type that work best for you.

Can Openers

The manual can opener. Simple, affordable and quick for the average person. For the person whose hands are paralyzed it is nearly laughable to try to use one. I have succeeded with great effort and the assistance of a ratcheting clamp to hold the handles shut, but that was simply to see if I could do it in a pinch. I think I may have been further ahead with a hammer and a flat screwdriver.

With the exception of camping, there has always been an electric can opener readily available to me. My parents have always had one and I have always had one. It still requires two hands to steady the opener and the can, especially if it's a larger can. Often I need to use my mouth to lift the lever out of the locked position once the can has been opened while I use my hands to prevent spilling the now open can. But practice, patience, along with the motivation of being able to get at the ingredients I need to cook, is what it takes to be successful using an electric can opener.

Source: Any department store.

Toaster Oven

What a world of opportunities my first toaster oven opened up for me! As a bachelor with an enthusiasm for cooking, but limited discovered abilities, that opportunity to stray from the frying pan or pot on the stove was a great thing. That old toaster oven lasted 11 years and was still going strong when it was replaced, both of them being Christmas gifts from my parents.

We had picked this one out because of its much greater size, advanced pushbutton controls and great reviews. As with so many things that are very similar from one model to another, it requires practice and finding a way that works best for us. Having had a first toaster oven I knew which features to look for in our next one and was not afraid to try out demo models in the store before choosing one.

Thanks to the size of this oven I could cook almost anything we would want in it for the two of us. When cooking for a larger group significant side dishes can be prepared in this oven. Besides saving power it has opened up great opportunities for me to cook even more effectively for my wife and slightly larger groups.

Source: Department stores.

Light Switches

In 1998, when my parents' home was renovated to be made barrier free, flat light switches were a rare and almost specialty item. Today, however, if only for their aesthetically pleasing nature, they are practically ubiquitous regardless of the structure being built or renovated.

I am fortunate enough to have never been too weak to be able to lift my arm high enough, with enough strength, to flip the older style of protruding light switch. I am also fortunate enough to have never needed a power wheelchair; my strength has always been adequate. To the individual with less strength or less range of motion these flat light switches can be significantly easier to use than the older style. What matters most to me, just for convenience, is the height of both light switches and electrical sockets.

Having light switches closer to my shoulder height means being able to flip the switch on a roll without reaching higher to potentially lose my balance or have something fall off my lap, should I be carrying something. Slightly higher electrical sockets mean not needing to bend over to plug something in. That said, if it is a stiff plug I may need to hands, anyway.

I do not deny that my method of unplugging things from the wall, by wrapping the cord around my wrist then slowly pulling, does not meet the ideal standard of removing the cord by grasping the plug but in 15 years I have yet to damage an electrical cord so I will probably keep on doing it.

Source: Any hardware or electrical supply store.

Dental Care

I'll be the first to admit that I use my teeth, lips and tongue for more things than I probably should, but so many times the dexterity and strength required to get something done is simply not in our hands. The only alternative is our mouths. All the more reason to care for them properly, even if the transfer in and out of the dentist's chair is one of my most dreaded transfers of the year.

Electric Toothbrush

Most dentists recommend a good electric toothbrush for everyone, but when your dexterity is impaired an electric toothbrush can shave a few minutes off of an already lengthened bedtime and morning routine.

I have seen peers who have added a lengthened and enlarged handle to a manual toothbrush, even pairing it with a universal cuff not unlike my former Razor Cuff. The problem with universal cuffs, anything that easily slides into a pocket easily slides out, means that a motion like brushing teeth results in the toothbrush sliding back out frequently during the brushing. When I use a manual toothbrush I weave it between my fingers and add a second hand to firm up the grip.

Source: Any department store or dentist's office.

Flosser

Flossing can be enough of a challenge for anyone whose fingers are not paralyzed. For quadriplegics a proper flossing using our fingers is almost impossible. Thankfully there are ample commercially made tools to help anyone get it done.

The above photo is my tool of choice because of the amply long handle and easily replaced heads. However, there are picks, tiny brushes and even vibrating flossers with heads similar to the one I use. My hygienist and dentist thank me for it.

Source: Any department store or dentist's office.

A special thank you to Dr. Steve at Stonebridge Dental for lending me his practice teeth, from his university days, to make this photo.