Wheelchair lifts are crucial lifesavers that some people need to protect them from falling or getting severe injuries. This applies to people with arthritis or significant leg injury, limited mobility, people with special needs, and aged people who can’t walk or stand without support. Such persons need wheelchair lifts to make sitting or standing from the wheelchair easy with less help from caregivers.
It can be challenging to switch places, especially while using a wheelchair; hence it’s beneficial to get some essentials to make life easier for users and their caregivers.
While it’s crucial to know that a user needs the wheelchair lift, it is more critical to identify why they need it. Sometimes knowing that these aids are available on the market is not enough reason to purchase the wheelchair lift.
Then what are the reasons for purchasing a wheelchair lift for people with special needs?
This article explores five reasons wheelchair lifts are a worthy investment:
1. Encourages Independence
It is easy for everyone without a disability to underestimate simple tasks like moving up and down the stairs with ease. A whole human who is not constricted to a wheelchair can move around even without giving it a second thought.
Sadly, people constricted to a wheelchair cannot afford this luxury. People with special needs often wish they could perform essential life functions without relying on another person. The disability takes their Independence from them, but a wheelchair lift can help you live without relying on people.
A wheelchair lift is designed to fit almost any space, making it possible for users to access various places. It removes the extra cost of settling for a senior healthcare facility as the lift ensures you live without becoming a burden to anyone.
2. Safety
It’s common for persons with reduced mobility to fall and sustain injuries when they try to move around in their homes, even with a wheelchair. Scenarios like that make such people lose confidence in moving around their abodes.
Considering the use of stairs by people with special needs, falling and sustaining injuries is not far-fetched. This makes the staircase a danger zone for seniors with limited mobility. However, a wheelchair lift will enable older people or people who have arthritis to move around the house and use stairs without falling or getting injured.
Appropriate use of the wheelchair lift will limit the support of a caregiver around the house, making the seniors spend less on their health. That way, they can save more money for their routine medications.
One of the factors to consider when purchasing any wheelchair lift is the max weight it can support, for ensuring safety. Compare that with the user’s weight and ensure it’s the best fit for the user. For instance, if the senior weighs 70lbs, ensure the max weight the lift can carry is higher than 70lbs.
3. Flexibility
Wheelchair lifts are fashioned in a manner that makes it possible to install them on any pattern of the staircase. That means it’s easy to use them in various homes, regardless of the type of staircase there. Whether it’s a straight or curved staircase with few or many landings, all it requires is to install the lift correctly on whichever side of the stairs you prefer.
To make movement effortless, manufacturers of wheelchair lifts fashioned them with right and left side control, making it suitable for right and left-handed persons.
In summary, these lifts are highly functional because you can use them anywhere, indoor or outdoor.
4. Saves Cost
A wheelchair lift saves costs in many ways.
- You will not have to hire a caregiver for the user. Even if you do, they will not have to work full time. This translates to cost-saving.
- You will not have to make a series of adjustments in your home, like an extra room in the basement to accommodate them.
All these translate to series cost saving for you and the user. Besides, the risk of falls significantly reduces with the use of wheelchair life. This confidence makes it easy for them to avoid the depression that could worsen their state of health.
In addition, many wheelchair lifts are long-lasting and will benefit you for years to come.
5. Makes Traveling Easy
Wheelchair lifts are not cumbersome and are fit for indoor and outdoor installation. A person with mobility issues does not have to sacrifice their outing or social life. They come in solid design and can carry various weights, and can be installed on a van.
With this, moving about becomes easy, and you can keep your social life active even with the disability.
Conclusion
Search for different wheelchair lifts and their features before deciding on the most suitable one. Lastly, ensure your staircase condition is good before installing a wheelchair lift.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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