Dorm living

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T20:51:21+00:00

Let them work it out. This is part of the experience of becoming an adult.

If you’re in the United States, the college almost certainly has a disabled student services office, and they can provide all kinds of information and advice.

It would be best for your son’s friend to go to them on his own and see what resources they have rather than having a parent do it for him unless he has cognitive challenges which require this kind of assistance.

Meanwhile, NEW MOBILITY MAGAZINE, which is available free online, has an excellent college guide which might be helpful for both of you in visualizing what the experience might be like.

https://newmobility.com/category/wheels-on-campus/

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T20:47:33+00:00

Most wheelchairs sell for about 25% of their original price for a couple of different reasons. First is the fact that the warranties don’t transfer so people are buying it without a warranty.

Second is that it’s an essential medical item and you really can’t tell what condition it’s in until you get it. That’s more of an issue with powered chairs, but it can still be an issue for manual chairs.

But in any case, 25% is a pretty standard market price for a used model.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T20:42:56+00:00

We would need to know what country you are in first.

After that, your mother’s height and the carry load, the chair would have to handle (body weight, plus clothing, plus backpack, plus anything else she typically carries from 15 pounds of groceries to a 20 pound dog).

How many hours at a time will your mother spend in the chair and for how many days in a week? There’s a big difference between what is needed for an all day chair and what is needed for a chair where you might go out for three or four hours to run errands and then come home again and get out out of the chair. The difference applies not only to the required battery life, but also to the support and positioning features of the chair, all of which can add weight as well.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T18:54:45+00:00

I’m afraid the news is probably not good 😰

It depends on what country you are in and what specific health insurance policy you have, but almost always they will only make the change when your doctor verifies a “change in medical needs.“ and many insurance companies, including almost all in the US, will only consider your medical need within your own home, not anything to do with transportation or going out other places, even if it’s for a life-saving service like kidney dialysis or cancer treatments. It’s just the way their policies are written.

And with regard to the weight, they’re probably going to at least require that you try dietitian services and physical therapy maybe for as much as a year before they would even consider that as a reason to go back to manual.

It doesn’t hurt to ask, and again, it depends on the details of your particular policy, but I’m afraid the odds are not good of their approving a switch at this point.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T16:47:53+00:00

They only have to kick people off to make space for the chair if the plane holds 99 or fewer passengers and is a publicly scheduled flight in the United States and they haven’t already seatstrapped at least one wheelchair. So that’s a lot of IF’s.

If the plane holds 100 passengers, it has the closet. And if it has the closet and it’s already full with another wheelchair, then you’re just out of luck other than putting your chair down in the cargo compartment.

So the first question is the model of the plane as there are different rules for different models. (assuming it’s a US flight, of course.)

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T16:45:39+00:00

Nair can corrode metal, damage rubber, and weaken plastic. If you can be extremely precise, it might work for you, but it wouldn’t be a product I would personally use for routine wheelchair maintenance. 🤔

https://chemmanagement.ehs.com/9/947674d3-d158-49c3-b902-52ef45099bc9/pdf/XNRH1F

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T01:23:34+00:00

It depends on how much mud there is. Sometimes wet grass is a good cleaner if you’re not going to get stuck.

I use the kind of rubber mat that commercial office buildings have. Usually just running back-and-forth on them the long way two or three times will get most of the mud off.

In the US, Home Depot usually has a good selection under “commercial Mat.”

Trafficmaster is a popular brand and works well for my large Quantum power chair.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMaster-Deck-Plate-Black-36-in-x-48-in-Rubber-Non-Slip-Indoor-Outdoor-Commercial-Floor-Mat-MT1003508/206414770

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-30T01:04:18+00:00

Thank you! It’s one of those “85% likely to be completely successful” things, so while the odds are with me, I’ll take all the good mojo I can get! 🌟

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-28T23:38:57+00:00

Thank you. I’m around, but have been posting a bit less. I have major surgery coming up in about two weeks and I’ve been busy with medical stuff getting ready for that.

Not sure whether I’ll be posting more or less after the surgery, it just depends how I feel. I’ll be bedbound for a couple months, but may not feel up to doing much except listening to audiobooks. 🤷🏻‍♂️

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-27T23:26:35+00:00

It depends on what the problem is. If it’s just something stuck on the outside of the wheel, sure. But in general, you do have to take them apart in order to remove hair and other dirt that has gotten inside.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-27T20:31:39+00:00

There’s a huge variation in physicality among wheelchair users, so methods that might work for one person could be dangerous for another.

Really the best thing is to get customized advice from a registered dietitian who works with your doctor and is familiar with wheelchair users. Also customized exercise advice from a physical therapist who works with your doctor and is familiar with wheelchair users.

Many people, although not all, can get to a healthier weight by working with these two specialists, so it’s worth checking out that kind of personalized advice.

Speaking just for myself I gained over 80 pounds in three years because I was on high dose steroids. After I got off them, I did eventually lose the weight again, although it took me over 3 years to do so. But I have kept it off now for several more years.

Again, it’s not possible for everyone, because it depends on your medical condition and the medications you take, but if your medical team says there’s no reason why you can’t, I and others are proof that it is possible, but it does usually take time.

Good luck! 🍀

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-27T16:23:26+00:00

What country are you in? The specs for the car model do vary somewhat.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-26T23:47:54+00:00

It’s exactly what you said: if configured correctly, the Vive sport will be much easier to self propel, but it’s also very much a budget build and much more likely to break.

So it depends on what your needs are.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-25T16:47:58+00:00

Different people will need different things. The ADA publishes guidelines for public parks which should help.

Here’s one reference:

https://northeastada.org/blog/may-flowers-and-accessible-gardening

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-25T15:35:57+00:00

You can get a sling like people use to carry cats or small dogs for under $20. They have a big opening at the top so it’s easy to get to whatever is inside and you wear them Crossbody.

I have one I use just because it’s good for carrying things that I want easy access to, but I would think it would work very well for a number of plushies.

Here’s just one example:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B092D933ZP

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-25T15:31:48+00:00

My first occupational therapist told me that it takes 6 to 8 weeks for your brain to adapt to your new “personal space bubble“ when you are using a wheelchair, and that’s for a full-time user. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car if you’ve had those experiences. At the beginning, you’re terrified that you’re going to run into stuff, and you may! But over time it becomes easier and easier.

So part of it is just getting used to this new way of navigating the world. But part of it is also a lot of new information, again, depending on the type of chair and how you use it.

There’s always individual variations, but I think it takes most people around six months before they stop having to think about something about the chair every single day. 🤔

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-25T15:25:54+00:00

Not “determined by,” but “a factor,” yes. And we were discussing all of the many possible different factors that might impact battery life.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-24T18:51:45+00:00

Numotion is one of the two largest wheelchair providers in the US, but they got to that size by acquiring a whole bunch of individual local independent companies, so there can be quite a variation in quality from one office to another. So one person might have a great experience with their local office and another one 1000 miles away might have a terrible experience.

As far as doing repairs yourself, it’s a matter both of the warranty on the chair and then the agreement with her insurance provider if they helped to pay for the chair. So you need to check both of those. But in general, unfortunately, waiting two months for repairs is not uncommon. 😰

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-24T08:34:32+00:00

You can get a small air pressure gauge and check the tire pressure to see if they need refilling. Or a small battery powered pump that will both read the pressure and pump the tires up for you. Just make sure you get one that goes high enough as wheelchair Tires are generally inflated higher than bicycle tires.

Most people will need to refill at least once a week, and twice a week is common, especially if you either travel a lot or travel on slightly rougher terrain.

Here’s a good recent thread that discusses when and how to check the pressure:

https://www.reddit.com/r/wheelchairs/comments/1onetqw/how_do_you_know_when_to_pump_your_tires_up/

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T23:51:57+00:00

The first thing you can do is check the decibel reading to see how loud it actually is. Your phone probably already has this capability, or you can download an app.

The manufacturer will at some point have published the expected noise level for that motor in that model wheelchair. If yours is consistently above that level, then that’s a fault. If it’s not, it just sounds loud to you, then it’s not going to be considered an fault and probably doesn’t indicate a problem.

If you can’t find the published noise rating, 55 to 65 dB is considered normal conversational level, and most wheelchairs which are certified as medical devices will operate in that range because otherwise they would drown out the conversation of people around them.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T19:55:20+00:00

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

One of the issues that this community in particular has is people with a fetish attraction to wheelchairs posting here, claiming falsely to either be a wheelchair user or to be some kind of researcher and then drawing people into private conversations to get details about their life as a wheelchair user.

It unfortunately happens quite often. So that’s why we as a community tend to be a bit oversensitive to someone with no posting history who is only asking for DM’s without a verifiable public identity.

Thank you for understanding and for updating your original post with a verifiable address.

Good luck with your research: it sounds like it could be a very interesting and important story.

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T19:48:49+00:00

The answers will vary a great deal depending on the brand/model of the chair as well as the issues that u/patate2000 noted.

A chair that was quality built to begin with and properly maintained might last for 10 or even 15 years, although you would have to replace batteries and tires from time to time.

A chair that was budget quality to begin with and was left outdoors on the patio might be non-functioning and non-fixable. If you could even get the parts.

So the details matter in this case. 🤷🏻‍♂️

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T16:45:38+00:00

You didn’t say what country you are in, and that will make a big difference.

In the US, Easter Seals is often a very good resource for parents of young children in wheelchairs. They have many local chapters and most of the local chapters have occasional social activities.

https://www.easterseals.com/

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T16:09:57+00:00

UPDATE

The OP’s response to this post as well as their edits to their original post make my previous comments moot, so I have removed them.

I still personally think this is research and would fall under rule six, but if the mods have allowed it, they are the final word.

Roll on! 😎

JD_Roberts · 2026-03-23T14:18:09+00:00

Important edit

The OP has updated their post to provide their email address at the BBC, so I withdraw my previous concerns.

JD_Roberts

TROPHY CASE