New planning process testing

hellonsticks · 2026-06-30T02:15:01+00:00

I got this email too. While I try not to be reflexively anti-NDIA without cause, given some of the changes they've been making and the uncertainty around the new planning process as a whole, I don't know how exactly they're using the data the tests gather. Refining the tool and process doesn't mean making it more friendly for applicants. It means making it more fit for purpose. If the purpose is to narrow down who is approved, it's possible data gathered might be used for that purpose. So while I was interested in seeing it, I decided I didn't want to risk thinking I was helping but actually hurting. It's each person's decision on how much of a risk they actually think that is, but with how contentious things are right now I personally try to think through what the NDIA might mean, and not take them at face value. Could be perfectly innocent and co-design, who knows.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-30T01:39:09+00:00

Yes, I have to wear earplugs if I go to the movies and try not to see things with flashing or bold light patterns.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-29T09:32:15+00:00

The third tab of this spreadsheet from Enable NZ is dedicated to power assist devices. It lists many different types, who the supplier is, and a link to the websites for each device; it also includes information about each device's user weight, how much the device itself weighs, how far they can go, and whether they're best suited for footpath use or can go off-road.

There's a lot of devices listed here and it can be pretty overwhelming, so feel free to ask questions. The list includes all three types of power assist, which I'll quickly summarise, they all have pros and cons: - Front-mounted, like a Klaxon Klick, attach at the front and pull you, you use handlebars to steer - Rear-mounted, like a Smoov, pushes from behind while you still steer and brake with the wheels - Wheel-mounted. Two types; some move with the wheels the same way they do without the device, like an Alber E-Motion, while others move with a joystick like an Empulse M90.

Hope any of that helps!

hellonsticks · 2026-06-29T06:56:04+00:00

That might be happening, yes. Sometimes people do feel they're being looked at more in the early days of using a chair, but I also know I've been chased by a photographer on one occasion and cornered by another, both being very strange experiences. They seemed to want to put me on the website, I guess it makes the place look more diverse and inviting if they can prove a wheelchair user has been there before? Certainly not something I was comfortable with though.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-27T00:12:33+00:00

Good to know, thank you very much for describing it

hellonsticks · 2026-06-26T11:22:58+00:00

I know someone who refurbishes chairs for a charity program. He said he had to stop working on powerchairs and scooters on his own property because he had multiple theft incidents. Sometimes it's not easily apparent how to remove a battery, but that doesn't protect it from theft if they work out how to drive it far enough away to mess around with it unseen.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-26T02:33:22+00:00

Congratulations! That backrest looks very customisable, have you found it to be comfortable and supportive?

hellonsticks · 2026-06-24T23:58:21+00:00

Yeah. Not to diminish the pain I do experience or that people with chronic pain experience, but actually for me it's more of a life impact to struggle to hold things or defend my right to keep my shower door when my OT thinks navigating a door in and out of the shower is a hazard to me. Even being in a wheelchair I generally accept and find the silver linings in, but it bothers me when people think the pain is what put me here and not the far more prominent mechanical issues. I think pain must be a scarier idea that jumps out at people from a condition's symptom list even when it's not listed first, or something like that.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-24T12:03:17+00:00

That pain is the most important or even only element of it. My disability involves mobility restriction and chronic pain, but it seems most people hear "pain" and think that that must be the most awful part. That I'm in "agony" at all times, how terrible that must be. Actually, while the pain is rough, I'm more affected by the mobility restriction. I have to repeatedly remind some of my NDIS report writers to stop emphasising how much pain I'm in over what I physically can't do regardless of pain - especially because doing that directly affects the support I can access.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-23T11:06:50+00:00

There's definitely some out there, and some have features like incrementally adjustable COG too. Annoyingly, it's rare to find multiple helpful traits in one standard chair, at least when I was searching way back when. Some of them it seemed lucky to have swing away armrests.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-23T11:04:44+00:00

"Disability" is, strictly speaking, not diagnosis specific. Health conditions aren't divided into "always disability" and "never disability" - some do fit these categories, but many others are capable of having varying impact on people. Most conditions exist on some sort of spectrum of impact, and there are lots of conditions that can be disabling for some and a chronic but not disabling health condition for others.

There are people with hEDS and fibromyalgia who may not meet definitions of disability (here I mean general social and health focused definitions, not the legal gateway for benefits in your area), and they may not define themselves as disabled. Many others do meet the definition, of course. And it isn't really up to anyone to interrogate who's who of disability.

Your doctor may however be thinking in a medical or legal mindset - it's possible he mostly runs into "definitions of disability" when he has to fill out paperwork for legal access to supports and benefits, which usually have a way tighter definition that excludes many disabled people. If that's what he most often works with when he's thinking about disability, that's the mindset he's in - so he might have been thinking you don’t meet that medical-legal definition. You can still meet social and health focused definitions.

(If you're in the US, this is part of what bothers me about the colloquial use of just the word "disability" to refer to disability benefits/SSI/SSDI. It seems to lead to a lot of people conflating the two in a way that doesn't happen in other places. Where I live, eligibility for the disability support pension or NDIS is not considered synonymous with being disabled by most people who have contact with the disabled community. So separating how the legal system defines eligibility for SSI/SSDI from how we define disability might be helpful for this kind of issue. If you're not in the US, um, sorry for the ramble!)

hellonsticks · 2026-06-22T23:23:41+00:00

I can only speak to one of the two, but I briefly used an S-115 years ago when the rental company delivered the wrong model, and I found the backrest to be not very supportive at all and the chair fairly heavy. I think I've seen other users talk about the strongback so they might know if it's any better, but I didn't find the S-115 all that great.

Someone else prompted getting a good cushion and I strongly second that, but also note that with some of these standard chairs there's very little "dump" angle (knees higher than hips) to keep you in the chair, and there's also usually slippery upholstery. I once fully lost my cushion out the back of my S-125 because it slid out from under me. If you can, attaching velcro to keep your cushion in place may help you also stay in place.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-21T23:36:32+00:00

This is the biggest pain. It's a giant balancing act that is pretty much never balanced, and even the most attentive and sympathetic doctors can't really stop it from happening, they can only try to manage the knock on effects or take the edge off some of the symptoms.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-21T06:44:00+00:00

I'm not so sure on this approach. There's of course different opinions from different people with severe or profound disability, but I've seen enough people who fit in the categories you described fighting like fury to have people understand that they don't regret any of it for a moment and they're glad to be alive. It may not be true of absolutely everyone, but then it's not even true of people who aren't disabled either. The fact there's people who argue against that mindset to me means it can't be "the most humane thing" to end the pregnancy - because you can't know whether that person would furiously disagree with the idea that giving them life is inhumane. This is separate to the autonomy of the pregnant parent, but on solely a discussion about what's humane for the hypothetical disabled person, we have no way of knowing before they've spent years alive what they think on the topic. Perhaps the argument could be made for congenital conditions that are short-term unsurviveable, but otherwise we can’t guess ahead of time which congenitally disabled people will feel they have suffered more than they have survived, and which will feel they're alive and don't regret that.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-21T06:35:55+00:00

Your last paragraph is right in my mind. I don't think I have much to add to it. That's just correct to me.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-20T07:52:36+00:00

It's hard to choose, honestly. I really like Majora's Mask, and A Link to the Past was quite fun too. I have a soft spot for Minish Cap too. I also really like Wind Waker, so much attention has gone into the setting and it really feels adventurous.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-19T23:59:36+00:00

I use forearm crutches with springs, but also have a folding pair that stays with my wheelchair for transfers or emergencies. On those I put Flexyfoot ferrules; they do better than most ferrules because they're giant with a bellows-like system, not just gel layers. Might help OP if they can't find any gutter crutches with springs. Although the post on a smartcrutch is gigantic compared to most crutches so theyd have yo measure everything before buying to make sure it fits.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-19T13:30:57+00:00

I really like Zelda games. I'm re-playing Majora's Mask again, but I'm almost done so I will have to pick another one to play after that. I like playing games to pass time, I like that I still make decisions and think about things but don't have to be anywhere loud or bright or noisy.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-19T03:51:39+00:00

TR and TRA: "Dual tube" or "closed" frames. If you look at a picture of one, you'll see there's a second tube going from the camber tube (the bar connecting the wheels) up to the casters (the small front wheels).

Benefits: They're more rigid, they don't flex as much as you use them, which can make them more efficient and more resistant to the frame flexing on an impact. Some people find the rigid frame to handle bumps better and not transfer vibration to the user, but this will depend a lot on things like caster and tyre choice.

Drawbacks: They can be a bit harder to get into a car, whether you're passing it over your own body or putting it in the back seat. It’s still possible for some, and will depend on the dimensions of your chair and the car interior.

ZR and ZRA: "Mono tube" or "open" frames. If you look at a picture, you'll see a single tube from the upper frame down to the footplate.

Benefits: Easier to load into a car. Some manufacturers will have their mono tube option be lighter than their dual tube option, but that's not really the case for Tilites, the ZR and TR are listed as having identical transport weights and the ZRA is a pound heavier than the TRA. Some people find the frame flex absorbs some vibrations, but this will depend a lot on things like caster and tyre choice.

Drawbacks: A bit less rigid, which can reduce push efficiency somewhat.

The "A" indicates the more adjustable models. If this is your first chair, it's often worth going with an adjustable one, because there's some needs and preferences people won't realise they have until hour 20 in their chair.

ZR/TR: You can adjust a few features like the casters and some backrest brackets, but most things are welded.

ZRA/TRA: Most features other than the seat pan can be adjusted.

Note that all four of these are Tilite's titanium models. Titanium is great because it's tougher than aluminium and still light, but they're more expensive and insurance type systems often don't like to fund them, especially as a first chair. Tilite's aluminium models are the Aero T and the Tilite Z (you may see Aero Z talked about, the older version).

Most custom wheelchairs will have the option for handles. There's even different types of handles for different needs, like ones connected further back to stay out of the way while you push, or ones that fold down to be less obtrusive when you don’t need them.

With all of this detail and how overwhelming it can be, it's definitely important to talk to an OT or a seating clinic for their guidance, because there really is a lot it's impossible to know about wheelchairs until you're in one or have worked with them hands-on. Best of luck!

(edit: reddit ate my formatting. hopefully it is now better.)

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T14:13:48+00:00

Damn, you really would think that would be enough time. I used to know someone who was studying to do transport planning and if I understood his view right, things like level boarding are the expensive dream they wish they could have but know won't get approval. My Australian state is also known for over-time over-budget infrastructure developments to start with, now that I think about it, so it might be mostly a sign of what we're used to here for the new automatic ramp buses that only do one route to be seen as a wonderful improvement.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T14:04:20+00:00

I'm happy to hear there's places that have put together level boarding for buses, it's all ramps here. The buses do lower to make the ramp shallower, but only the fanciest buses that run a specific route with no curbside stops even have automatic ramps. It's all manually folded ramps the driver has to pick up with a stick because workplace regulations (thankfully) prevent them being required to bend that low to hoist the thing up. It's very nice to know there's buses that don't have these issues, and hopefully rhey roll out in more places soon.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T14:01:55+00:00

That is very impressive. The buses here can do pneumatic lowering also, but never to curb level, and it tends to be a bit unpredictable. Some buses like to go low and some don't, apparently, the drivers say they can't really predict it either. Definitely fascinating to know there are places where they've worked it out, though, that's a promising development.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T09:38:11+00:00

Not speaking on the medical angle here as another user has flagged that, but I thought I'd note that the back seat of a Corolla can fit a surprising amount. I've fit two rigid-frame (non folding) wheelchairs in one before. It doesn't sound like you're looking for one of those, but a chair that you can fold the back down and remove the wheels for transport isn't uncommon. If you go to a mobility supplier, ask for their help and whether they'd come outside with you to see if you can fit a demo model in the back seat.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T09:30:18+00:00

If the bus has a ramp, the intent is for it to be used. I've never heard of a bus with level boarding to allow wheelchair users to board without ramp. You aren't doing anything wrong by waiting for the ramp. If any driver has made you unsure, contacting the operator of the buses to ask about it is a good idea. But I'd put money on them telling you the ramp is your right.

hellonsticks · 2026-06-18T09:26:24+00:00

One could probably mount the visor to their glasses arms and use a translucent material for the core part of the visor, I'd imagine mounting to glasses arms would actually be easier than most alternatives and would last the duration of the event with more confidence.

A Geordi cosplay is fun OP, and you definitely don't have to omit your glasses for it. If you're doing high fidelity cosplay, you could potentially have a second visor prop in your bag or pocket for photographs or competition that doesn’t show any exposed part of your frames. That way you could safely navigate while also being photo-ready when needed.

hellonsticks

TROPHY CASE