Ask the Experts

What's a good little car?

Q Please can you recommend a small car (Agila, Matiz, Micra, etc)? I need a high seat but don’t need special adaptation. Also any seat cushions that I can use to raise myself up, or can you recommend any good websites for any of the above? I get very dizzy having to scroll through and do lots of searches, so I’d really appreciate any help with this.
Helen Birkett, by email

Helen Smith replies:
There are lots of small cars on the market but ones that Mobilise has had good reviews from our members about include the Berlingo, Citroën Nemo, Multispace, Nissan Note, Renault Kango and Vauxhall Agila. My advice is always to test-drive the vehicle you like first and also try similar vehicles. It's difficult to recommend one vehicle over another, as my experience shows that what might suit one driver will not suit another. There really is no substitute for personal testing.

On the subject of seat cushions, many of our members use Putnams, where you can buy a cushion to raise you up. Visit their website at www.putnams.co.uk or email info@putnams.co.uk

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Can I get funding to enlarge a small room?

Q My son uses a four-foot-six wheelchair and a ventilator. We want to extend his bedroom but the council says the room is big enough. What legislation is there on room size for disabled people with bulky equipment?
Name supplied, by email

Kate Sheehan says:
There are no formally laid-down standards for different room sizes in a home. The new Draft London Housing Design Guide stated in September that a single bedroom should be no less than 8.4 square metres, and 12.8 square metres for a double, but didn’t indicate any sizes for wheelchair-users.

The British Standards Institute (BS8300: 2009 ) has a section on accessible bedrooms (used mainly for hotel development and costing £240 to download) that doesn’t indicate overall sizes, but does state that there should be “clear minimum space” to allow a wheelchair-user to gain access to one side of a bed and that turning space should be no less than 1.5m x 1.5m.

I’d say the best guide, though, is the one put out in November for housing associations by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland (DSDNI). In addition to other advice, it suggests:

•Bedrooms usable from a wheelchair should provide for a wheelchair turning circle of 1.8m diameter;
• A clear space of at least 1.8m should be allowed for the assisted transfer from a wheelchair onto the bed;
• At least 800mm should be allowed for carers on non-transfer side of the bed;
• A clear space of at least 1350mm should be allowed to approach, reverse and pull out drawers or wardrobe doors;
• At least one metre should be allowed to approach furniture with knee spaces suitable for wheelchair use;
• Clear space of not less than 800mm be provided at the base of the bed for wheelchair circulation.

Occupational therapists are key in this area and their assessment should take into account the individual needs of the client. In your son’s case this would mean the size of his wheelchair and what he needs to be able to use his bedroom. If he can’t access it or transfer from the wheelchair onto the bed, with or with­out assistance, then the space is not enough and a grant could be sought to make suitable changes.

If this assessment has already taken place and no help is being offered, you can always complain to the Social Services Department and ask for a second opinion from an independent source.

British Standards Institute
www.bsigroup.com/

DSDNI
www.dsdni.gov.uk and enter “wheelchair housing design” in the search box

How can I look up phone numbers on my computer?

Q While I find the 195 Directory Assistance number very useful for finding telephone numbers, it would also be handy to have an online alternative. Can your technology expert recommend any sites for looking up phone numbers that are accessible to a range of adaptive technology solutions? I remember there used to be something you could have installed on your computer called the BT Phonebook, but I always had difficulty using it with a screen reader.
A Hillman, by email

Léonie Watson replies:
The BT Phone Book is not great to use with a screen reader, but it’s possible. The form fields aren’t labelled well, so it’s hard to know what should be entered into the form, but fortunately, it’s a fairly short form. The first field asks for a name; the second asks for a location.

Directory Enquiries also has a website, but it suffers from the same trouble as the BT Phone Book. If you don’t mind hopping in and out of forms mode with your screen reader, it’s usable, though, and the options are a bit more detailed.

The BT Phone Book and Directory Enquiries both let you also look up business numbers. Yellow Pages has a business numbers website too, but has the same form label trouble as the others. Another option for business numbers is Thomson Local. The form is simple and works well with a screen reader. So there are choices available, but you’ll need to be nimble with a screen reader.

BT Phone Book
www.thephonebook.bt.com/publisha.content/en/search/residential/search.publisha

Directory Enquiries
http://www.ukphonebook.com/index.php?cd=tels

Yellow Pages:
www.yell.com

Thomson Local
www.thomsonlocal.com

EXPERTS:

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SIMON PARRITT
Psychologist with pyschosexual therapy experience

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DOUGLAS JOY
Senior solicitor at the Disability Law Service

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Citizens Advice Bureau
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LÉONIE WATSON
Works with digital consultancy Nomensa

Specialist Equipment
JOHN MANDRAK
Disability journalist and DLF helpline adviser

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ANDY WRIGHT
MD of Accessible Travel, specialist tour operator

Money Management
DAVID CLARKE
Senior partner with Clydesdale Bank

Access and Environment
AGNES FLETCHER
Disability trainer and consultant

Property
KATE SHEEHAN
Occupational therapist with interest in housing

Motoring and Transport
HELEN SMITH
Works with Mobilise and specialises in car matters