What Is Rebound Therapy?

If you’ve been considering disability trampolining for recreation and a form of therapeutic exercise, you might want to think about looking into rebound therapy, a specific type of trampoline therapy that delivers a huge range of benefits for anyone with special needs.

In fact, the therapy is one of the most popular activities for children with special needs attending SEN schools in the UK, as well as being a popular activity for disabled people of all ages.

In terms of benefits, rebound therapy has been found to strengthen limbs, aid relaxation, allow for freedom of movement, help with stamina and spatial awareness, support social awareness, improve balance, improve self-confidence, help with independence, improve muscle tone, support reaction speed… the list goes on!

Because of how the bed of the trampoline moves and the zero gravity you get mid-bounce, exercises can be done that improve bone and muscle strength, as well as improving movement patterns and helping bouncers to relax and get more used to changing direction.

Interestingly, the first recorded use of a trampoline-esque piece of apparatus for therapeutic purposes was back in the 19th century, when a French neurologist provided this kind of therapy for children with brain injuries using equipment that he dubbed ‘the Trampolino’.

While this kind of therapy does have all sorts of benefits associated with it for those with special needs, it’s also worth noting that rebound therapy is, first and foremost, a lot of fun! So if you’re considering how to get more exercise while supporting your particular set of needs and having a great time while doing it, rebound therapy could be the one for you!

 

Looking to invest in easy access showers right now? Get in touch with Practical Bathing today.

New Mobility Homes Feature walk-In Showers

A new development in the village of Halfway in Lanarkshire has seen 18 new homes being built on the site of an old filling station by Rutherglen and Cambuslang Housing Association.

The £2.9 million development was designed to meet the needs of residents who may have a range of mobility issues, such as needing to use wheelchairs, Lanarkshire Live reports.

Every one of the flats is built to make it accessible and user-friendly for older people with disabilities or limited mobility. All are wheelchair accessible and the walk-in showers are part of large shower rooms. The flats also have open plan kitchens and living rooms.

They also feature green measures like solar panels, Smart metres, double glazing and high performance gas central heating.

Speaking to Lanarkshire Live, maintenance manager for the housing association John McNulty said: “Everyone involved in the project worked together to ensure the highest standards were achieved and are delighted with the finished product.”

Director of the association Elaine Lister said: “This development goes some way in delivering housing for the needs of our elderly and disabled community.”

This is in addition to a similar development of 35 homes at Glenroyal Gardens, located in Rutherglen.

She added: “We will continue to look for opportunities to provide more high quality, affordable housing for people in housing need and to support the communities we work in.”

While developments such as these can be custom built, it is also possible for homes to be retrofitted with modified bathroom facilities to make life easier for those who need them. If you’d like help or guidance related to products such as easy access showers, get in touch with Practical Bathing today.

Derbyshire Announces Construction Of ‘Easily Adaptable Homes’

A new social housing development in Derbyshire is set to get underway, with council bosses in Bolsover revealing that they plan to deliver 400 new homes in the next four years as part of the area’s social housing building programme.

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Steve Fritchley, leader of Bolsover District Council, said that the council is excited about the new partnership it has agreed with local developer Robert Woodhead Limited to construct the properties.

Mr Fritchley explained that the properties will be located at various sites across the Bolsover district, adding that they will be constructed to Lifetime Home standards.

He added: “This will ensure they contain features to make them easily adaptable for people with mobility issues, meaning that homes can be adapted to accommodate people’s needs instead of people having to move to an adapted property as they do now.”

Glenn Slater, chief visionary officer at the housebuilder, told the newspaper that the firm is pleased to be involved in the project with a local authority that is placing the focus on communities, the environment and the local economy.

Earlier this year, Access and Mobility Professional revealed that some of the most popular bathroom adaptations that homeowners choose are the likes of easy access showers and wet rooms, because these are often easy for people to maintain and the installation can be carried out with minimal disruption in the property.

With the UK’s population ageing and more people likely to experience mobility issues in their lifetime, it’s important to consider how you could adapt your home to make it more accessible should the need arise.

Adaptive Fitness Sessions Launched By LimbPower

UK disability charity LimbPower has launched a new series of online adaptive fitness sessions for youngsters with disabilities to get involved with.

Inside The Games reported on the initiative, which will see Paralympic athlete Jack Eyers leading fitness sessions for disabled and able-bodied kids.

Jack is a paracanoe athlete, as well as being the first amputee to win the bodybuilding competition “Mr England”, the news provider explained. His fitness sessions will run twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

They are part of the #StayInWorkOut campaign being run by Sport England, and Jack’s sessions will focus on fundamental movement skills, balance, agility, cardio and coordination, all for children.

LimbPower chief executive Kiera Roche commented: “Jack’s sessions will help children to get moving, improve their fitness and remain positive during these challenging times.”

Jack told the news provider that he’s looking forward to helping children to stay healthy and fit during this period.

“I am passionate about making each session fun and accessible for all,” he said. Each of his workouts will last for around 20 minutes and the first six will be made available this month on the charity’s YouTube channel.

Flux Magazine recently shared research conducted by Menkind in May, which found that staying active during lockdown has helped many dads to connect with their kids. The survey revealed that one-third of dads made keeping their kids active a top priority during the UK-wide lockdown.

Almost half of the fathers questioned said that they had been doing more physical activity with their kids than they did before lockdown, while one in ten even took up a new sport with their kids.

Need easy access showers to make it simpler to wash off after a workout? Get in touch with us today to find out about our products and services.

Disability Access Day 2020

Disabled Access Day began in 2015 as a day to celebrate good access and to create opportunities for people to try something new. 2020 Disabled Access Day is 16 March, and like previous years, the day will be about highlighting the amazing access that already exists in places, such as touch tours, relaxed performances, sensory experiences, level access, and a warm welcome for all.

Disabled Access Day is sponsored by Euan’s Guide: a listing and review site that helps disabled people, their friends and families know which venues that are accessible.

The day began when founder Paul Ralph visited an open day event at the Lothian Bus depot, in his hometown of Edinburgh. He had known that Lothian Buses were wheelchair accessible, but had yet to try for himself. The open day let him explore the disabled access on a double decker bus, and to gain the knowledge he had access to all buses, and greater freedom for travel.

The experience became an idea that there should be many more opportunities for disabled people to see and try things that they hadn’t done before. The day focuses on ‘try something new’ experiences and opportunities, that would otherwise be difficult to arrange.

Many places up and down the country will be having their own disabled access events, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral, which will have touch tours and BSL signed tours throughout the day for the disabled and their families. The Disability Access Day website is currently holding a survey to find what experiences people would like to explore.

If you’re looking to have increased access in your bathroom, then get in touch today to find out more about our easy access showers and disability baths.

New App Launched To Review Bathrooms

There are few people who haven’t been out and about somewhere, used a public bathroom and thought that it was a mess. Or maybe it simply wasn’t accessible to you in the first place. While there are undoubtedly businesses doing a great job with their toilets, there are still plenty that are lagging behind.

But a new app from HSG UK is hoping to change that. This reported on the free-to-download app, which is called Cleen.

Any user who downloads the app will be able to leave a review about the toilet facilities in a business. They can post complaints, or they can share compliments. They can also add photographs to support their review.

The aim isn’t to lambast business owners for the state of their toilets, but to bring about positive change.

Simon Rice, HSG UK managing director, commented: “Many washrooms are still not fit for purpose – and therefore badly affect the quality of life – for a large part of our community and particularly for people with disabilities and parents needing baby changing facilities.”

Mr Rice explained that the app is designed to help businesses use high-quality, accessible bathrooms to help market their businesses.

At the same time, he also wants them to use it as a tool to understand when their facilities aren’t up to standard and to take steps to improve matters, whether it’s introducing additional toilet checks throughout the day to ensure they stay clean and stocked with toilet paper, or fitting new bathrooms that are accessible.

He added that, for disabled people, the accessibility and standards of washrooms are an important thing for them to consider when they’re deciding whether to eat at a particular restaurant or visit an attraction.

“Cleen App is therefore a simple and engaging way of giving disabled people a voice to share their experiences – good and bad – to help other people make those decisions,” Mr Rice asserted.

Last month, research conducted by the organisation Leonard Cheshire and online community Disability Horizons stressed that tourist attractions in the UK need to do more to provide accessible facilities.

The survey found that 73 per cent of the disabled people surveyed had visited a tourist attraction and discovered that there was no washroom that could meet their needs.

One of the problems is that many people who don’t have direct experience of needing disabled facilities simply aren’t aware of what constitutes an acceptable and usable bathroom. However, they should seek advice from those with the right knowledge to ensure that they are providing a washroom that can be used by everyone.

Neil Heslop, chief executive at Leonard Cheshire, said that aside from the impact it has on those with disabilities, who are being prevented from living independent lives, there are business implications too. Tourist attractions that fail to adequately cater for people with disabilities could be inadvertently turning away a significant number of customers.

This discussion could open your eyes to what a family member might need at home too. If you know someone who struggles with their mobility, take a look at the likes of easy access showers to ensure they’re able to continue to use their bathroom independently for many years to come.

New Homes ‘Need Higher Accessibility Standards’

A new factsheet launched earlier this month by Age UK and Habinteg is calling for all new homes in the UK to be constructed to higher accessibility standards.

The organisations have pointed out that a lot more needs to be done to ensure that the country’s disabled people and those with mobility problems are catered for by the UK’s housing stock and aren’t forced to live in unsuitable properties where they have to make do.

Age UK noted that there are 13.9 million disabled people in the UK and a further 6.5 million people with mobility problems.

With the government focusing on increasing the amount of housing available in the UK and planning to build one million new homes by the end of 2020, the charity believes this is the ideal opportunity to tackle many of the issues with accessibility and future-proof part of the country’s housing stock.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, commented: “A well designed home can work across a whole lifetime or for any generation, so it just makes common sense to make sure that all new homes are accessible, flexible and adaptable.”

If you’re looking for ways to make your property more accessible, a good place to start is with the bathroom. Fitting easy access showers can make a real difference and make the bathroom safer too.

Other steps you can take to make your bathroom safer as you get older include fitting a seat to raise the height of the toilet seat and installing grab bars in the shower. Looking at simple things like removing any obstacles or trip hazards at ground level, like a bath mat, is also advisable.

Accessible Bathrooms ‘Can Still Look Stylish’

If you’re planning to revamp your bathroom to make it more accessible because you’re struggling with your mobility, you don’t have to throw style out of the window when you’re making changes.

That’s the message from an article in HomeCare, which explained that updating your bathroom and making it more accessible doesn’t mean you can’t have a space that looks good too.

Whether you’re installing easy access showers or grab rails, there’s a way to incorporate this into your wider bathroom design and make it look seamless, the news provider noted.

One top tip from the news provider is to install grab bars vertically, which makes them more of a design feature. You can even replace a shower slider with a grab bar, which serves two purposes. It will hold the showerhead, and should someone slip while in the shower they can grab it and have confidence that it will support their weight, unlike a shower slider.

If you want to make your bathroom wheelchair accessible, choose a sink that is mounted on the wall with space beneath it. This means you can easily maneuver a wheelchair into position and it will look really sleek too. Grab rails installed on either side of the sink can double as towel rails too.

Whatever you’re planning to do to change your bathroom, it’s sensible to think about how you can make functional improvements. Earlier this year, Realtor.com suggested that homeowners should look at ways of improving the function of their bathroom first, and worry about design features second.

Functional Improvements Best For Bathrooms

If you’re planning to make some changes to your bathroom this year then it’s best to focus on making functional improvements rather than just giving it a cosmetic touch up.

This is according to Realtor.com, which explained that bathrooms often aren’t the relaxing spaces we’d like them to be because they’re too full of clutter and aren’t designed to make the best use of the space.

With that in mind, you should focus on making changes that improve the function of your bathroom first and foremost. For example, making sure you have adequate storage and that the towel rail is within easy reach of your bath or shower.

You should also think about how to make your bathroom a safer environment, and one that you can still use if you have mobility issues as you age. If you’re making changes, installing easy access showers can help you future-proof this space.

The news provider also recommended thinking carefully about your bathroom lighting. Jean Brownhill, CEO of Sweeten, a US-based renovation matchmaker for contractors and homeowners, commented: “Be sure there’s lighting for all of your daily routines so that you can experience a seamless morning.”

Having task lighting so that you can do your makeup or shave is important, but you should also make sure you have the ability to dim the lights if you want to have a long soak in the tub.

Also, look at ways of making sure your bathroom is always nice and warm. That might mean installing underfloor heating or at least having a heated towel rail for the winter months.

Given that research by NAEA Propertymark, last month found that a bathroom refresh was one of the most popular home improvement projects in the UK, many people should be thinking about introducing some of these ideas in their homes.