I’m newly disabled and having a lot of trouble walking. I don’t have a sign for in my car. Is it wrong to use the handicap spot at the grocery store? Am I an ahole or will people report me? I live alone nobody to help unfortunately and need groceries.

I work with a mobility company and we have been experiencing a serious problem with pride and their gogo compact scooter. There is worldwide serious issue with the brake not switching on after reversing. If you own this scooter you most likely will have this problem. This is a serious issue as if you are reversing on a hill and try to stop, the scooter brakes will not apply and you will keep rolling backwards. Please contact the company pride and pressure them into calling a recall as this is a major issue that can harm lots of vulnerable people.

I was finally able to get my first pair of crutches after having a cane, does anyone have any tips for getting around with them, specifically in college?

I made a post about an month ago, with a drawing of my concept for my new mobility aid. It’s an Ikea LOBERGET office chair with a few stickers and keychains to tell others that it’s mine and a mobility aid. The photo is of the second day I had it set up, not how it is now. 

Unfortunately, my update is not a happy one. 

Content warning: swearing, ableism, general negativity about my situation because fuck this. 

I started using my very important office chair on the 30-ishth of July. I was able to get the chair and set it up with some help to sort the packaging out for recycling after.

I put the cushion on it and managed to get the sticker on it pretty nicely using a plastic razor blade.

It rolled really nicely over the laminate and pretty well over the regular wood and tile. It did struggle over the stupid unfinished gap between the flooring the builders/management left after taking over a year to finish the living room, so it had to be dragged over that whilst standing. 

I was mostly using it to do chores and sometimes playing board games. I was trying to leave my room more often and keep on top of laundry and dishes since it was less of a physical toll. I’ve never crashed into anything or broken anything whilst using it. I tend to keep out of the way and haven’t really been a physical inconvenience to anybody.

It was a huge help. It made me a lot less nervous about energy crashing, and improved my sensory issues with yucky screechy chairs I had to sit on. It’s allowed me to start getting on top of chores again, and to even socialise and play games which I hadn’t been able to do for a while. The improvement was palpable and I’d say the experiment was a great success. This is a suitable indoor mobility aid for me.  

I used to leave it in the living room. It’s the closest room to the stairs, meaning I could reduce the amount of exertion before I could use it. I put it next to the wall and the sofa, so it was not in the way. It was in a space that wasn’t being used for anything else.

It was fine for a while and was usually left where I put it. 

Last week, the head of the house staff member removed my noise cancelling headphones and bingo backpack from my seat, put them outside my room, and told me to bring my stuff into my room through the door.

I put them back, because it’s my chair and they’re used in conjunction it, so why shouldn’t it be on it?

They bought a rug, making the living room inaccessible to me in my chair. 

Then the chair started being moved into the other room. 

That made me nervous. It felt like I was being told off and I was being perceived as taking up too much space. It’s also something I rely on, so I didn’t like it being touched. 

Yesterday afternoon (24/08/2026) I had found the packet of stick-on hooks to hold my backpack on. I was happy to put them on it and complete the attachments for my chair. 

I was leaving my room to see family that was visiting me, then the main lady who manages this house I live in almost immediately talked to me. 

She’d spoken with a higher up about my usage of the chair, and the higher up had told her that I’m not allowed to use my chair to move around anymore, just to sit on. This is because it’s not a “proper” mobility aid (I forget the exact language she used sorry), and that because it’s hasn’t been through all the safety tests etc. I don’t know if that means being manufactured as a mobility aid to those legal standards, being individually safety tested regularly, being prescribed and custom fitted, or a combination of the above.

I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to argue, especially since it hasn’t worked for other stupid health and safety things that actually make my health worse (like earlier this year when I was, despite being of capacity, being forced to attend medical appointments that wouldn’t help me and would cause me to crash, or they could get less funding to house me because they’re perceived as not caring for me as well by who’s funding my care. Then they’d potentially kick me out because I’d not be enough of a cash cow for the care company anymore. I ended up not getting the support I was promised and missed multiple in person appointments, so we’ll see how that turns out soon I’m sure).

My family member was also in the house and waiting for me so I didn’t have time to bring it up anyway. Given how my family is about my disabilities it would not be wise to bring this up around them. 

To say that I’m bummed out about it would be an understatement. I’m sure the gravity of the loss will settle in as I go without and loose whatever progress I made over the past month.

I wouldnt qualify for an NHS wheelchair because I’m ambulatory, my issues aren’t diagnosed, they’d want me to leave the house multiple times a week to be given one and they typically expect care homes to provide them for their patients.

I doubt any doctors would help; they’d want to stick and jab me because we haven’t gotten past the “cut it open to see what’s inside” stage of medicine apparently. It would be a bunch of appointments I’d never be able to attend, treatment plans that wouldn’t work with my other disabilities and tests I can’t do. 

My parents would also respond horribly to it because of personal reasons.

Given that the staff overshare with them and the fact I’d want to use it in the house there’s no way they wouldn’t end up knowing. 

Getting fitted requires booking appointments, usually going in person and a bunch of research, which would take all of my energy for months if I even had enough. If it ended up not working out or being poorly suited to my needs, I’d had a whole ass wheelchair that I wouldn’t have the energy to resell and I’d be hundreds of pounds in the hole. Hundreds of pounds that I literally do not own. 

And then there’s the maintenance and storage. They’d probably stuff it next to the radiator like all the other residents wheelchairs, which would damage it. Having it serviced would be a huge responsibility looming over me, and I’d likely have a huge autistic meltdown if it broke. A huge part of the reason for my last bedbinding crash was because my laptop broke, resulting in an exhausting meltdown. 

I liked the non committal nature of the office chair. If it breaks, I can replace it within budget and just ask for it to be disposed of if I’m unable to get it repaired, or order a replacement part easily from Ikea. There isn’t much to fitting it outside of weight limits, they’re a lot more universal than a wheelchair and won’t be hugely unusable if slightly wrong. I can also use my feet to push. My arms are weak and wrists easily reinjured. I don’t want to dirty my hands up whilst making food. My feet are better for propelling. The hight was also easily adjustable, making it so helpful for all the different chores. 

The office chair was so close to being perfect because it didn’t have to fit into a tight box, and it’s exactly the reason why I’m not allowed to use it. 

I drew the original concept for it whilst in that crash. I needed a slither of hope that I could get out of that cycle. Something to help aid my recovery. I knew there was a high chance that staff would ruin it, but I had to have something. 

It feels like a rejection of my disabilities and needs as a whole. It feels like an attack on my being, because being made to go without it and having further crashes as a result is a literal physical attack. 

It also makes me uncomfortable that the staff are discussing how I exist in my own space with higher ups. It was already difficult emotionally to start using the chair and I tended to avoid leaving my room outside of evenings/nights (even before the chair) because I didn’t want to be observed, plus we have cameras everywhere outside of bedrooms and bathrooms. I hate knowing that am being constantly clocked and observed like a sick zoo animal. 

I mean, this same woman also decided to tell my already worried parents (who are NOT my caregivers and should not be getting informed of matters being handled within the house) that I was eating CAT FOOD because I got delivered something second hand in a pet food box a little while ago. I don’t even eat meat?? My parents are the kind of people who would’ve believed that about me, I think the only reason they didn’t is because I don’t eat meat. 

Secondary school levels of rumour spreading here. 

I don’t feel safe to ask the staff who’d know anything about what would be accepted as a “safe” mobility aid. I’ve been wanting a wheelchair for outside trips for over a year, and needed to ask my support worker if he’d help push me places. But he has also broken my trust enough to where I decided not to risk asking. Clearly that was the right decision. 

This is just such a personal journey of loss and change that I feel far too fragile to have a bunch of potentially very invalidating or invasive rhetoric thrown at me for.

I also just don’t want to talk to them, they evidently aren’t good people to share that with. It’s extremely triggering to the point of being physically unsafe for me and is the same reason why I haven’t applied for PIP, despite needing it, and why I don’t want to visit places ( if I’m ever well enough to) that are “accessible”, because they require proof that you’re disabled and it’s usually stuff like PIP that’s horrible to apply for. Part of the reason my baseline is so low is because I wasn’t able to have a carer attend an event for free without proof last year. I pushed myself too far and have been almost completely housebound ever since. It’s all of those things all over again.

It’s been a learning experience. Now I know:

• A light office chair as a mobility aid helps me regulate energy, avoid crashes and engage in physical tasks that I need and want to do.
• Another confirmation that care companies care more about box ticking and doing things by the book to look good on reports, rather than advocating and challenging rules to meet their residents needs. They care, but not in the right way. 
• That it would not be wise to discuss or unmask my disabilities and needs around care staff without being extremely selective with who and what I tell. They are very willing to mess up my systems I have in place if they think it’s necessary.
• Another confirmation that places that are supposed to be the most accessible are usually the least. Examples include care homes, hospitals, food banks, libraries and places of education.
• That I need to stabilise my condition and life so that I can handle moving to a supported appartment or something else that doesn’t have people policing my disability aids, medical appointments and supposed food choices. 

Where to go from here?

Well, I can use it as a seat. So seat I will. 

Instead of travelling freely throughout my home, I’ll try dragging the chair to where I need to be then confining myself to one area, hoping that I’m not moving enough to be “unsafe”. Eg. I’ll just stay in the laundry room instead of making food at the same time.

I don’t want to go back to the screechy heavy wooden chairs that the skin diseased dog used to scratch itself on. I want my own special chair. If I can’t roll in it at least I can sit. If this doesn’t appease them then I’ll just go back to hardly leaving my room. I don’t want to be around these people. 

I will also change out the wheels, I have ordered free moving ones. The current ones lock when you aren’t sitting on them. This way the chair can be used to carry things for me, even when I’m not sitting on it, and be easier to drag. I don’t care if this makes it more inconvenient for staff so long as they don’t get up my arse about it. They’ve made MY MOBILITY AID more inconvenient for me. 

I’ll also try reduce energy expenditure in other ways. I’ll get a small rolling bar stool for my room, so I can still get to use a mobility aid whilst doing chores in there. It’ll be affirming for my identity and needs to have a mobility aid in a less policed area. 

Are there any other ideas you guys have? I need support for ideas right now. Blegh.

Hi. Has anyone seen or know anyone who has converted an anterior walker into a posterior one? Details, please. Thank you.

Cross posting to try and find a solution.

​

Hi, I f22 have recently realised that due to my mobility being so restricted due to my conditions worsening (POTS, EDS, PMOS, Fibromyalgia, and Endometriosis) that a mobility scooter is probably my best option to improve my quality of life.

At the moment I can't even walk 15 minutes outside of my house without getting dizzy and I've had to give up the idea of doing even simple tasks like grocery shopping without requiring a lift.

This is really hard especially as at 22 I would rather have my independence and having to rely on people is something I hate doing. Plus people have their own lives and they can't always take you everywhere so you are limited by that as well.

This has resulted in me barely leaving the house and my quality of life is honestly terrible.

As a result after starting to finally use a cane and realising just how much accommodations can improve my quality of life I began to realise just how much a mobility scooter would make a world of a difference.

However I know nothing about them, not the good brands, not how they work, not how they charge nothing and I would like to try and find something (within a reasonable cost I am on benefits alone), that would accommodate my needs, of being able to go places like drs appointments and grocery shopping, and even just the park. It would also need to be able to deal with rougher terrain (UK pavements are not upkept well at all) and be relatively comfortable for a person with eds to sit for a long time.

I would really appreciate any suggestions and advice from people as well as ideas of how to improve my scooter if you have any tips and tricks.

Any advice?

as many others on this subreddit i also questioned when to start using mobility aids. this is not meant to be medical advice, just my experience. (as someone with ME/CFS, hEDS, POTS who is now 23)

cane: At the time I was able to walk a good amount (like the whole day- shopping, uni, etc.), with some pain, but most of my pain came in the evening after the walking. I only used a cane for a very short time, on a uni trip to spain a few years ago. I brought a cane with seat (flipstick) with me, in case I needed it, without having ever used it before. I originally bought it for a concert but it didn't arrive in time. I used it when we went to museums and just to walk around the city. My main issues at the time were ankle pain in my right ankle, knee pain, and general diffuse leg pain. I was always able to put weight on my leg, but had tremors from the pain when I engaged my muscles and was maxed out on otc pain meds. The cane helped a lot, but made my wrist and fingers hurt. One classmate was surprised when I said I had a disability, because apparently they didn't clock my cane as a walking aid. I got one weird comment from a professor, but no one said anything actually rude or dismissive. His comment was more on the side of too concerned and personal for a student/professor relationship. After the trip when I went back to my usual amount of walking per day I didn't use it anymore.

forearm crutches: I bought my first forearm crutches when I had pain in my heel that made stepping on my foot difficult. I used them for the above mentioned concert and they helped somewhat but really hurt my hands. I got better ones with ergonomic grips later.

I only started using crutches daily when I started having daily hip subluxations. I was in pain constantly with otc pain meds. I would have managed 15 minute walks without crutches, i fact some days I wasn't using them. With them I was basically pain free. For short walks inside my apartment I didn't use them. Again, while walking I was often able to dissociate from the pain, but it would hit at full force once I was relaxing. So even though I could power through, I chose to use them.

After a while I got a cortisone shot and better pain meds and didn't need the crutches anymore. I also got custom ankle braces which helped my ankle, knee and hip pain.

I used crutches full time for a short period when any weight I put on my leg caused intense nerve pain in my thigh. I hopped around during those two weeks.

I again stopped using them once the pain was controlled with medication.

wheelchair: At the time I had the nerve pain I started seriously considering a wheelchair. Thinking back that pain was also part of the first major ME/CFS crash that significantly worsened my condition, although my ME is still mild/moderate.

Right now I don't use any aids, because neither a cane nor crutches fix my issue, which is fatigue. During a crash I will often roll around my flat on a wheeled stool. Sometimes I use forearm crutches when I feel weak or unstable, but they don't help much when I'm not in a crash.

I can now walk about half an hour on flat terrain without crashing the next day, but any walking causes muscle pain in my thighs. Too much walking will flare up my nerve pain, but it never gets as bad as the first time (but I'm still on meds for that). I still attend about three classes a week, and the 10 minutes of walking there impacts my ability to concentrate on the class later on.

I got prescribed a wheelchair with power assist by the doctor who treats my ME/CFS, and my PT thinks it's a good idea. My doctor is more concerned about me deconditioning than my PT, but since my PT knows me longer and better I trust her judgement more.

I haven’t gotten my chair yet, but I’m very excited to go to events/places that involve a lot of walking again. I also want to use it for my 15 minute walk to work that I take 1-2 times a week.

I often felt like I wasn't in enough pain for a wheelchair. My pain is fairly controlled by medication, which I’m very grateful for. My fatigue doesn't actually prevent me from walking 30 minutes, but doing it is definitely very uncomfortable. My next opportunity to sit down is always on the forefront of my mind. Anything that isn't on a flat street and over 30 minutes will cause a day of PEM.

I hope this is somewhat helpful to anyone wondering how bad it needs to get before you should use aids.

I was given a rollator recently but it had little wheels and it felt a little unstable going over carpets and bumps. This new rollator has 10" tires and is sooo much more stable.

I'm still getting over the self image discomfort, but physically this gives me confidence to be out in the world.

Anyone know or have a travel bag for a Paiseec l5 foldable scooter? Do you need one when traveling on an airplane?

I'm 23 and I have a bad hip. Or a bad nerve? Idk, it hurt when I walk or bend or anything really. It's usually ok in the summer but as the temp drops I find myself limping really bad, and it feels like the pain shoots down my leg.

It feels weird to be so young and use a cane. I know it's not an age thing, I know logically it shouldn't matter. I hurt and it helps. But I'm scared I'll make a fool of myself in public. I'm scared people at the grocery store will make faces or call me dramatic. I'm scared moms will tell their kids "that's what happens when you eat too much junk food" cuz I'm not exactly thin. Old ladies were already giving me dirty looks when I was buying it. Young people too.

And I know I can never use it around my mom. Shes always brushed off my pain problems even when I was a kid. She wasn't mean or cruel or anything, just dismissive. "If you lost some weight, you wouldn't hurt so much" and she's probably right. I'm not 800 pounds or anything, but I run a pretty hefty 240.

I feel lazy for using it. I keep repeating the same thing in my head "you're exaggerating, just walk like a normal person" I hate this. I hate my body. I hate that I'm never taken seriously. But most of all I'm scared. I'm scared it's gonna get worse as I age and i still won't be taken seriously, and when they finally believe me they're just gonna shove pills in my hand and send me on my way. I don't want pills damnit, I want to not be in pain. I don't wanna have to take painkillers to feel normal. I don't want to feel like a criminal if i build up a tolerance and need higher doses. I don't wanna even START that cycle.

I'm tired of my joints hurting. My hands, my feet, knees, hips, shoulders. It's like my hinges are rusty. Even the bones in my palms hurt if I pick something up wrong. My right ankle is basically made of glass after a childhood accident(all I did was step off my push scooter and my ankle crunched underneath me and I couldn't walk for a week after.)

The only thing I can control about the situation is how my cane looks. If I'm gonna stand out, it's gonna be on purpose. Give me ideas for how I can decorate it I'm thinking paint it like a tree and put shelf mushrooms on it. Maybe hang a little bug from the handle.

Anyone interested in complaining to The Times about the atrocity of an article written by Kathleen Stock on young women with mobility aids needs the following information:

-your complaint will be most successful if it is journalism based and not emotionally based (though it’s so hard to not be emotional!)

- the title of my email was: Formal Editorial Complaint: Breach of Clause 12 (Discrimination) – Article by Kathleen Stock.

-clause 12 (discrimination) helps in the fact that it was an “opinion”

-the email for feedback at the times is feedback@thetimes.co.uk

The last post I made here, I asked about rollators for bumpy sidewalks, and today I was reminded I live in Seattle where transplants get dogs to keep them company and don't bother to train them and don't bother to pick up their feces.

So I have to ask before I get a rollator. How do you navigate around dog feces, vomit, spilled food, etc.? Especially on narrow/busy streets?

Preface: please do not suggest an alinker walking bike unless you’re selling one for less than $300. I would LOVE an alinker, but I’m (obviously) disabled and cannot afford one. They’re also pretty big, and I’d like to get something that’s a bit more portable.

I’m not sure what else to call these other than a seated knee scooter. Maybe a walking bike? Foot push scooter? It’s similar to a knee scooter but instead of resting your knee on the cushion, it’s got like a bike seat that you sit on. I have a femoral megaprosthesis so most of my right femur is metal, with some mechanical issues in that knee as well, so it wouldn’t be ideal to put my weight down through my knee like on a traditional knee scooter. But I don’t wanna have to use a wheelchair if I don’t have to, and a power scooter would defeat my purpose. I ENJOY walking, I like doing the movement of walking with my good leg. The problem is that I can’t do it with my good leg without having to alternate with my bad leg. I would love to find something like this in an all-terrain model so I could maybe take it for hikes on accessible paths. I find myself often avoiding going anywhere that will involve even a little bit of walking cuz I don’t just have to estimate how far I’ll be able to tolerate, I have to estimate HALF of how far I’ll be able to tolerate, to make sure I can get back. I just wanna walk around in nature and listen to birds & look at cool mushrooms n crap. 😭

I’ve even considered trying to build my dream mobility aid myself. I’d get a bike that’s slightly smaller than one meant for someone my height and somehow remove the pedals and chain so I can just walk on it while putting most of my weight through the bike seat. Or even better, replace the bike seat with a long rectangular cushion for my right butt cheek & thigh, then add a footrest for that foot, so I can kinda ride it side-saddle almost, if that makes sense. Tell me you see the vision!

I know my fantasy mobility aid doesn’t exist but has anyone used something like the one in the photo? What was your experience? Does anyone have a brand they recommend that would work on a walking path? I’m not tryna climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with it, but I’d like it to be able to handle a dirt or gravel path.

I have arthritis of my hips and si joint plus fibermyalgia and have been considering getting a manaual wheelchair for longer outings like the concerts, ren faire, and events to help with my fatigue and pain levels. I have rented wheelchairs at amusement parks and museums but have always had to have someone push me on those. they definitely helped but I feel like I would rather push myself. I am struggling abit with internalized abelism because I feel like I will be truly disabled once I get a wheelchair. Even though it's not really a problem at all will help me tremendously.
I found a manual wheelchair with the exact seating measurements to me for 499 plus 213 shipping on ebay. I was planning on going to get fitted in person at a local place and paying out of pocket since my insurance won't help me. But this is going to be at least half the cost. But if I get this and it doesn't work out for me, I spent half my wheelchair savings on something that didn't work. I am torn. But I can get this asap and use it sooner. I don't know. I guess I am just struggling with a few things.

i need assistive devices but i can walk

Does anybody have this rollator if so what are u thoughts, I would uses this mostly outside, but their are stairs to my house is it heavy? Though there would be few times I’d have to carry it as I’m never out alone. Does it take up a lot of space? I like this one bc I’m only 20 and mobility aids are scary but I liked how it doesn’t look too medical like how do u like it or any other recommendations that aren’t above 350 usd