Book Reviews

• Choosing a Wheelchair

Choosing a Wheelchair

by Gary Karp

List Price: $9.95

Paperback - (January 15, 1998) 180 pages

Editorial Reviews

From Book News, Inc.

Karp, a wheelchair user and ergonomics consultant, guides readers through the wheelchair selection process. He overviews the evolution of wheelchair design and manufacture, and covers the selection process, manual versus power chairs, cushions, seats and backs, suspension systems, and accessories. He also discusses financing, maintenance, and wheeling style and technique. Includes checklists, and lists of print and online resources and manufacturers.Book News, Inc.(R), Portland, OR

Book Description

The wheelchair is a liberator, not a prison. With the right wheelchair, quality of life increases dramatically. Even people with severe disabilities can have a considerable degree of independence and activity. However, choosing the wrong chair can indeed be tantamount to "confinement."

People selecting a chair for the first time can be distracted by emotions of loss or anger, overwhelmed with the amount that there is to learn and the number of features to consider, and unsure of their part in the selection process. Experienced chair users might know features on their present chair that don't work well, but are probably not aware of all the fast-changing choices in technology, features, or manufacturers.

Choosing a Wheelchair: A Guide for Optimal Independence, a companion title to Life on Wheels guides you through the selection process to help you identify the chair that can provide you with optimal independence.

Contents include:
Sum The wheelchair as a mobility tool
Sum The selection process and your part in it
Sum How to compare manufacturers (including smaller, niche manufacturers)
Sum Basic choices, such as power or manual? Fixed frame or folding?
Sum Features and options for both power and manual chair users
Sum Paying for the chair and insurance
Sum Wheelchair maintenance
Sum A primer on wheeling technique

I've run the gamut over 25 years using wheelchairs, from the heavy aluminum folding frames to my present rigid frame lightweight model. There is no question that improved chair technology has made a big difference in my life.

As an ergonomics consultant I also know that many discomforts and chronic pain syndromes are preventable through good posture and use of the body. I've infused that attitude throughout the book, and am pleased to see the rehabilitation community promoting more body awareness in their work.

Yet so many principles of seating and selection are not conveyed to chair riders or their families. I hope this book will fill that void.