Assistive Devices
Advances in technology made it possible for even significantly disabled people to work. I completed my doctoral dissertation using a Dictaphone and a word processor.
Paul Longmore, 2003
Everyday life proved to be a mixture of frustration, creativity, anger, patience, and problem solving after polio. People still needed to change diapers, prepare and eat meals, drive cars, buy groceries, finish homework, and produce an income. Almost anything could be adapted to assist in a task.
At some [rehabilitation facilities] they emphasize ridding you of the fear of falling by making you fall repeatedly. The therapists go around kicking crutches out from under people unexpectedly, to see if they’ve learned well their falling lessons. You’re supposed to fall forward, throwing your crutches clear so that you won’t land on them and break something.
Edward LeComte, 1957