I have cerebral palsy and have trouble using my hands and arms.  Throughout my life it was important to me to be able to do things on my own, so I thought of ways to accomplish things I wanted to do using switches and wireless remote controls.  I started figuring out ways to adapt things early on in life.  One thing I wanted to be able to do independently was to turn on the radio. I didn't want to call upon a family member or friend, I wanted to do this myself. I discovered that by attaching a pencil to the on-off button on the radio I would have the leverage that I needed to turn it on and off. This was a giant milestone in my teenage years since it meant that I could listen to the radio in bed and turn it off when I wanted to go to sleep.  I never missed an installment of The Lone Ranger!

Sticking with a good thing, I had a pencil fastened to the TV channel knob so that I could turn it to American Bandstand when I came home from the day school personal skills program. On weekends I would find my pencil thrown beside the TV and my brother’s cartoons would be playing. As an adult, I moved into my own apartment and wanted to be independent as well as safe living alone.  I had a switch installed next to my bed that I used to turn off my television without having to get out of bed. That reduced the chance of becoming hurt transferring out of bed and into my wheelchair just to turn off the television.  Since I had the switch, I didn’t need to have a care provider to operate my television and I was more independent. 

Once I found success with the switch for my TV, there was no stopping me. I added more switches, creating a panel of switches next to my bed.  I now have a switch for my radio and one for each of my two CD players.  While 2 CD players might seem excessive, one is for music (for when I feel like going to sleep with soft music) while the other is for listening to audio books, something else that I enjoy doing. In addition to using the switches for operating my media devices, I also have one attached to a fan next to my bed.  This switch is very important since living in Fresno means some very hot weather. With the capability to turn off electrical devices, I can keep my electricity expenses down as I’m on a tight budget.

As technology progressed, I discovered the wireless remote control and immediately saw lots of ways that I could further increase my independence. The wireless remote isn’t merely a convenience for people to open their garage doors, rather, wireless remotes gave me the ability to control more of my environment and increased my ability to live independently and safely.  I have a wireless remote to control both a heater and a fan in my living room.  This enables me to independently control the environment inside my apartment increasing the amount of time that I can be alone safely.  It also gives me the option to be in the living room any time of the day or night if the mood strikes me.  Like many writers I need to work alone, and sometimes spend many hours doing so.  With the capability to control the room temperature with my remote, I am on an equal plane with other writers.

I found yet another use for a garage door remote control and use it to lock and unlock my front door.  The apartment building manager wasn’t too pleased at first when I replaced the lock with the wireless remote controlled lock, but in time he came around and let me keep it in place.  I live in an apartment building that was designed for persons with disabilities so I consider my remote control door opener an improvement to the property, as well as an access accommodation. I now feel safer in my apartment knowing that I can quickly unlock my front door in case of an emergency.

Remote controls and switches are not merely conveniences in my life; by adding them I have gained the ability to do more for myself and have improved my capacity to live independently.

© 2005 ConnSENSE Bulletin