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A dry brick house, with a bathroom and indoor water-closet, and a
fire place in every room, with a little back garden, in a street near a bus
route.
And most important of all a low rent.
Dr. F.J.Goodey
Senior Medical Officer
for Community Care
THE HANDICAPPED: CLOTHING AMD HOUSEKEEPING
This is the third article on the needs of the handicapped, the previous two having been
included in the Medical Officer of Health's reports for 1967 and 1968 and dealt with Mobility,
Feeding, Toiletting and Washing.
Handicaps range from complete crippling or total blindness to some slight disability or
defect of sight. They may arise from some failure in pre-natal development, or disease later
in life or from accident. The disabilities may be stable or progressive. The handicap matters
on how severely it interferes with what one is desirous of doing. The loss of a finger is not a
handicap to a professional footballer but is a major catastrophe to a professional pianist.
Stable handicaps are easier to accept and to adjust to than are the fluctuations of progressive
diseases, or the incidence of epileptic fits which may lead to losing a job for which during
the major part of the time, one is fully competent.
As with so many other things the question of clothes is much the same for the person
with a disability as for the person without a disability. Looking well in clothes does something
for the wearer and good clothes are an asset. They can help to minimize the appearance
of disability. A person with a disability should be a little more disciplined in the choice of
clothing. Available are wrinkleproof materials, fabrics which do not need ironing, and stuff
which is warm without weight. A slippery lining to a coat helps in putting it on. For wheelchair
users short or three-quarter length coats are easier to wear. Convenience in getting into
and out of garments is important. Front openings are easier than back fasteners, and coat
style is easier than over-the-head type. Two-piece garments are often easier than straightthrough
dresses. Wide armholes are better than fitting ones. They give more freedom and wear
better, but raglan styles are not suitable for crutch users. Pleated or full skirts are more
comfortable for wheelchair users than tight fitting skirts. Zippers or Velcro are better fasteners
than buttons, press-studs or hooks and eyes.
If hips and knees will not allow bending, a 10" length of cord passed round the neck,
fastened on to trouser buttons and the surplus tucked into trouser legs will allow the trousers
to be dropped on to the floor and remain anchored round the neck when the toilet is used. The
trousers can be raised by pulling them up with the cord. A maternity wrap-round skirt worn
back to front helps a disabled women with her toilet problems.
Putting on and doing up shoes is a problem for those unable to bend. Shoes which can
be slipped on will be more comfortable for most people but some will need to wear the lace-up
type of shoe. Elastic shoelaces already threaded, which open out when the foot is pushed in
with the aid of a long-handled shoehorn, and close up when the foot is in place, solve the
problem of doing up shoelaces when one is stiff. Seams in the uppers of shoes should be
avoided as disabled feet are susceptible to pressure and seams can cause blisters and corns.
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