As a caregiver, I'm tired of people asking,"Do you wipe ass for a living?"
This isn't inherently because it's disrespectul to my job, though it is and us caregivers do SO much more than that; we're taking care of people. That's 10% or less of the job.
It's the genuine DISRESPECT of my clients that bother me.
Do NOT speak about my client like they're a dog. "Do you wipe ass for a living?" You could not have phrased that in a more insensitive, ableist, and dehumanizing way.
Incontenience care is NORMAL.
It is NOT gross, weird, immature, or anything else besides normal.
My clients have felt ashamed for normal things like needing their briefs changed or having to do toiletry and everytime I reassure them they're completely fine and not doing anything wrong. It breaks my heart to see them so embarassed over a normal bodily function, esepcially when they still feel so even though I signed up to do this.
Maybe the elderly or disabled wouldn't be so ashamed of basic things that ARE normal if people didn't make it sound like it was the most absurd, repulsive, and gross thing ever.
Please be mature. If you are an adult and cannot comprehend someone needing toilet assistance without making it weird or sound gross, then you really really need to grow up.
I don't really like making aggressive sounding posts or scolding posts, because every single person is learning and we all make mistakes, but gosh guys, this really bothers me.
Stop making people feel bad and THINK about what you're saying when refering to another human being before you say it. I will NEVER tolerate this disrespect for these people I'm taking care of who trust me.
EDIT: Thank you SO much for the overwhelming sweet responses! They make my heart so happy<3 Thank you for the inbox thank-yous and stories as well! As of now, I will ask any thank yous, stories, or experiences be privately messaged or commented<3 I love all the appreciation, but my blog is about writing characters with OCD and other disorders/disabilities and I don't want to clog my blog up with replying to everyone :)<3
The “Toddler Mobility Trainer” is fully modular and requires no tools to assemble, making it easy to replace and grow with its user.
"The average pediatric wheelchair can cost thousands of dollars. And when children grow and their needs evolve — or a wheelchair gets damaged — those costs multiply.
So, the team at MakeGood NOLA, a New Orleans-based adaptive design lab, has made something that can transform the world for disabled children.
“Introducing the world’s first fully 3D-printed wheelchair,” MakeGood founder and president Noam Platt started a recent social media video.
He wheels a small, almost toy-like lime-green wheelchair into the frame, complete with a matching harness, suitable for children ages 2 to 8.
“Everything from the body, to the wheels, to the tires, the seat, and even the straps, all were 3D printed on a regular Bambu Labs A1 machine,” Platt continued.
This means the design is fully compatible with a regular 3D printer anyone can have in their home.
“We designed this to be modular and easy to make,” Platt continued. “Really, anyone with a 3D printer and some filament can download the files and print it.” [Note: You can also use 3D printers for free or a small cost at some public libraries and maker spaces, opening up accessibility even further.]
Once the prototype is completely finished, it will be available as a fair-use download that anyone can use for free.
Pictured: The new 3D-printed chair by MakeGood. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA
Platt said that because it has a modular design, the wheelchair can be put together without any tools or glue. And if any part of it breaks or is damaged, users can simply re-print the single piece they need.
“As a wheelchair user I love everything about this,” TikTok user @thisisharlie commented on Platt’s video debuting the wheelchair.
“Mine costs more than my car, I can’t imagine having to buy a new one every year or two as they outgrow it,” @thisisharlie continued. “You’re going to change the world.”
For Platt, that’s always been the plan.
When he created MakeGood in 2021, the nonprofit design lab was thinking of the more than 1 billion people around the globe who live with disabilities.
“Since traditional design often overlooks diverse bodies and minds, it is crucial to reshape the built environment,” MakeGood shares on its website. “The challenges our communities face — both physical and social — are solvable.”
MakeGood works with individuals to co-create their adaptive design solutions, centering the “Need Knower,” the disabled person or their primary caregivers, throughout the entire process.
Since the founding of MakeGood, 1,600 individualized adaptive devices have been delivered to families for free. Platt’s team found a niche with this wheelchair, which they call the Toddler Mobility Trainer, or TMT.
On its website, the organization says the wheelchairs were “designed with therapists from all over the world” and offer “unmatched mobility and independence to young kids.”
Children and parents agree.
“It’s an A+,” one parent said of an earlier prototype of the TMT in a report by CBS News. “It’s helped [my son] become more mobile and be able to adapt into the other things that he’s going to be offered. It’s helped his development.”
At the start of the design process, Platt reached out to area hospitals to see if he could fill a need.
“Part of it is empowering clinicians that we can go beyond what is commercially available,” Platt told CBS News. “We can really create almost anything.”
Now in the final stages of tweaking the TMT design to be ready for release, Platt is eager to get the wheelchair rolled out and into the homes of the children who need them most.
Pictured: A rendering of the 3D printed design, which will soon be available for download. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA
“We think this sort of 3D printing and design is going to be huge for accessibility, and for wheelchairs specifically,” Platt said in his social media video.
In the meantime, people can request a free chair from MakeGood.
“We have a growing list of people who’ve requested these, and once we finish the design, we’ll start filling those requests with custom-printed chairs, including things that you might need for your particular chair,” Platt said in a follow-up video.
Because the chairs are easily 3D printed, they can come in any color and can be modified to include other accommodations, like a section to hold a breathing device or other aid. With years of customization and design experience under his belt, this new innovation is simply an extension of Platt’s dedication to inclusive design.
In 2023, Platt told New Mobility: “I feel like every time I deliver one of these [assistive] devices, I get a hopeful feeling that the world has been changed a little bit for the better for the next generation.”"
