I found this video while scrounging around Youtube for something completely unrelated to wheelchairs.

It is meant to be a promational video for adaptive vans and related equipment but there is more to this video than at first meets the eye. It is a really a good example of how the right combination of assistive technology, some help from a service dog, and the right attitude can really help to ungrind the day-to-day grind.

So many people think that independence for a person with a spinal cord injury is as simple as getting the person a wheelchair or an occassional Para-Transit ride. Nothing could be further from the truth. Independence often hides inside of a Rubick’s Cube where all the pieces have to be in the right place in order to win.

Check out the video but don’t focus on the promotional aspects. Focus more on the various elements, technology, dog, environment, attitude, that come into play including small nuances such as the wheelchair backpack for storage and assorted ADL devices attached to the sides of the wheelchair.