If You Want To Get Ahead Get A Gadget

May 16, 2012 - PRLog -- When pre-historic man needed to quickly transport the heavy spoils of his hunt back to his cave he invented the stone wheel. To him that was the ultimate gadget; it made his life easier and dinner was on time.  

Things have changed a lot since then.  These days we love gadgets; there are television programmes about gadgets, exhibitions showcasing the latest inventions to make life easier and even college courses in how to design that indispensible gizmo.

Bloggers, designers and engineers enjoy endless debates on the relative merits of different devices and about which might earn their place in a list of 101 gadgets that changed the world. The personal computer and the radio would have to be included of course, but what else would you file in the Gadget Hall of Fame?

The dictionary describes a gadget as: A small specialised mechanical or electronic device; a contrivance. If you use any search engine you’ll find thousands of products that claim to be essential for modern life, but is the tea bag squeezer, the terracotta bread warmer or a clip-on bucket which catches your vegetable peelings really indispensible? Many are just gimmicks; bright plastic versions of the orange peeler or cherry de-piper our grandparents used. They are simply repackaged, reworked and relabeled in an attempt to make money for their “inventor”. None are destined to change the world.

If you are trying to live an independent life in your own home despite old age, infirmity or disability the gadgets which will make a real difference to you are much less glamorous than you might think.  They are, however, just as important as the home care services such as home helps, meals on wheels and district nurses who support those living at home.  Things like grab rails to help you get up from your favourite chair, a gadget which bleeps when your cup is full or a hoist for the bath could mean you can stay at home rather than move into care.

Most of us would do anything to avoid the heart-wrenching decision to leave the place we know and love; the place we know where everything is, the repository of years of memories.

The good news is help is at hand. These days there are many gadgets, aids and adaptions, support workers and advisors which together can make independent living an option for most people facing the choice.

Specially adapted furniture including chairs and beds, aids for the visually impaired, strategically placed grab rails and walking frames are some of the simple ways to make life easier. These aren’t world changing gadgets but they are life changing.

Visit : http://essexcares.org