Video transcript: Lee and his daily living equipment 'box of trix'

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Using forms of assistive technology is about looking at things in a different way so looking at an item in relation to a personal need.

For instance, something as simple as a wireless doorbell could actually come in handy for someone who has got caring needs.

The person being cared for can have the doorbell bit and the carer can actually carry the box around with them. For this one it costs less than £5 and the carer can carry on doing the jobs around the house or in the bungalow or even in the garden with the knowledge that when needed they can ring them.

For those people that get forgetful about things, even everyday people they tend to forget to switch the iron off if they have rushed out for whatever reason. If the iron was actually plugged into this which is an energenie after about 2 minutes of the iron not being used it actually switches the iron off. So, you can still be heading to wherever you wanted to go with no worries at all as you can rely on this switching the item off.

For those of you who find your normal remote controls quite complicated, obviously there's all these different buttons on. There's actually a simple solution in the form of assisted technology and it is this gadget. As you can see, it's simple on/ off, volumes up and down and the channels up and down on these buttons there. It's quite easy to set up you just point the remotes at one another and you press the relevant button on each remote and it's actually records the frequency its using and it recognises that and the on/ off, channels up and down and the volume buttons and away you go.

For those of you that struggle switching on and off your plugs theres quite a simple solution quite a few shops have actually got on board with this. It's a remote-control plug. A few advantages of these remote control plugs is that number one it actually saves you on electricity as you are switching it off at the source and the other thing is it actually reduces the risk of falls. On this particular unit you can actually fit three of these units on it which you plug into your socket. Whatever you want to switch on and off you plug in to this section here and simply the remote switches on and off. For instance, it is ideal for things like Christmas tree lights, your telly, your DVD, your video where the plugs actually situated behind the unit and that way you don’t lean over the unit you just simply switch it on and off and it actually isolates the electricity from this source, so you don't need to switch it off at the wall this will do it for you.

For the people that have problems, sort of like remembering things and I will use one example is that I am one for actually forgetting my house keys when I go through the front door. Possibly a memo minder could be the solution. The memo minder is quite a simple item. Its got a speaker, a sensor and it has got a microphone in the bottom and the idea is that you record the message in there and it reminds yourself or others on anything, in this case, I am going to use my house keys. Simple switch on the side you push down to record the message. You push up to switch on and then the centre to switch off. So I record a message first - 'Don’t forget your keys Lee'. You switch it on. It relays the message. It replays the message back to you and it takes about 20 seconds to reset. And once that happens you can actually place this so far away from the front door so before you actually go through the front door, you walk past the sensor that will then set the message off and it'll remind you that you don’t want to forget your keys Lee. So if we just wait for that to happen.

Do you have problem with poor dexterity? A lot people struggle with cutlery like this. The simple solution for that is just a piece of foam like this slot in and it makes it easier to grip and you only need a couple of pieces like this and you can actually keep them in your pocket and carry them around with you.

For those people that have got poor dexterity there's all sorts of adaptations out there, for instance this one it's actually a ring pull for the tin cans that'll will pull the ring can up so that you can grip it. You have also got your sterilised bottle opener but you've also got on there different size bottle caps and there for people who can't quite grip them and turn them and this will do that for you. I have got a bottle here to show you. So you find the hole to fit on the bottle and for instance that causes a leaver which doesn't take much effort to just undo and then you can put it back on. This is a different type of ring pull again like your tin cans with the ring pulls on it actually hooks into the ring pull and it will tear the lid back as well.

Those people who suffer with handling large saucepans any sort of heavy cookery items it there are  actual solutions out there. For instance, this little dish here is actually jacket potatoes in the microwave it does look a bit like a Jelly mold but in the bottom there is whole and the jacket potato sits on there and the idea is that the air circulates underneath the jacket potato and the idea is that the person does not have to handle the hot potato and at the same time the edges don’t get hot so putting in the microwave and out is also safe and they are really cheap to buy. If you also decide to have beans with them they also have the pots with the handles on and the handles on the pots don’t get hot.

For people again with poor grip there is all sorts of types of silicon grips that you can buy for about £1 some of them if you read the packets are even heat resistant so if people with the old type of saucepans where the handles get hot would be ideal. They come in all shapes and sizes they are also good for opening jars, bottles with the bottle tops.

In some areas local charities are actually taking this project on and its called message in the bottle. It is quite a simple idea that involves a tub inside the tub you get two stickers and you also get a form. The form is quite simple and it is asking for details like your name, your address.  your Doctors details and what medication you are on and who to contact in an emergency. The whole idea of message in a bottle is that you put the form in the tub you get two stickers one for the back of the front door and it goes on something you can see as you go through the front door and the others goes onto to wherever you are placing the tub. If you are putting the tub in the cupboard or fridge you put the sticker on the outside. We also recommend people to do put in the tub an up to date prescription. The idea is that if you are  somebody that lives alone and for some unknown reason you collapse and the emergency people need to break down your door to get in to you they will recognise these stickers and they can see all of the up to date details of your medication and the ailments that you suffer from.  

For those people that take a lot of tablets and then still like going out for the day. Something as simple as this. The idea of this is that all of the weeks tablets are kept together but if you are only going out for the day you just take one section away with you. The difference is with this one is that instead of being the push up ones where some people struggle instead you push down on this and it comes up like this.

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