The DAV is committed to serving military veterans disabled during service and their dependents and survivors. The DAV has 88 offices throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico with approximately 260 National Service Officers who represent veterans and their families making claims for benefits from government departments. A veteran does not have to be a member to get assistance with claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense or other agencies. This assistance is offered free of charge to all veterans.

The DAV announced in October 2010 that the Veterans Association has adopted a rule that will expand eligibility for specially adapted housing and special home adaption grants to permanently and totally disabled veterans and armed service members.

The new rule means that those who have suffered extensive burns or have limited movement in two or more limbs or at least one limb and the trunk. It also makes special home adaption grants available to permanently and totally disabled veterans and service members who lose use of both hands, those with severe burns and those with inhalation injuries.

Of particular interest is the home adaption grant that can be up to $13,000 for permanently or totally disabled veterans with loss or loss of use of both hands, deep burns that limit motion and residuals of an inhalation injury including pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This grant is able to be applied to any house modification; however the bathroom is often the focus point for many veterans and their families as they try to make living easier. It is not always possible to fully convert a standard family home bathroom into a disabled access bathroom due to building constraints; however there are many bathroom aids on the market that can make life for a veteran living with a disability easier. There are non slip mats to give people confidence when moving on wet and slippery flooring, grab bars, access ramps and shower benches that can be sat on in the shower to reduce the risk of falling over. » Read more: Home Adaption Grants – Disabled American Veterans

Getting the right wheelchair to meet the exact needs of the user is very important, especially if the person using the chair is a long-term wheelchair user that will be seated in the chair for many hours per day. They must be comfortable but also be safe and use the chair to the maximum ability.

In modern eras of internet purchasing, made so easy by the click of a mouse it is tempting to buy an off-the-shelf chair, there is of course nothing wrong with buying wheelchairs over the internet but long-term/permanent users need to ensure that their chair is personalized to their own requirements, this is best done by an occupational therapist or a wheelchair technician. Both will consider your height, posture, weight and any special requirements that you have, these may include adjusting foot plates, the seat height and angle and even the type of cushion required, all have to be given serious consideration to ensure that the disabled persons health and mobility does not deteriorate.

The persons type of disability needs to be given great consideration when choosing the right wheelchair, if they are a spinal injury user, then the level type and type of injury will need to be considered, for example, the person may well have a hand dexterity that prevents them from using the standard push rim’s, if this is the case raised push rims may be required. They may also suffer from body spasms that could cause them to be unstable, securing belts or straps may then be required as an addition. » Read more: Getting the Right Wheelchair