You can find contact details for all the organisations mentioned in this section in Useful contacts

The Disabled Living Foundation operate a telephone and letter advice service on all types of disability equipment, clothing and footwear. It can suggest what equipment might best suit your needs, and give details of local suppliers. It also runs an online service for older and disabled people called 'bathing made easy'. See its website: www.dlf.org.uk/bathing 

The national research charity Ricability produces a range of independent consumer guides which provide practical information and advice for older and disabled people on choosing products and services. Topics covered by the guides include telephones, easier living in the home, buying or upgrading central heating controls, community alarms and driving and car adaptations. Contact Ricability for a publications list or visit their website to download the guides.

If you would like to try out different types of equipment, you can visit a local Disabled Living Centre. There are lots of Disabled Living Centres around the UK where you can try out all sorts of equipment from simple gadgets to larger items of equipment such as wheelchairs. You can find your nearest Disabled Living Centre by contacting Assist UK, Disability Wales or Disability Action in Northern Ireland. There may also be a demonstration centre for disability equipment run by your local council or your hospital occupational therapy department.

For advice on the special equipment available if you have problems with your sight, contact the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the Partially Sighted Society. You can also find more information on the help available for those with sight difficulties in our free advice leaflet Better Sight (PDF).

RNID and Hearing Concern can both give you information on equipment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. You can also find more information on hearing aids and other equipment in our free advice leaflet Better Hearing (PDF).

If there is nothing at all available to help with your particular difficulty, there are two organisations which may be able to help. Remap and DEMAND are charities that design and build special equipment to meet 'one-off' needs. The equipment they make is given to the disabled person free of charge.