I understand there is a new wheelchair accessory on the market that will enable wheelchair users to attach directly to shopping carts and shop from their own chair. Do you know of this item and who is the manufacturer? Do you know of a company called Richardson?
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Answer:
We were able to locate the Care Chair Classic, on abledata.com. It’s a manual wheelchair which incorporates a shopping basket. Sammonspreston.com offers a shopping bag that attaches to a wheelchair, but you’re looking for something more substantial – a proper, accessible shopping cart. We did find a reference on one web-site to “an accessible shopping cart” that attached to wheelchairs with Velcro, but the site said the anonymous manufacturer no longer made them. However, the retailer still managed to get one somehow – custom-made perhaps? Here’s a suggestion: choose a favorite grocery or department store and become a regular. After you’ve made your presence known – often – approach the store manager and ask them to get a cart for the store. Then make sure other people are made aware of what the store has done. Good acts deserve recognition, and other retailers will realize that doing something for their customers with disabilities can also be great for buisiness.