[Handmade Assistive Devices] DIY assistive tools made from 100-yen shop materials. Packed with simple ideas.
Assistive devices are tools that help people whose daily lives are affected by paralysis or reduced physical function due to illness or aging.
A wide range of items are available, from tableware like chopsticks and plates to devices that support everyday activities and even leisure.
In this article, however, we will intentionally focus on assistive devices you can make by hand.
What’s more, all the ideas here use materials you can find at 100-yen shops, making them easy to try.
Use the ideas introduced here as a reference, and consider customizing them to better suit the physical condition of the person who will actually use the assistive device.
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[Handmade Assistive Devices] DIY assistive tools made from 100-yen shop materials. Packed with simple ideas (21–30)
Card holder (assistive device for playing cards)
When people hear “assistive devices,” they might think they’re only for daily necessities, but there are also assistive devices for play! This is a playing card stand.
If you can only use one hand, you’d normally have to place your hand on the table and then pick out a card from there, but with this stand you can play cards smoothly.
The materials are a milk carton, a CD, and colored paper, plus stones to use as weights.
Fill the milk carton with stones and fix the CD on top.
Then decorate the whole thing with colored paper, and it’s done.
You could probably substitute other items with similar shapes for the milk carton or CD.
Being able to handle things around you on your own is important, but having fun with family and friends using assistive devices like this is important too.
clothespin clip
Jackets with a front zipper can be hard to zip up with just one hand, right? In that case, try making and using this clothespin clip.
It’s very easy to make—just connect two clothespins with a rubber band.
When zipping up, clip one clothespin to your pants and the other to your jacket.
This way, you can zip it up with one hand.
This clothespin clip is also useful when tying a necktie, so making one to keep on hand can be quite helpful.
Universal cuff
A universal cuff is an assistive device for people who cannot move their palm as they wish or cannot grip and hold objects due to pain.
It can be used not only for holding spoons and forks but also for holding a pen.
The only materials needed to make one are webbing, hook-and-loop fastener, a rectangular ring, and a D-ring, all of which can be found in the craft section of a 100-yen shop.
Sewing with a sewing machine is required to make the cuff, but the process isn’t very complicated, so please give it a try.
Adjust the size of the universal cuff to fit the user’s hand, and feel free to choose materials in colors and patterns you like.
flexible bendable straw
Here is an assistive device for people who find it difficult to pick up a cup.
It can be bent freely, so you can shape it to make drinking easier depending on the situation.
The construction is simple: cut out only the flexible sections from bendy straws and connect them together—that’s it.
It’s convenient because you can bend it to match where the cup is placed and the user’s posture.
Using a straw holder to secure the straw to the cup can make it even easier to use.
self-service tableware
You can use a spoon with one hand, but unless you hold the plate with the other hand to steady or lift it, it’s hard to scoop and you end up spilling, right? To solve this problem, there are plates with one raised, curved edge that make scooping easier, but you can actually make one using items from a 100-yen shop! All you need are two plastic containers.
Fill one with water and put the lid on.
For the other container, cut the lid so that about 4 cm remains and attach it.
Then stack them with the water-filled container on the bottom and secure them with a rubber band—that’s it.
The bottom container acts as a weight to keep it from slipping, and the shortened lid helps prevent spills.
It’s easy to make, so having a few on hand could be really useful!
straw holder
You might think you can still drink with a straw even if one hand isn’t available, but in reality, with only one hand the straw tends to slip away and you end up chasing it with your mouth.
That’s where a straw holder—an assistive device that fixes the straw to the cup—comes in handy.
You can easily make one with everyday items: all you need are rubber bands and a paperclip.
Link several rubber bands together and attach a paperclip.
Wrap the band around the cup and thread the straw through the band, and you’ve got a perfectly good straw holder.
You don’t need any tools to make it, so if you see someone struggling to drink, try making one on the spot.
one-handed nail clipper
If you have hemiplegia, you can’t trim the nails on your mobile hand by yourself, even though you can cut the nails on the paralyzed hand.
So let’s make this one-handed nail clipper so you can trim your nails independently.
The materials are a storage rack with X-shaped legs combined with fabric and a wooden board.
These days, 100-yen shops sell various sizes of wooden boards for DIY users, so buy a board that matches the width of the rack’s legs.
To make it, remove the rack’s fabric, fix the wooden board to the rack’s legs, then attach a nail clipper to the board, and you’re done.
The steps are a bit involved, so if it doesn’t go smoothly, ask someone skilled at woodworking to help.