Brushing Teeth with a Disability

ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR - Hygiene Accessibility

Before my accident it was quite automatic to just wake up, roll out of bed, walk into the bathroom, brush my teeth, use my hands to turn on the sink, wash my face, etc. It wasn't until months after I returned home from the hospital when my caregivers were helping me with my hygiene activities that I realized my bathroom was simply not accessible.

I adapted the best I could and still do. When I finally purchased my condo in 2020, I made my sink area accessible with respect to being able to roll under the vanity itself. However, as it came to the faucet I needed to adapt to the products currently on the market. They are still not accessible, but I made them work through adaptive behavior for myself.

My hands are paralyzed and I have limited upper body movement. I find if I lean forward, I can turn on the sink faucets myself and pull myself forward to get my hands wet. I also found an electric toothbrush helps tremendously because I can rest it in my little paralyzed “paws” while my teeth get clean. In the early days after my accident, I had people brush my teeth, but ended up with a tremendous number of cavities.

As you will see from the video, I will show you all of my solutions and "Hacks” around my bathroom that I use to make my life just a little bit more independent.

As many of you know I believe showing parts of my personal and private life that many may feel uncomfortable watching whether this is for my intimate life to how I get dressed to simply how I brush my teeth. Why? Well, as with anything I do, I love to help people. If this one video gives someone an idea to help a loved one or themselves then it's a win for me.

In the dark humor department… I am pretty much naked 60% of my day and somehow was not born with a modesty gene in my body :-) I'm not sure if this comes from my German roots of growing up half naked and running around naked as a child in the Bahamas or simply because of my international background.

In any event, for me it all comes down to VULNERABILITY. This very much plays into being a keynote speaker in bringing my, hopefully, true authentic self to the stage when helping individuals or companies learn how to tackle the most challenging problems in the face of adversity & turn them into achieving personal or professional goals.

How do you bring your authentic self to work or in your life? What do you feel comfortable or uncomfortable sharing with the world?