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makeathons

Photo of the workshop space. Various members of Team Free To Pee are involved in various activities—some are bent over working on a blue plastic prototype seat, some are standing, some are sitting and some are in wheelchairs in the middle of the action.
Issue 29 by Alice Wong on November 5th, 2015
Makeathons and other similar events want to “do good” and “make the world a better place.” The people behind these events need to realize *how* they do them is as important as *why* they are doing them.
Image with a magenta background and hand-drawn in black ink the figure of a woman in a wheelchair with short hair—her mouth is open wide and there is a caption bubble in yellow that reads “To pee or not to pee, that’s NOT the question!”
Issue 29 by Alice Wong on November 4th, 2015
Very often, specialized companies create assistive technology with little input from actual users with disabilities. These products are usually institutional in look and feel, overpriced, and only reimbursable by insurance.