The Ability Toolbox Homemade Tool Contest—Now Open! 

For individuals living with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), everyday tasks can require extraordinary ingenuity. That’s the heart behind the IFOPA Ability Toolbox Online Guidebook—a global initiative designed to promote independence, confidence, and problem-solving through adaptive tools and home modifications. 

What makes the Online Guidebook especially powerful is that it not only features commercially available products, but it also highlights something even more personal and innovative: homemade tools created by the FOP community itself. 

The power of Homemade Tools

The Homemade Tools section of the Guidebook includes tools born out of real-life challenges and shaped by creativity, persistence, and trial-and-error. For many families, homemade solutions offer critical flexibility when adaptive products aren’t available in their home country. 

Homemade Tools celebrates the idea that innovation doesn’t require expensive equipment or advanced technology. Sometimes, it’s a spatula, a fork, and a roll of waterproof tape…

Spotlighting the “Spatula Fork”: 2025 Ability Toolbox Homemade Tool Winner

One standout example comes from last year’s first-place Most Creative winner, Laura Rossano, whose “spatula fork” embodies the spirit of the contest. 

Facing limited arm mobility, Laura searched for the perfect utensil in catalogs and stores, but they simply didn’t work for her. Rather than settle, she and her mom, Barbara, experimented. They tested different handles, materials, and configurations until they created a customized solution using a fork attached to a modified spatula handle with waterproof tape. The result?  A sturdy, functional tool that made eating significantly easier and more comfortable.

“It doesn’t bend, it doesn’t break. It just works,” Laura shares. “It’s made life so much easier.” 

Laura’s story is a powerful reminder that the most impactful solutions often come from lived experience. As she puts it, “Everyone has different limitations, so homemade tools can be incredibly unique and customizable.”

2025 Most Creative Homemade Tool Winners

• First Place: Laura Rossano's Spatula Fork 
• Second Place: Robert "Blake" Sherrod's Electric Winch Lift 
• Third Place: Julieta Sanchez López’s Curved Spoon 

2025 Most Useful Homemade Tool Winners

• First Place: Manuel Robert’s Adaptive Back Scratcher 
• Second Place: Mazhar and Aysha Aqib's Adapted School Chair 
• Third Place: Ana Laura Da Silva’s Female Urinal
  
   

Submit now! The 2026 Ability Toolbox Homemade Tool Contest is open through May 31

Now in its second year, the Ability Toolbox Homemade Tool Contest is back. This is an open invitation to the entire FOP community to share their creativity.

There’s still time to submit! The 2026 contest is open now and will close May 31. Whether you’ve created a tool from scratch or adapted an existing one to better meet your needs, your idea could inspire others around the world. 

Submissions are open to individuals with FOP and their caregivers. You may submit more than one tool (just use a separate entry form for each entry), and the application process is designed to be simple and accessible. 

A few key guidelines: 

• The tools must be homemade or adapted—not 3D printed
• The focus is on solutions that others can realistically recreate, even with limited resources
• Creativity and practicality matter more than perfection

Winners receive a cash prize. View more contest criteria and submission rules on the contest web page. 

Why it matters 

Homemade tools aren’t just functional—they are deeply personal, often born from collaboration with individuals and their families. They reflect resilience, ingenuity, and a willingness to keep trying until something works.

As Laura encourages others: “Go for it. You never know—something small you’ve figured out could be a big help to someone else.

If you’ve ever created, modified, or imagined a tool that makes daily life a little easier, this is your moment to share it. 

Submit now

Many thanks 

We are grateful to FOP mom Amanda Cali, who founded the original toolbox program with the help of FOP mom Jeri Licht and Steve Eichner, who lives with FOP. Their pioneering work created a lasting resource that continues to help people in the FOP community find creative solutions for independent living.

This program and the contest would not be possible without the generous support of the Radiant Hope Foundation.