Page 24 - Mobility Management, October 2017

Pediatric Series
All About Kids
The Best CRT You Don’t Know About
hat do the most successful pediatric complex rehab technology (CRT) products have in common?
For one thing, they’re made for kids!
That sounds obvious today, but pediatric products haven’t always been designed especially for children, and healthcare
professionals haven’t always recognized that children and adolescents aren’t just smaller, younger versions of adults.
At an American Physical Therapy Association event in 1991, Arthur Pappas, M.D., gave a presentation that New York Times contributing writer John Doherty, a physical therapist and sports trainer, summed up in a single line: “Children are not miniature adults.” In his 2015 story, Doherty quoted Pappas, then pointed to multiple recent studies that suggested children’s bodies and brains react differently to physical forces because those bodies and brains are still immature.
In CRT, much of the discussion regarding pediatric seating and mobility focuses on products’ growability — obviously, an enormous consideration given funding sources’ expectations of how long such equipment should last before being eligible for replacement.
But there are other important considerations as well for pediatric CRT, including aesthetics — the more attractive, appealing and “non-medical looking” the better. And transport- ability is also key — because equipment that’s bulky and takes a long time or requires multiple caregivers to fold, pack and lift
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is liable to get left at home...which might mean that the child using it stays at home, too.
For this pictorial, Mobility Management asked manufacturers for pediatric CRT that perhaps gets overshadowed or overlooked. This particular story is all about kids, and the seating and mobility that gets them and their families moving. m
Wallaby Folding Wheelchair
Key Kids’ Words: WC19-compliant
Available in 12” and 14” seat widths,
the Wallaby is WC19 bus-transit- compliant for children between 50 and 80 lbs. and includes standard transit tie-down brackets. The Wallaby features height- adjustable push handles, flip-back
padded desk arms and a standard pelvic belt for additional comfort and safety. The chair also has push- to-lock wheel locks, 22” rear wheels with 6" front casters, swing-away footrests with tool-free height- adjustment, and a calf strap.
Inspired by Drive
(800) 454-6612
www.inspiredbydrive.com
MobilityMgmt.com
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