Page 25 - Mobility Management, March 2018

Clinically Speaking Series
She’s nervous.
He’s scared.
You can see it in their eyes, which make contact with yours, then quickly look away. You can feel it in their handshakes. Her hand is cold. His hand grips yours brie y and then lets go.
They’re somewhere they don’t want to be: in a seating and wheelchair clinic, in a conference room at their child’s school, in the hallway of yet another hospital or medical center. They’re here for evalua- tions, maybe for themselves or for a loved one — their child, their spouse, their parent. Though the assessment process was explained to them, they still don’t really know what to expect. They’ve been given so much bad news lately, so much talk about diagnosis, prognosis, life changes. It’s been hard to listen to all that, and to absorb it, so they can’t exactly remember what they were told you were going to do.
You are the clinician specializing in
seating and wheeled mobility. You’re an occupational or physical therapist. Or maybe you’re the Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) who will be acting on the clinician’s upcoming recommenda- tions, doing the tting, making equipment suggestions, building the system.
The assessment is the rst concrete step in determining and then providing the optimal seating and wheelchair. So how can you make the evaluation as successful as possible?
Mobility Management asked Stacey Mullis, OTR/L, director of clinical marketing, Business Region Americas, Permobil, for suggestions on conducting an effective assessment, including paying attention to those intangibles that don’t involve a tape measure. On the other end of the equipment process, U.S. Rehab and the University of Pittsburgh have teamed to evaluate the outcomes of wheelchair provision, as expressed by the consumers who use the technology.
— Ed.
Q&A: The Seating & Mobility Evaluation with
Stacey Mullis, OTR/L
Q: In addition to taking measurements needed to recommend/ t the ideal seating and mobility system, what other informa- tion do you seek to gain from a seating and mobility assessment? What other topics are important to discuss?
A: Since an ideal seating and mobility system directly impacts function, it’s important to nd out what “a day in the life” of our client looks like. Do they have a desk job that requires a certain seat- to- oor height? Do they drive daily and independently transfer themselves and their chair to their car? Do they break down their chair, or is it important that it all stays together?
It’s always critical to ask questions about their lifestyle and daily tasks to ensure that the equipment selected is functional for them.
MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2018 23
MobilityMgmt.com
Creating Assessment Success
In Complex Rehab Technology, Getting the Intangibles Right Can Make a Big Difference
ANXIOUS WOMAN: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/KERKEZ