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Cerebral Palsy is a result of abnormalities in the parts of the brain that control muscle movements. For children with cerebral palsy, their muscle control, coordination, and posture will be affected to varying degrees by this faulty development or damage to areas of their brain.
Although it is not progressive, cerebral palsy is a permanent condition, and a lack of appropriate positioning and lack of active muscle use may result in worsening secondary impairments. Adaptive seating provides positioning that is optimal for both health and function.
Appropriate seated positioning aims to have a beneficial effect on tone, reflex activity, prevention of deformity, maintenance of skin and tissue integrity, and postural stability and alignment, optimizing function. Additionally, appropriate positioning while in adaptive seating can have a positive impact on the pulmonary function of children with cerebral palsy, with implications for capacity for speech and overall lung health.
At Aash Child Development center, we build our own adaptive sitting from resources available locally to us as part of our Adaptive design program. Therapist technical expertise and parents skillfulness with building this equipment is vital. One such chair was built today for Reyansh, who is a spirited young child with cerebral palsy having difficulty with independent sitting. Reyansh can now sit upright in the chair, instead of lying down supine during waking hours. The upright potions give him more view and chance of interaction with his environment. Parents can also use the chair during meals time.
This is also an apt example of the frugal innovation at the peak in India a.k.a Indian Juggad!