The Canadian Seating and Mobility Conference was held on September 10-11^th in Toronto and was a great success! Over 600 people attended CSMC which offered a strong line-up of sessions and an impressive, and busy, exhibit hall.

The Seating Dynamics exhibit hall booth was packed each day. Nancy Schmidt and Gavriela Guerrero of Freedom Designs shared the booth and helped answer questions and provide information alongside Greg Peek and Michelle Lange. Freedom Designs provides Seating Dynamics products on their wheelchairs, listing these options on their order forms.

Michelle Lange presented a session on Maintaining Posture by Providing Movement to over 50 participants. A primary goal of wheelchair seating is to maintain the client’s optimal seated posture. As many clients extend against typically static surfaces and move within the seating system, posture is often lost, and the client needs to be repositioned. For clients with increased muscle tone, large and forceful movements, or rocking tendencies, contact is lost between the client’s body and the seating surfaces, resulting in suboptimal positions, such as a posterior pelvic tilt, when force or movement ceases. While perhaps counterintuitive, providing movement within the seating system using Dynamic Seating allows a client to move and returns their body to a neutral seated position. We explored exactly how clients lose optimal posture within their seating systems and how to maintain posture through movement. For more information, check out this blog. And keep an eye out for a webinar on this topic in 2025!

Michelle Lange with demonstrates dynamic seating with actual chairs and components.

The class enthusiastically joined the hands-on activities and asked great questions. We learned much from each other through discussions.

We also learned so much from participants in the exhibit hall representing many of Canada’s provinces – particularly funding challenges as well as practical solutions. We hope to share more in a future blog on Canadian funding. Many participants shared their own use of Dynamic Seating with the clients they serve or told us of clients they worked with who need this important intervention. We hope to hear more from our friends in Canada!

Michelle L. Lange, OTR/L, ATP/SMS and Greg Peek, owner and designer

“We had the privilege of attending the CSMC’s “Maintaining Posture by Providing Movement” workshop, presented by Michelle Lange, OTR/L, ATP/SMS. Michelle’s expertise in seating and mobility is second to none, and she delivered invaluable insights on enhancing posture through targeted movement strategies.

Her ability to break down complex concepts and share real-world examples was truly impressive. It was an eye-opening experience, showing us how these principles can significantly improve both comfort and functionality for those using assistive devices. We’re excited to apply what we learned and improve mobility solutions moving forward!”

Nancy Schmidt, customer relations manager
Gavriela Guerrero, plant manager
Freedom Designs
Simi Valley, CA