Amanda “Rocks” Her Wheelchair for a Walk – an interview with Tamara Kittelson-Aldred
Tamara Kittelson-Aldred, M.S., OTR/L, ATP/SMS is an Occupational Therapist in Montana who has been practicing for more than 40 years! She has been using Dynamic Seating with the clients she serves for 10 – 15 years now. Tamara and I talked about her experiences with Dynamic Seating, particularly with one of her clients, Amanda.
Saving Wheelchair Equipment from Destruction: Dynamic Seating to the Rescue
I recently presented a webinar on Dynamic Seating through AbleNet. One of the participants shared that he had successfully used Dynamic Seating with a client who routinely ‘destroyed’ seating and wheeled mobility equipment. Vincent Coratello is an Adapted Equipment Specialist and Minister of Fleet Operations at Allegheny Valley School in Hummelstown, PA.
Dynamic Seating and Medicare
Is it possible to get funding for Dynamic Seating components through Medicare? What about funding for clients who are on both Medicare and State Medicaid? To get the answers, I contacted my friend Andria Pritchett, Executive Director of Clinical Education for Numotion.
Wheelchair Seating Surfaces, Cushions & Dynamic Seating
Can a Dynamic Back be used with any type of seat? Does the movement allowed by this component limit what seating surface can be used? This is an important consideration. A seat or cushion is typically designed to support the pelvis and provide pressure distribution when the client is in a static position. Dynamic seating gets things moving!
Dynamic Seating: a cost benefit analysis
Whenever I recommend complex rehab equipment for a client, I need to be aware of the cost of my recommendations. Why? One reason is that my documentation must often include why something less costly will not meet the client’s needs.
Supplier Interview: Dale Thomas – a success story!
Dale Thomas is a supplier with National Seating and Mobility in Lexington, Kentucky. He is fairly new to this field, but certainly not to complex rehab equipment, having a young son who has cerebral palsy and uses wheelchair seating and mobility. Dale is a big fan of Dynamic Seating and agreed to talk with me by phone recently.
Evaluation, Simulation, and Dynamic Seating Trials
Recently a therapist asked me how she could recommend Dynamic Seating components if she didn’t actually try these with a client. Great question! It is not typically realistic to conduct Dynamic Seating trials as one would need to place Dynamic Seating components on a client’s wheelchair for trial and often the frame would need to be modified to accept these components.
Let’s Get Together! Using Multiple Dynamic Seating Components
Dynamic components can be used individually, however combining these components can often maximize the impact Dynamic Seating can make and better meet the client’s needs.
Dynamic Seating: What Does the Research Say? Part 3
Our last two blogs explored some of the published research that has been done on Dynamic Seating, demonstrating the effectiveness of this intervention for many of the clients using wheelchair technologies. This blog will review some additional research that has been presented at Wheeled Seating and Mobility conferences such as the International Seating Symposium, but has not been published. Although this information is not in the literature, it can still be helpful in directing our interventions.