Here is a video case study about a woman I met in New Jersey, Margaret Laino.  Margaret is an elderly woman with Cerebral Palsy, who lives in a developmental center. Some of the benefits that her therapists have noticed include better socialization, more strength, and better range of motion.

Dane’s EasyStand Evolv also has the Rotating Seat option, which helps with stand pivot transfers. Dane’s mom says the rotating seat helps her to transfer Dane from his wheelchair to the stander, “I love the rotating seat.  Since he can’t assist in transfers, the rotating seat helps me when positioning him in it or when im getting him out .”

Would you or someone you know want to be featured on the EasyStand Blog or Capable Kids Clubhouse? Let us know by contacting jackie@easystand.com or connecting with EasyStand on Facebook!

Ryan stands each morning while eating (or cooking) breakfast.  To learn more about Ryan and how his mom helps him work standing and other activities into his day check out his customer story or video.

Yvonne's sitting posture is not ideal for working.

When Yvonne stands up, she can breathe and talk better.

Yvonne’s smile lights up the South Center Sheltered Workshop. The staff and clients seem to enjoy the work and look like they are having fun doing it. Although everyone is treated the same, many people say that Yvonne is a teachers pet, because she is frequently laughing, joking and smiling.

Yvonne has Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair for mobility.  When she sits in her wheelchair, she has difficulty working and holding her head up, because of the curve in her spine when she is sitting. It’s also hard to hear her talk and more difficult for her to catch a full breath.

But when Yvonne is standing, it’s easier for her to hold her head up, speak and breathe. She stands in an EasyStand Evolv stander with a Swing-Away Front. This makes it easier for staff to help her into the stander, using a standing pivot transfer. Karen Noftsinger, Yvonne’s Physical Therapist, likes the way Yvonne stands more erect and expects she will get straighter as she has more time in the stander. Julia Montgomery, the trainer that works with Yvonne, said that standing frees up her arms and hands to work more efficiently, with better head control to see what she is doing.

Work can improve a person’s self-esteem, as well as standing, so they make a good combination.

What do you think? Do you or someone you know use a stander at work? Do you find it easier to do certain tasks while standing versus sitting? Please leave us your comments below.

For more information on fitting the EasyStand Bantam for your child, check out the EasyStand Bantam Fit Guide.

If a person is confined to a wheelchair and the muscles are shortened, they pull the lower leg back under the pelvic, and will pull the upper body back. So a person will have more problems straightening out their legs and will have problems leaning forward to bend their hips. This becomes a great problem with wheelchair seating and positioning, because the knees and hips will lose range of motion and the person will sit poorly, increasing the risk for pressure sores and skeletal deformities, creating pain and diminishing the quality of life.

A very encouraging article was publish recently in the International Journal of Rehabilitation, December 2009 where five non-ambulatory children with Cerebral Palsy were put in standing frames for one hour, five days a week, showing significantly lengthened hamstrings over the six week period. They also concluded that they expected to see greater lengthening of the hamstrings or straightening of the legs and better hip ROM, if the children stood for longer times and had consistent standing programs into the future.

Find abstracts for this article “The use of standing frames for contracture management for nonmobile children with cerebral palsy” and other related research studies.

Has standing helped reduces contractures in your child with Cerebral Palsy?  Are you a therapist that found this research study helpful?

Photo Courtesy: Mr. Thomas

Chloe, SMA: What looks like a button and goes beep, beep? Why Mom's nose of course.

Abbygail, CP: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the tallest of them all? Abbygail of course, thanks to her EasyStand Bantam.

For more great photos people using the EasyStand Bantam and other EasyStand standers, visit the EasyStand Flickr page.

We found thirteen articles showing that standing can decrease spasticity. Three of these studies combined standing with whole body vibration (WBV)-Garrett, Otzel and Ahlborg- and all had some degree of success in decreasing spasticity (used Ashworth and modified ashworth (MAS) in at least one joint). None stated how long these effects lasted.

For patients with spinal cord injuries, Odeen Bohannan and Richardson showed decreased spasticity following standing. Clinically however, the length of the effect may be so short that patients may feel that other interventions are more beneficial. Tsai showed similar effects in patients with stroke and hemiplegia.

Trembley (used torque and EMG – which is really the best way currently to measure this) and Zabel (used MAS) documented decreased spasticity following standing in children with Cerebral Palsy.

It’s important to state how each researcher defined and measured spasticity/tone as this field is rapidly changing. Over the past 5 years many articles have been published refuting the reliability and validity of the Ashworth and MAS. In 2001 NIH set new guidelines and suggested that researchers and clinicians use the Tradeiu. Today, most laboratory based researchers use EMG and torque to measure spasticity.

The survey data, Dunn, Eng, Huston and Warren (as cited by Walter) is less reliable, but all showed patients reporting decreased tone, spasticity, spasms and reflexes.

When taken together, this data is important because just a few years ago we might have thought that standing would increase spasticity. Further research is needed using better measures of spasticity and testing the subjects hours and days after standing. It would also be beneficial to see if standing could increase “tone” in people with hypotonia.

Did you know that there is over 100 research studies related to the benefits of standing? See all the abstracts on the EasyStand website at www.easystand.com/research.

Read more blog posts from Ginny Paleg, PT
Can a Standing Program Improve Bowel Function?
Can a Standing Program Improve Motor Skills?
Can a Standing Program Improve Hip Integrity?
Can a Standing Program Improve Bladder Function?
Can a Standing Program Improve Bone Density?

What results have you seen in regards to standing and spasticity?

Amyotrophic Lateral Scelrosis

Cerebral Palsy

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Developmental Disabilities

Muscular Dystrophy

Friedreichs Ataxia

Guillain Barre Syndrome

Hydrocephalus

Multiple Sclerosis

Neuromuscualr Disorders

Paralysis

Scoliosis

Spina Bifida

Spinal Cord Diseases

Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spinal Stenosis

Stroke

Traumatic Brain Injury

What is NRRTS?
NRRTS is a professional association supporting individuals who provide Complex Rehab wheelchairs and seated positioning systems for people of all ages and diagnoses who have postural or mobility deficits. These professionals offer quality care and service using specialized knowledge, training, experience and skills to match the consumers’ needs to appropriate equipment. For more information on NRRTS or to find a NRRTS certified supplier near you, go to www.nrrts.org.

Altimate Medical is proud to be a Corporate Friend of NRRTS.

It’s that time of year again! Many students are headed off to various universities, technical, and vocational schools in the fall.  Has the student adequately prepared to be properly served upon his/her arrival on the specific college campus?  Find out what the U.S. Department of Education has to say about how to receive the most accurate accommodations possible and the steps that are suggested to guarantee successful experiences as they relate to the student’s disability and coping mechanisms.

This is Bell Hall, the only dormitory on Main Campus of GCSU. It is home to 190 of our Honors and Scholars Program participants and various other students who may have special housing needs.

Not only is it important for students to understand their rights under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but students must also understand their rights as a US citizen affected by disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act that was recently revised in September 2008.

As a student who understands the need for accommodation based on disability at the university level, here are a few hints to get started with the process.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that while academics are a vital aspect of the university or technical school, it is doubly important that the services students are granted adequately meet their needs so that they are not forced to cope with aspects of students disability that can be alleviated. When a student tours a school, I would recommend that he/she set up a meeting with the disability services office on the same day as the tour.  This is so that he/she has had time to look at the “lay of the land” before formulating questions to ask the disability services staff.

Some of the pertinent questions to ask disability services providers for those students with extra challenges include:

1. How close is the actual campus to the dorm?
2. Is the cafeteria in an accessible location?
3. How can I transport my textbooks from class to class? (If you live in Georgia, check with AMAC and see if your institution is a member.)
4. Will classes be able to be scheduled to accommodate possible fatigue and medical emergencies?
5. Will the student be granted extended time for testing periods just in case fatigue takes over during the test? If so, where must he/she go to obtain the accommodation, and what is the procedure?
6. In case of an elevator malfunction, is it possible to relocate classrooms to assuredly accessible locations?
7. What types of assistive technologies are available for the student to succeed in the classroom environment?
8. If financial assistance is needed, how is it obtained?
9. How recent does medical documentation need to be? (If you live in Georgia, here are the University System of Georgia’s documentation requirements for several different disability classifications, and here are the general documentation requirements that must be satisfied by every student requesting services.)
10. Does the school have copies of your last (2) Individualized Education Plans and/or Section 504 Plans? Often, these are used to determine the frequency that a student has used an accommodation or taken advantage of a modification during his/her high school years. Two IEPs or 504s are often needed to mark trends or patterns in order to determine whether or not the accommodation will be granted to the student at the college level.
11. What kind of testing accommodations are offered at the school? Use of a calculator? Use of a word processor? Notetakers and scribes?

Secondly, you may want to ask about possibly networking with other students who have similar impairments. Whether that means meeting them in person or connecting through Facebook or Twitter, that person can give you sound advice to which you and he or she are able to relate.

Thirdly, if you have an interest, there may be an organization on campus that promotes disability advocacy and awareness under the leadership of students with disabilities. Sometimes, it’s just a good feeling to know you’re not alone.

Fourth, ask about how you need to make your professors and other university faculty and staff aware of the condition(s) and the accommodations that you will receive through the school’s Office of Disability Services. In most cases, the office will write a letter to each professor stating the needs of the student and the accommodations that will be exercised during his/her class.  If possible, you may want to arrange a meeting with the Director of Disability Services or your case manager, whatever the case may be, and your professors to discuss accommodations.  Then they can see you face-to-face and know that you wish to take an active role in your college education.

Throughout this experience, remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question. You, as the student, are on a quest for information, and the university personnel is there to help you. That’s their job. They love students.

Lastly, and most importantly, enjoy your time as a college student. When choosing a major, choose something that you are passionate about so that you will not “burn out” as quickly, make good friends, study hard, and make sure, no matter what, you ensure that you are accommodated so that you too may have an equal opportunity to a college education!

Are you, or were you a college student with a disability? What advice do you have for others? What worked or did not work for you?

This is the first post by Erin Breedlove, a new guest blogger on the EasyStand Blog.  Read on to learn more.

As many individuals with disabilities find, it is often difficult to discover a niche in this modern society that labels people as if they are soup cans or some such material.

I’m Erin, a college student with cerebral palsy. Though my CP is mild, I feel the social effects of it almost daily. Everything from the stares by ignorant people in the aisle of the grocery store to the frustrations of being nineteen years old and unable to drive as of right now seems to get to me. However, it’s always easier to focus on the negative when angered by an issue that can’t be controlled. I know though, that I am blessed. I have walked since I was five-and-a-half years old, and despite the doctors telling my parents that I would never learn to walk, talk, read, write, or drive, I could spell my name by the age of two-and-a-half. I also was reading on a first grade level by the age of four.

My life has been spent with the mindset that I have to defy the so-called “standards” set by this cruelty of a modern society for individuals with extra challenges. So it takes me ten minutes to put both of my shoes on, my orthotics, and my socks. Are you going to tell me you’re sick of waiting on me to do something independently? I think not!

Throughout my life, there have been many special angels who have spent countless hours dedicated to encouraging, helping, and supporting me.  All the while, they have shown me what it means to care for and to advocate for individuals with disabilities. I have turned the demonstration into passion and into my life’s work.  I have advocated on behalf of and worked with children and young adults affected by disability for six years. I will be attending Georgia College and State University beginning in August to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education. While attending GCSU, I will serve as the Vice President of Programming for ABLE Student Alliance, which is our organization for disability advocacy on campus. In the position, I will be responsible for organizing awareness activities for the campus community, disability awareness promotions, and providing necessary resources to students, faculty, and families.

Over the course of the nearly two years I have worked with the Georgia College family, there have been many instances in which I just know that the college is right for me. For example, the campus’ physical size is smaller than that of my high school and is the first college campus I have ever been able to walk completely independently, my dormitory is on main campus and the room is completely accessible. Though I don’t use a wheelchair, I do use a shower chair to take my showers, and those were the only rooms that have that feature.

More than that, Georgia College has disregarded the “soup can” mentality and shown me how to be passionate and advocate for those things in which I believe. In working with the disability services provider, I have found that advocacy is my passion. Thus, upon graduation, I will go on to receive my Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling to either serve as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the state or to become a disability services provider for a university. If you’re interested in following my journey, I author a blog called Empowering People and Changing Lives that not only serves as a space for me to chronicle my continuing quest to empower people and to change lives, but it is also my goal to provide resources to students, parents, and professionals. Remember, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, we must “be the change we wish to see in the world.”

How has your disability affected you socially?  How do you defy the labels that others might place on you?

Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.

Meet Capri Eckonen, a happy nine year old girl who loves dancing and listening to music. She was born with Cerebral Palsy which limits her dancing physically…but Capri dances from the heart.

Capri lives with her grandparents Tom & Diana and does most of her dancing in her EasyStand at home. “When Capri stands we roll her close to the TV and she tries to dance to the country music that is playing,” Grandpa Tom says. Capri stands, or “dances”, at home three evenings a week for forty-five minutes each time.

“Capri stands, or ‘dances’, at home three evenings a week for forty-five minutes each time.”

Capri also uses a stander at school three times a week for thirty minutes each time.  She spends part of her day in a regular class room and the rest of the day in the special education room.

Capri’s grandparents don’t let Cerebral Palsy keep her from having a full life.  They keep her busy with activities that she enjoys like swimming, standing, and of course dancing!  Tom adds, ”We really enjoy seeing her stand up and she seems to enjoy standing!”  Read Capri’s Story “Stand, Dance & Splash!”

Does your child stand? Here are some more fun activities for kids to do while standing.

How do you focus on your child’s abilities rather than focus on their disability? Does your child have anything special that they like to do while standing?

Up until 2004, I was able to walk with crutches, but was considered to be a home-bound walker because I could only walk 15 feet and on a good day.  Even then I used my power chair for mobility.  The only alternative that I had to being in my chair 16-18 hours a day was lying in bed.

One day while at physical therapy in 2005, my Physical Therapist Kim McPhail asked me if I had a stander.  I asked her what it was because I didn’t even know there was such a piece of equipment available.  She explained what it was and how she thought it would be beneficial for me to own one.  When I got home from Physical Therapy, I got on the Internet and found http://www.easystand.com.  I then called my friend, and awesome Occupational Therapist, Teresa Plummer.  I asked her if she thought a stander would help me and she said, “I think a stander is a great idea.  You should have had one a long time ago.”

So, the first thing I did was contact my insurance company and they told me that they didn’t cover standers.  Let me make it clear, this is not the case with all insurance companies, every payer and every state is different.  After talking with Nancy Perlich, Funding Specialist at Altimate Medical, she explained more about funding for standing frames and that I would have to purchase a stander through a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) provider, since EasyStand doesn’t sell direct to the customer.  I was OK with this because I wanted to ensure that I got the right stander.

I called my OT, Teresa and asked her exactly what options I needed on my stander. Since I was paying cash instead of going through my  insurance company, I called three different DME providers and got quotes.  Williams Medical Supply in Nashville, TN is who I purchased my stander from.  Bob Brake was the best to work with and the price was reasonable.

Once I knew the price, I realized that what I had in savings wouldn’t cover the cost, so I needed to earn extra money.  One thing that I did is ask my friends to put money toward the stander rather than giving me Christmas gifts that year.  I also received a donation from a local non-profit.  So, one could say I came up with some creative ways of getting the money together.  The most important thing is it worked!

One thing that I did is ask my friends to put money toward the stander rather than giving me Christmas gifts that year. I also received a donation from a local non-profit. So, one could say I came up with some creative ways of getting the money together.

On January 31, 2006, my stander was delivered.  When I first got it I couldn’t get into it independently.  After some adjustments, now I am standing everyday for 30 minutes or more and I can get in and out of it independently! While standing, I may call friends on the phone, eat, write, etc.

Here is what I learned in my process of getting an EasyStand:

1. Do your research on standing frames that are available.
2. Work with your PT/OT/DME before buying a stander so they can assess your abilities and standing needs.
3. Contact your insurance company and ask a lot of questions.
4. Get creative if your insurance company does not cover standers!
5. Find a DME supplier you’re comfortable with & request a to try the stander first.
6. Stand on a regular basis and set goals!

What did you learn on your journey of getting a standing frame? Did you get your stander covered by insurance or Medicaid, or did you have to “get creative”?

This is a guest post on the EasyStand Blog, by Rhonda Clark.

Having Cerebral Palsy for almost 40 years now, working with many physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), and medical doctors (MD) has pretty much become the norm for me. Over the past 13 years I’ve had the privilege of working with some of what I consider the best PT’s, OT’s, and  MD’s. That is not to say that the PT’s and OT’s that I had prior to 1996 weren’t good ones, but for me it took moving to Nashville, TN to find what I believe is the medical team that really made the difference for me.

The Cost of Dependence
I have had my own place to live since December of 1987, but at that time I still needed someone to dress and bathe me because I couldn’t do it on my own.  Once I was put in my wheelchair I was pretty independent.  In the state of Tennessee if you are the least bit independent, home health care is not paid for unless it is for a medical reason.  So, due to the fact that I wasn’t able to dress or bathe myself I put an ad in the newspaper and hired someone to come in twice a day to get me up in the morning and assist with ADL’s and come back at night and put me to bed.  The person I hired was great, but I wanted to be more independent, get up when I wanted to and go to bed when I wanted to.  Not to mention the fact that it was very costly to pay someone twice a day to help me.

Independently Dressing & Bathing Myself … for the most part
In February of 1996 that I met Jennifer Etheridge (the first PT that I worked with when I moved to Nashville). So, one day while working with Jennifer in physical therapy I asked her, “Do you think I’ll ever be able to dress myself? She said, “I don’t know let’s try.”  The first thing I had to learn was to sit up by myself from a lying position.   I felt like a fish out of water trying to sit up.  After several attempts and me saying, “I can’t.”  Jennifer sat me up and said, “We don’t say I can’t in here, do you understand me?”  She laid me back down and I was so mad and frustrated at the fact that I couldn’t sit up that somehow I was finally able to sit up.  After months, many laughs and tears, I was finally able to bathe and dress myself except for socks, AFO’s (braces) and shoes.  When I first started dressing myself it would take me four hours to get ready and now I’ve got it down to an hour.

When I first started dressing myself it would take me four hours to get ready and now I’ve got it down to an hour.

A Second Opinion Changed My Life
I had pain  in both of shoulders since I used crutches to walk for so many years.  I never could walk that far, but I did walk.  One morning in February 2004 I woke up with my right shoulder hurting so bad that I couldn’t move, talk, or hardly breathe the pain was so great.  I was able to get the phone to call a friend to help me out of bed and get dressed.  Then I called Jennifer and told her what was going on.  She asked if I called my orthopedist, and I said yes and he couldn’t see me until the end of March.

Here I am with one of the great members of my medical team, Dr. J. Craig Morrison, Orthopedic Surgeon.

Jennifer said she would make a call to Dr. J. Craig Morrison to see if he would see me, if for nothing else a second opinion.  Well, that second opinion changed my life forever.  When I went to Dr. Morrison my right hand was tightly fisted shut and was stuck to my chest with my elbow pointing straight up in the air as it had been for 34 years.  I talked with Dr. Morrison at length and the only thing that he would guarantee me was that he would get me out of pain.  After a few MRI’s, surgery was scheduled for April 2004, I had what is called shoulder impingent, bone rubbing up against bone.

Socks, AFO’s, and Shoes No Longer Stop Me
Two days after the surgery I began outpatient physical therapy with Kim McPhail.  One of my goals was to be able to use my crutches enough to safely and independently transfer in the bathroom and get in and out of bed.  One day when Kim was working on my shoulder my hand opened for the first time in 34 years, and I started to cry.  It was a Whhooo Hooo moment for sure!  Dr. Morrison won’t take the credit for it and neither will Kim.  The new goal that I had was to take communion in my hand at church just like everyone else and I accomplished it.  It is so cool to be able to use my hand now.  In 2005, Dr. Morrison performed the same surgery on my left shoulder because I was having pain like I had with the right.  I went back to Kim for physical therapy, and after we finished I began occupational therapy because I wanted to be able to learn how to put my socks on.  With the help of my OT Dawn Brennan I was able to put my socks on in one week.  Then came the AFO’s and shoes.  The first time I put on my socks, AFO’s, and shoes it was the coolest thing because that was the one thing that was stopping me from being independent.

The first time I put on my socks, AFO’s, and shoes it was the coolest thing because that was the one thing that was stopping me from being independent.

The bottom line is this: Set realistic goals, make sure your goals are heard, and that whoever you’re working with also has those goals in mind.  My goal, way back when, was full independence.  I am very fortunate to achieve and maintain my goal, because I worked, and still work, with the team that made a difference for me!

Do you have someone in your life who has made “all the difference”? Has your medical team helped you express and achieve your goals?

I was curious enough to watch the video & am very glad that I did.  Amazing…almost brought tears to my eyes!  DJ Gregory is a man born with Cerebral Palsy and told by his doctors that he would never walk.  His love of sports brought him to the game of golf.  Watch as he accomplishes his dream by walking the entire PGA Tour using his cane, over 900 miles, just as the pros do!

Does DJ’s video inspire you to follow one of your dreams?  Do you know someone like DJ, who has amazing determination?