CE Mobility was approached by Sue Christie, the organizer of a charity golf day at Zwartskop Golf Course in aid of raising awareness of persons with physical disabilities and funds for the National Association for Persons with Cerebral Palsy.

The National Association for Persons with Cerebral Palsy referred little Andrew to us for a seating assessment as CE Mobility offered to donate a wheelchair to a child in need, in support of the event.

Andrew is a 6 year old boy with Cerebral Palsy. He suffers from Spastic Quadriplegia. Coming from a disadvantaged background, Andrew has never had any therapy and prior to his assessment at CE Mobility, he had never sat independently.

Andrew cannot sit on his own without external support. He doesn’t have controlled movements; he has poor head control and increased extensor patterns of the upper extremities that automatically influences the muscle tone on the lower extremities. He also needed a seating item that would give him tilt in space to at least accommodate the head position and ensure optimal trunk positioning.

After thorough assessment, our trained Occupational Therapists prescribed Andrew a CE Positioning Wheelchair. This wheelchair allows Andrew to be seated in a semi-reclined position, with lateral trunk support. Additional padding was used to close any gap between the hips and side support provided by the chair in order to support him as much as possible and such that he can be as stable as possible in that particular position which will then help prevent the head, arms and legs from going into too much extension, and the hips from going into abduction.

A pelvic strap was used to help to keep the pelvis, legs and hips in symmetry.  A contoured head rest helps to keep the head in a neutral position and a harness, along with the tilt-in-space ensures that Andrew remains in an upright position.  This position will also assist him to breathe easily and will also improve social interaction and make it easier for the caregiver to feed him in that position thus making digestion much easier.

What a priviledge it was to witness the delight when Andrew sat on his own for the first time!