I entered the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) industry in January 2002.
I’m proud of my tenure, of launching Mobility Management, a publication devoted entirely and only to seating and wheeled mobility, and growing it through recessions and countless policy changes.
But because of my experience, it had been a long time since I’ve seen this industry with fresh, clear eyes.
I got that chance again last week, when my boss — Executive Editor Bob Holly — visited the Abilities International Accessibility Conference and Abilities Expo in Schaumburg, Illinois.
It was his first CRT show. Here’s some of what he noticed — and what I was reminded of again, anew.
• You are client centered. Bob remarked that whether we were in educational sessions or on the show floor, brand-centric mentions were relatively rare. Far more often, conversations started with a goal or desired outcome — such as independent mobility for a toddler. Only then did the discussion turn to technology, such as a GoBabyGo! adapted power ride-on toy, that would move the seating team toward that outcome.
We live in a consumer world of McRib sandwiches and new iPhones: A product is dropped first, and then demand is built after the fact, as we are told why we should want this new item.
CRT works in the other direction. Instead of trying to justify a certain product or brand, clinicians and providers ideally focus first on a functional goal. Only after that does focus shift to the seating or wheelchair or positioning devices that are the best fit. No starting with the product and then forcing it into the client’s equation of goals, environments and presentations.
• Everything matters (and impacts everything else). The next time you need a little pick-me-up, find a photo of a CRT wheelchair and look at it. What do you see, what does every component do, and what do the seating and mobility choices tell you about the wheelchair’s rider? The camber on this ultralightweight chair tells me it’s a sports chair, because it would never get through the average bedroom door. These elbow blocks tell me that this power chair rider’s arms would otherwise be shifted out of position when tilting. The height of this backrest suggests the rider needs more support.
You’ll be impressed by how much you know, maybe without even realizing it.
Every part of a CRT system is there for a reason, and one choice — such as posterior tilt — often leads to another, such as adding and justifying those elbow blocks.
In the Spinergy booth, Bob learned about how the number of spokes in a wheel can impact wheel flex, which impacts performance and ride. The number of spokes also impacts the wheel’s weight, which can affect how easily the chair can be transferred in and out of a car.
At the Switch! It Up adapted play products booth, Bob hit a button switch to activate a bubble blower. But what was the connection to mobility? First, switch toys can be fun for kids with mobility delays or impairments. But second, switch toys can demonstrate that a child understands cause and effect, a crucial requirement for power chair driving. Every detail matters in CRT.
• You embrace people in all their messy, radiant glory. We attended the educational session “Pediatric Seating and Mobility: Getting Off to the Right Start,” presented by Christie Hamstra, PT, DPT, ATP/SMS, and Lisa Kenyon, PT, DPT, Ph.D., PCS. A lot of degrees and certifications at the front of that room, for sure.
But while Lisa and Christie absolutely talked about the clinical importance of hitting early developmental milestones, they also talked about mobility in the real world — including that babies learning to walk fall down … a lot. Human progress isn’t a neat, linear equation. It meanders and shape shifts.
Christie and Lisa showed videos of Charlie, a toddler being introduced to the Permobil Explorer Mini. Lisa didn’t just lift Charlie up, carry him over to the Explorer Mini, and plop him onto it. As a first step, Charlie and his dad just played near the Explorer Mini; the second step was to move some of Charlie’s favorite toys onto the Mini’s tray.
When Charlie was finally ready to try the device, there was no stream of commands or directions from Lisa or Charlie’s parents. Just a little guy trying out that round, bright yellow proportional driving control. Charlie nudged it, grabbed it, worked out Hey, I think I am making this thing move in his own time. Cut to the next video, and Charlie is confidently driving the Mini down a hallway as he takes himself to a medical appointment.
Days later, Bob was still talking about Charlie — once a toddler without independent mobility, and now a toddler doing growing-up things in a world that’s become so much larger. For all the great technology CRT has — we saw the new Stealth Products proportional eye-tracking alternative driving control, for example, and Amylior’s CG Air cushion, Rifton’s gait trainers and Raz Design’s Trakz tub slider — this remains an industry with adults and children as its beating heart.
Thank you for the joyous reminder.
