While Complex Rehab Technology is
indeed complex, two of the most powerful
tools in the quest for creating the optimally
functional seating system might be a
pen and a notebook.

In the hands of your client, a family
member or caregiver, that notebook can
gather the kind of information that’s difficult
to capture during relatively brief clinic
appointments.

Positioning at Home

Gabriel Romero is VP of Sales & Marketing
for Stealth Products. In addition to all the
high-tech electronics and space-age materials
that Stealth Products uses, Romero is
a big believer in the powers of observation…
including observations that aren’t
necessarily possible when you’re seeing a
client for just an hour at a time.

“You can’t expect that what [the family]
sees all the time is also going to happen
at a 9 a.m. clinic visit, when [clients] are
well rested,” Romero pointed out. Instead,
positioning difficulties “happen at 2 p.m.
Or it’s an environment that triggers it:
Maybe [positioning problems] happen
more when they go outdoors and they
start to bounce around in gravel and dirt,
and their positioning gets lost.”

That’s the type of information that clinicians
and suppliers aren’t able to see.

“That’s why it’s so important to journal,”
Romero said. “The more a family member
journals when they get new equipment or
when something’s changed… just journal
for a month. You’ll start to see critical
things in a month’s time.”

While taking detailed notes can be helpful
at any time, Romero especially appreciates
those notes when the seating team is trying
a new regimen. “We used to tell people all
the time when we were trying aggressive
positioning: Look for redness. That redness
doesn’t happen years afterwards; it starts to
happen quickly, depending on the position.
That’s a key thing.”

Romero advises family members
and caregivers to note any changes in
behavior, no matter how subtle. Is the
client seemingly trying to avoid making
contact with an armrest, for example?
Does a non-verbal wheelchair user
suddenly seem reluctant to be in the
wheelchair?

“If you see something different, if you
see discomfort, if you notice excessive
sweating — it’ll show you that something’s
going on here and maybe some adjustments
need to happen,” Romero said.
“Something could be different with the
cushion, something could be different with
the back.”

Caregivers and family members are
usually keenly aware of what’s routine
behavior and what’s not — and when
something different happens, Romero
suggests they write it down so they can
share notes — good and bad — with the
seating team.

“It takes a village,” he said, “and the
more that the village is prepared with
information, the more we can talk about
what’s being experienced. A parent
or spouse or loved one is always with
them, and they know. They’ll know pretty
quickly.”