Provisional Outcomes of Affordable Custom Wheelchair Seating for an Individual with Cerebral Palsy: Case Report

Abstract

The person with cerebral palsy has a range of functional limitations which can restrict activities of daily living. Sitting for extended periods is a pertinent issue to address. Custom seating orthosis combined with a wheelchair could reduce issues associated with long-term sitting in this population. The custom seating system for a child with cerebral palsy GMFCS Level IV was provided and outcome measures which measured functional grasping and seat pressure distribution was evaluated while the patient was seated in a traditional wheelchair as well as the custom seating wheelchair.Time to complete tasks while seated in the custom seating wheelchair was longer in duration than when seated in the traditional wheelchair, however, pressure was reduced in pressure prone areas and distributed more across pressure tolerant areas. The custom seating system provided to this patient evidences the utility and usefulness of a customized orthotic intervention for the wheelchair intervention. Additional accommodation to the custom seating could posit differences in outcomes as would an increase in study participants.

Re-evaluation of the Cerebral Palsy’s orthotic need in Adaptive Seating Orthosis (ASO) design

“…This is in line with previous studies by various researchers who have been actively searching for the most suitable choice of ASO for CP patients (Angsupaisal et al, 2017;Chung et al, 2008;Polhan et al, 2019;Ries, Novacheck & Schwartz, 2014;Ryan, 2016;Sahinoglu, Coskun & Bek, 2017;Vekerdy, 2007). The seating orthosis developed by Polhan et al (2019) and Sahinoglu et al (2017) are shown in Figure 1 Based on an interview with parents regarding the seating and engagement of CP patients, Bolas and Boyle (2017) found that using the autonomous mobility and level of social skills of ASO patients is considered meaningful if they can be sociable, learn new skills, be self-sufficient, have fun, and achieve personal objectives. Therefore, Bolas and Boyle indicated that when evaluating the best for CP patients and their families, it is important to figure out what is relevant and important outcomes.…”