Southpaw Enterprises
Pawprint September 2010
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New Products from Southpaw!

Southpaw Marble Panel 
Southpaw's Marvelous Marble Panel 
 
Cool glass, sparkling light, gentle noise! You get it all with this Marvelous Marble Panel. Mount it low on a wall and see how entranced your clients and students are with this new interactive sensory panel. More than 1,000 iridescent marbles fit into a steel grid on the panel that is illuminated by diffused lighting. As your clients turn the marbles they receive visual, tactile and aural sensory input, and experience a calming sensation.

Southpaw Bean Chair

Southpaw Bean ChairWOW! You can rock your cares away in this comfortable chair - OR - you can turn it over for a peaceful stationary seat, with a quiet hideaway underneath. This sturdy birch frame has a heavy duty cordura nylon seating area that's big enough for two children, or a child with a therapist or parent.

Deanna MacioleSeating: It Is Not One Size Fits All
Deanna Macioce, MS, OTR/L
This month we are going to continue looking at different ways to address regulation and attention, but in regards to the options available for positioning.  Many times children with sensory processing disorder demonstrate behaviors and the inability to attend to table top and floor activities because of the seating apparatuses they are using.  Sitting on the floor does not provide their bodies with the proper amount of support, decreasing their ability to attend and focus to the task at hand. The typical and common seating options available in the classroom, at the dinner table, or for playtime do not work for everyone.

With any sitting arrangement, it is important to try and achieve proper body mechanics.  Even if your child or student does not require specialized seating, it is recommended that you have them use a chair or desk that allows them to have their feel flat on the floor and their knees bent at 90 degrees.  This can be achieved by placing a box or stool underneath their feet.

When performing table top activities, various options are available to help children avoid falling out of their seats, dozing off during class, or relaxing by lying on the table surface.  Ball chairs are great because they provide slight movement, as well as proprioceptive and vestibular input to children during class work, helping to keep their arousal at the right level.  T-stools encourage core stability and balance and require children to weight bear through both legs helping to keep both their minds and bodies in an alert state.  Leaning chairs are great for those children who love to always lean back on the back legs.  They give children the ability to do this without being a distraction or falling over.

Many children who demonstrate attention difficulties struggle to keep their bodies still and their minds focused during floor time activities.  When trying to provide the best positioning during such activities, a variety of seating options are available.  Cube chairs are ideal for toddler and elementary school-aged children.  These chairs allow you to choose from two different heights, allowing feet to be flat on the floor and the hard sides help provide boundaries for personal space.  This is also helpful to address body awareness.  These chairs are great for those little ones that love to squirm and need more physical boundaries than what a carpet square can offer.  The HowdaHUG™ is ideal for floor time offering children the back and side support, as well as the ability to rock, meeting their wiggling needs.   These chairs allow children to be close to the ground, but provide stability, and the proper input for attention.  Southpaw's new Indoor or Outdoor Floor Sitters are great for children who require additional support due to mild tone and mobility issues.  They allow children to be on the floor, at the same level as peers versus in a heightened supported seating apparatus.

These are just a few ideas and suggestions for the classroom or clinic setting, but it is also important to pay attention to these concerns at home and explore options for dinner and homework activities.  So before you throw your hands up in the air and become frustrated with a child's lack of attention and focus, remember to continually put together the puzzle of regulation, adding in the piece of seating.

Sens-Aura from Southpaw  
Sens-Aura Installations
 
Sens-Aura has recently completed 2 new sensory room installations.  Go to our website to see video and photos of the new rooms.

Sens-Aura 
Multisensory Environment Open House
 
Have you had an interest in Multisensory Environments but don't know where to start?  Southpaw would like to introduce their new Sens-Aura Multisensory product line by inviting all interested to our office in Dayton to see our Multisensory Room.   Tom Marshall, product manager for the Sens-Aura line, will demonstrate all of the products in the Multisensory Room and provide information to get help you design a room that meets the needs of your students, clients and staff.
 
Multisensory Environments have been shown to help with Autism, Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, Developmental Disabilities, Mental Illness, Pain, Palliative Care, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury and Wellness.
 
Who should attend?  OT's, PT's, Special Education Teachers, SLP's, Recreational Therapists, Administrators and parents.
 
To register for the Open House email [email protected].  Please pre-register so we can have enough materials and not overcrowd the session.
 
Dates for the Open House are:

Oct 21
Nov 4 & 18
Dec 8
 
Can't make one of these dates?  Contact Tom to schedule a time that works for you.
 
Do you have a room and want to get the most out of it?  Tom is available for training your staff on equipment and client protocols.