|
|
|
|
|
|
| Greetings! |  Happy New Year and welcome to the January Standing Room Only Newsletter. In this issue you will find information on self defense for wheelchair users, blog posts on international disability culture, benefits of the newly re-designed EasyStand StrapStand, description of viewing the world from an able-body & disability perspective, and 2011 "Don't Just Sit There..." seminar schedule and course objectives.
EasyStand Blog
Visit the EasyStand Blog for insight into the standing community and share your comments.
|
|
|
|
Ability to Protect
|  Self Defense for Wheelchair Users
by Mike Duenas, ATP
Last year, my son and I had the privilege to attend our very first "Metal & Muscle" Expo. One area that caught my attention was the "Self-Defense" booth. Duane Stevenson, a Personal Trainer and owner of Monster Warrior Cross-training, has had a disability since a very early age. He talked with such a confidence that you knew he could handle himself anywhere under any circumstance. Mr. Stevenson went on to say that in the world we live in people in wheelchairs are just as susceptible to violent acts against them as any able body person. He told me how a person who uses a wheelchair might defend themselves and how in most cases the disabled person just needs to buy some time during an altercation. Several tactical moves and just being prepared can make all the difference between living another day or becoming a statistic of a senseless act of crime.
|
Tiff's Corner
| 
Tiff Carlson Talks International Disability Culture
All-Terrain Wheelchair Banned From Public Land: Cruel or Understandable?
It's been a frustrating series of events for Jim Starr from England. After taking his all-terrain wheelchair in public a few times to enjoy the outdoors, he was told by local authorities that he needs a special license. Who's ethically right and who's ethically wrong in this situation?
U.K. Embraces Disability Culture Like No One Else!
As an American, it can be easy to think our country is the most progressive country in the world when it comes to disability. However sometimes in the US, if people see a wheelchair they gawk and stare like they're seeing a dolphin for the first time. But in Europe, they could care less and usually kept on walking, talking, immersed in their own thoughts. You really know a culture is beginning to truly accept a minority when you begin to see them featured in the media.
|
New StrapStand
|  Improvements and Additional Options for 2011
Would you prefer standing directly from your wheelchair, rather than having to transfer out of your wheelchair, into a stander? Then you should consider the EasyStand StrapStand! Newly redesigned in 2011, the StrapStand has many improvements and new options. Clinicians will love the improved Swing Away Leg option that accommodates larger wheelchairs up to 38" wide. It's designed with an operator lever which swings the legs in/out, similar to legs on a patient lift. Multi-adjustable footplates, independent kneepads, various tray options and several other support and positioning options have been added, many that are similar to the Evolv. Check out new StrapStand Options.
|
|
Shawn Shares
|  Like, Totally 80's Music Video Based Disability Perspective by Shawn Dean
The song "Take On Me" by the band A-Ha is one of greatest pop songs that came out of the 80's, and it's definitely in this guy's top five fave songs of that decade. The song also had a fantastic music video that included (at the time) cutting edge animation technology. Watching that video now days I can't help but think that it provides a perfectly analogous representation of my particular way of viewing the world. On the one side of the mirror, if you will, I view the world from the perspective of a person who has lived fourteen and a half years with a pretty significant disability, but on the other side, I still view the world with able-bodied eyes having spent the first seventeen and a half years of my life with a full arsenal of physical faculties. What a lot of people don't realize is that when you suddenly become paralyzed there's no switch that gets flipped in your brain that shifts your outlook on the world from an able-bodied to a strictly disability perspective.
|
Clinician Resources
|  Don Just Sit There... Seminars in 2011
"Don't Just Sit There..." is an assistive technology seminar on weight bearing and movement presented by Andy Hicks or Peter Wankelman. The "Don't Just Sit There..." seminar is being offered as a 1-Hour Bonus Seminar to Freedom Designs' 1-day "Simply Seating" or 2-day "Seating: Bottom to Top" seminar. Attendees will understand why children need frequent position changes, how movement benefits their cognitive and physical development, the problems associated with Metabolic Syndrome and how movement can help maintain their overall health into adulthood. Consider attending a seminar in your area and suggest it to your colleagues. If you would like a copy of the 2011 seminar brochure mailed to you, please email bryanne@easystand.com.
|
This newsletter is written specifically for adults and clinicians who work with adults. If you are interested in receiving the pediatric-centered newsletter, please Update Your Profile. Thank you!
|
|
Simply
add altimatenews@altimatemedical.com
to your
address book to ensure that you will receive
our email updates.
|
|
|
|
|
