IGMH Special Seating Service

Table Of Contents

What is Special Seating?

How can Special Seating help children?

What does the Special Seating Service at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) do?

What is Life Skills Therapy?

What are the types of Special Seat?

How do I get a Special Seat or wheelchair for my child?

Information Resources

What is Special Seating?

Many children with disabilities are unable to sit without support. These children need 'Special Seating' to give them more support than a standard chair of wheelchair. A special seat may be designed with or without wheels, depending upon the size.

How can Special Seating help children?

Special Seating provides the support some children need to sit safely and securely. A Special Seat helps children to be:

More independent, as they are not relying on someone to hold them.
More involved in everyday activities such as seating and playing.
More sociable with their family and friends.
Able to communicate more easily with the assistance of special equipment if required.
Healthier, by reducing problems with swallowing, digestion, respiration, contractures and de formalities. These can result from a child lying down all the time or sitting in a bad way.

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What does the Special Seating Service at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) do?

The Special seating service consists of;
      Physiotherapists, a Speech and Language therapist and technical staff.

Together, these people provide a personalized service for children who need Special Seating and communication equipment. Having a Special Seat, combined with receiving therapy, allows the child maximum opportunity for increased function, therapy improving quality of life.

What is Life Skills Therapy?

The life skills therapy service is based at the Physiotherapy and speech therapy department of IGMH. It provides multidisciplinary therapy input using purposeful and meaningful activities to increase skills and independence for a child in:

• communication
• maintaining their posture - the way they sit or stand and move
• understanding and learning about the world around them
• eating and drinking

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The Special Seats

The Special Seating Service has three main 'Special Seats' available-the Dhirun 1, Dhirun 2 and Dhirun 3. Each of these chairs provides supportive seating. This is individually adjusted and modified for each child by IGMH's Special Seating Team. All of the Special Seats have a tray and have some room for the child to grow.

Dhirun 1

The dhirun 1 is designed for children who are still small enough to be easily carried. The chair provides good postural support and is suitable for use inside or outside the home or at school.

Features include:

• Two tilt options - active and resting
• It sits low on the ground for children to play with other children of the same age
• It is light weight and portable

Price: 3388.11Mrf

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Dhirun 2

The dhirun 2 is for larger children. It is designed to encourage children who can propel themselves to be independently mobile.

Price:

Dhirun 3

The dhirun 3 is designed for teenagers and young adults.

Features for both the dhirun 2 and dhirun 3 include:

• Quick release rear wheels
• Adjustable rear wheel position
• Adjustable seat tilt

Price:

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How to get a Special Seat or wheelchair for your child

At the physiotherapy department of IGMH, a screening assessment will be done to see whether the child will benefit from the special seating service. The family will also be informed about the cost of the Special Seating. Once finalized , a date will be arranged for a one month intensive therapy and treatment at IGMH which will include:

Assessment - The Special Seating team and therapists gather information about the child's health and physical abilities. They also take measurements for building the Special Seat. After the assessment the seating team will decide in discussion with the parents what type of special seat is needed. The life skills team will decide what therapy activities will best promote the child's skills and independence.

Fitting - The child tries the special seat and final adjustments are made. Sometimes it will take more than one fitting to make sure that everything is adjusted correctly.

Training - Before the child leaves the hospital, both the child and parents are taught how to use and look after the special seat and any additional equipment provided. The therapists will train the parents how to continue working with their child at home to promote their skills and independence.

Follow Up - For every child an appointment for follow up is made six months later for the chair and equipment to be checked and altered as required. It is very important that follow up appointments are kept as children can grow and develop very quickly.

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Information Resource:

The Special Seating Service
Physiotherapy Department
Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital
Malé, Maldives
Phone: 335287

The establishment of the Special Seating at IGMH was led by the Maldives Government through Ministry of Health & IGMH, supported by MWASS, CARE Society and VSO Maldives. The Special Seating products were designed and initiated by Motivation Charitable Trust in Ragama Rehabilitation Hospital, Sri Lanka.