Description
Postural care in the seated position is big business in America. Postural supports are well recognized as best practice for wheelchairs, but what about the 3,650+ hours per year clients spend out of their seating systems? What about postural care in lying? When completing a seating evaluation, we cannot miss the opportunity to improve our clients’ resting hours and ignore their need for postural support out of the wheelchair. Case studies and emerging outcome studies show improvements in pain, body shape, and sleep quality. Where are we now? We are in the best place we have ever been in this country for Postural Care, and with your involvement we have the potential to improve the lives of many of the clients and families we serve.
1.The participant will be able to: Identify 2 effects of gravity over time on the human body in positions of sleep and rest.
2.The participant will be able to: Identify 3 specific interventions to provide support in the supine position.
3.The participant will be able to: Define 24-7 PCM
Patricia “Trish” Toole, OTR/L, MsOT, MAT, ATP, MOM is an Occupational Therapist with 21 years of lived experience in assistive technology, seating, positioning and postural care. She has worked professionally in the areas of assistive technology, wheeled mobility and positioning for the last 13 years including 10 years running the seating clinic at Provail in Seattle. She teaches professional continuing education courses in the Seattle area, does consulting work, and is co-chair of the RESNA Int’l SIG 24-7 PCM (Postural Care Management) Committee. Trish says postural care, and with it, the ability to comfortably position clients for sleep while protecting their body shapes, has been a game-changer. As a mom of three active boys, including, Alex, 21, who lives with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy, she knows first-hand how important it is to listen well, to empower a person’s first circle of support, and to have a long-haul perspective.