|
I will never forget the first time he was standing in his Smart Walker and noticed himself in the mirror, standing alone for the first time and smiling as he was so pleased
with himself. Shortly after that moment, he began to realize he was able to take steps, alone, also for the first time in his life. These proud moments were as beautiful to watch for myself as
they were for my husband. Our youngest daughter, 22 months of age, was pointing to her big brother and announcing wonderingly to us that he was walking. We have seen many other health benefits
from his use of this equipment which so far include therapeutic walking, weightbearing in an upright position, increased strength in his neck, back and legs, improvement in bowel function, as well as
benefit to his circulation system. The Smart Walker contributes so much to Nicholas' overall health and well-being by giving him the opportunity to stand in a correct weightbearing position rather
than sitting in his wheelchair for long periods of time. Parent
You have helped give her a wonderful gift and opportunity to gain some independence with her new walker. She is able to go in the direction she wants and has so much fun
with her peers at daycare. Parent
Aaron has had his smart walker for almost two years. It has made a big difference in him, in so many ways. He is always asking to go in his walker. I ask him
what he did today at school. He always replies with "I walk today". It has made him much more independent. He walks down the halls at school stopping at each classroom on his way and
saying "hi" to his friends. It has helped in his posture. When he sits on the floor or even in his chair he is sitting up straighter. It has made him more confident. When he gets in that
walker his head is up high and he just starts walking. His hands are free to walk up to play centres and participate with the other kids at school. He is almost just like all the other
children. And that is a fantastic feeling for him and for me. Parent
This is an expensive walker but watching my son Aaron in it has made it worth all the effort in getting it. I just hope other children with cerebral palsy will have the
same opportunity Aaron is having with his Smart Walker. Parent
Christopher has always loved to be in an upright position but was limited to the time spent in other walkers by his therapists because they did not encourage proper
gait. The Smart Walker, however because of its unique bracing system, with its reciprocal leg mechanism is actually good for strengthening muscles and stretching the tight tendons in the child's
legs. This is the only walker of its kind to mimic the correct movement of an ambulatory person. The other walkers also were much more cumbersome and the child had to have the ability to hold
onto a handle at the front of the walker. This is the only walker that has allowed our son to enjoy the pleasure of taking a step on "his own". The freedom that the Smart Walker gives to the
child, with its "hands free" feature was not obtainable in any other walker we tried for our son. Parents
The Smart Walker is a wonderful mobility device that offers a small child, whose legs scissor, to "safely" walk with reciprocal steps. This special walker also can help
strengthen a child's outside hip muscles and improve motor planning and direction control by offering some freedom to independently explore and play within their environment (indoors and outdoors) like
other children. This even includes walking to the park and skating. The Smart Walker was not designed to make a child walk "independently", but to offer some independent supervised walking
using this device. It has been this therapist's experience as well, that the learned reciprocal stepping in the Smart Walker can help a child progress to other walking devices, such as the
S.W.A.S.H. (standing walking and sitting hip orthosis) used with a regular anterior or posterior walker. This therapist also noted that each child appeared very happy and excited to walk in the
Smart Walker, which was a real positive experience for both the child and parent. The child with spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy can experience "real walking" in a Smart Walker, by taking actual
steps without anybody's help. Physiotherapist
|
