Dayton's Story

Child's name: Dayton

Product: Jenx Prone Stander

Centre attended: Hadrian Special needs School

Therapist: G Baird (Physiotherapy)

Background: Dayton is seven and a half years old. He has contractures causing a loss of range of motion in his knees and ankles and has tight hamstrings and gastronemius muscles, the main muscle in the calf. He also has femoral anteversion bilaterally, affecting him on both sides, which is a condition in which the femoral neck leans further forward than the rest of the femur, causing the lower extremity on the affected side to rotate internally, for example, the knee and foot twisting towards the midline of the body. He has no hip subluxation, meaning there is no partial dislocation in his hips. He has mild scoliosis to the right of his body, but it is correctable. His Gross Motor Function Measure, a way to measure change in motor function in Cerebral Palsy sufferers, is measuring at level four.

Description of product trialled: The equipment Dayton has at the moment includes rigid AFO’s, a mechanism to maintain the range of movement he currently has, a corner seat with leg gaiters, a chair for use in school and a standing frame. He also wears a helmet while at school. Dayton is trialling the Jenx Prone Stander, he was already using a standing frame, but requires a frame that allowed for his contractures better, whilst simultaneously giving hip and trunk support to correct the scoliosis that is developing.

General Benefits: As Dayton is a non-walker, the regular standing provided with the prone stander has had huge benefits for him. These include the weight bearing activity, which increases his bone density and improves circulation. There is prolonged stretching on the muscles which will prevent his contractures from getting worse and it will improve digestion, bladder and bowel function.

Emotional Benefits: He is happy being in the standing frame, it helps to aid better interaction with his peers as he can stay eye level with them when they are standing. The tray and bowl attachments of the stander have huge multi-sensory benefits because of the input he can have, and enjoyment he gets out of playing with different things such as, water, sand, different toys and different materials. The stander can easily be moved around the classroom so he is able to engage in PE activities and dance and movement. Unfortunately he can only use his stander in school as there is not enough floor space at home, but he is still using it every day he is at school.

Conclusion: Dayton tolerates the stander well, and is very happy to stand regularly for approximately an hour at a time; he now tends to stand most school days. Although it hasn’t stopped it completely, the stander has significantly decreased the likelihood of his sensory seeking behaviour of rocking back and forth. The prone stander allows for good leg and hip alignment and the best position of the knees which means that his contractures and range of movement have not continued to deteriorate. He is being monitored carefully for his knee contractures, range of movement in his ankles and any deterioration in his hips, thus far though, no risks have been identified. Dayton continues to benefit from The Prone Stander and is a very happy and healthy boy.