Undergraduate Student Presents at RESNA Conference

Stephanie Holt, an undergraduate student in the Speech Language Pathology Department, recently returned from the RESNA conference in Atlanta for people with a common interest in technology and disability.

 

RESNA is the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America.

 

The RESNA conference provides opportunities for those wishing to improve disabled peoples' lives by helping them reach their goals through the use of technology.

 

Holt and classmate Steve Sbjoblom, in the assisted technology class under the direction of professor Beth Foley, created from scratch a specialized bed for a 6-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who was falling out of his bed at night.

 

"The bed had many details needed for the boy and also for his mother who stays at home and takes care of him," said Holt.

 

"It was crucial for us to listen to the family's needs on this project and go from there," Sbjoblom said.

 

Features of the bed included side railings at least 12 inches long to prevent the child from rolling out of bed. The top of the mattress had to come directly to the mother's hips to help her get the boy into his wheel chair. A respiratory equipment drawer was included beneath the bed for his breathing gear.

 

"The respiratory equipment drawer was important — at night the boy needs a respiratory mask to sleep with and it was falling off," Holt said. "We created a face panel that is transportable but gravity will not move the face mask so it will stay on all night."

 

Sbjoblom said he and Holt had a goal of not only completing the project, but also making it into something that the family would be delighted with.

 

Holt presented the project to RESNA and received positive feedback and high scores for a well-developed job, but she said her favorite part of the project was presenting the bed to the family.

 

"All of our hard work was well worth it to see the light and happiness the family had when we presented them the bed," Holt said.

 

Sbjoblom agreed. "I was so happy to see the smiles and gratitude from the family as we showed them the bed."