Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 1978,2,30-34 Moulded supportive seating for the disabled*

In severe cases of physical disability intimate supportive seating may be required to provide maximum comfort, a good position for functional activities, improved respiration, relief of localized pressure, control of spasm, protection, or improved management. A service for providing such seating has been developed at Chailey Heritage. The seat is vacuum-formed from thermoplastic materials, having a soft non-absorbent foam for the liner and a hard semi-rigid outer shell. A mould is obtained by casting the patient using the vacuum con-solidation technique and by recording the resulting impression using plaster-of-Paris. Nearly 200 seats have been made using the technique with a high rate of success. The importance of seating Good seating contributes significantly to enjoyment and functional daily living for both the disabled and the able bodied. Most people spend several hours each day sitting, whether for eating meals, watching television or as part of their jobs. For the disabled the period may begin as soon as they are dressed in the morning and continue late into the evening, a period of perhaps 12-16 hours. Despite this long and intimate contact people frequently accept very poor quality seating. Observations once made in a furniture store revealed that, on average, people spend less than one minute sitting in a chair to test it for suitability before making a purchase. All too often a similar uncritical approach is applied to the disabled by those responsible for specifying a particular seating arrangement. What is the purpose of a seat? Normally a seat can be specified from two considerations; firstly its function and secondly All correspondence to be addressed to N. D. Ring