Equipment | SMAHeadlines.com

Ajax student uses webcam to join peers in classroom

December 17, 2010

Ajax student uses webcam to join peers in classroom

DurhamRegion.com | December 17, 2010 | By REKA SZEKELY

AJAX — Like any other Grade 1 student, Tristen Moses gets excited about going to school.

But instead of a traditional classroom, Tristen logs on via webcam from his living room where he can see his classmates at Bolton C. Falby Public School and his classmates can see him.

It’s all part of an innovative program created by Tristen’s teachers and the Durham District School Board and a team at the Grandview Children’s Centre.

Tristen has spinal muscular atrophy and was diagnosed with the condition when he was just 17 months old.

Click HERE or on the image below to read more…

Leave a Comment » | Canada, Education, Equipment, Technology | Tagged: canada, education, equipment, technology | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

Help the girl in the purple wheelchair, hurry

December 8, 2010

Help the girl in the purple wheelchair, hurry

Lincoln Journal Star | December 8, 2010 | By Cindy Lange-Kubick

Alyssa Miller has a purple wheelchair with her name embroidered across the seatback.

Her first choice would have been pink, her favorite color, but they didn’t have a pink chair when she needed one, so the Arnold Elementary first-grader settled for purple.

Which is her mom’s favorite color, by the way.

And also, by the way, Alyssa talks fast when she’s done being shy.

She moves fast on those battery-powered purple wheels, too.But when she wants to go somewhere in her parents’ pickup, she has to slow down.

Click HERE or on the image below to read more…

Leave a Comment » | Equipment, Fundraiser, Nebraska, United States | Tagged: equipment, fundraiser, Nebraska, united states | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

Back brace promised for disabled Taunton girl

December 2, 2010

Back brace promised for disabled Taunton girl

thisisthewestcountry.co.uk | December 2, 2010

HEALTH bosses have promised to urgently consider funding a vital back brace for a five-year-old disabled girl from Taunton after the County Gazette took up her case.

Alice Kemp has spinal muscular atrophy and needs a new back brace every time she outgrows her old one.

Click HERE or on the image below to read more…

Leave a Comment » | Equipment, Health Insurance, Uncategorized, United Kingdom | Tagged: equipment, health insurance, united kingdom | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

Wheelchair Appeal For Brave Little Girl

November 27, 2010

Wheelchair Appeal For Brave Little Girl

Selby Times | November 27, 2010

A WHITLEY family has launched a fund-raising campaign for their 29-month-old daughter who suffers from a rare genetic disease that means she will never walk, or even stand unsupported.

Little Beatrice Howden has type two Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a condition that stops signals from the brain getting to the muscles, causing them to become weak and wasted.
Children with type two SMA can usually sit unsupported but can’t stand or walk. A child can be affected only if both parents carry a faulty gene.

“It has been very hard coming to terms with the fact Beatrice will never walk and could have other problems, such as breathing difficulties,” said dad Andrew. “But she seems to have compensated for this by being a particularly bright and cheerful child. She surprises us on a daily basis with the things she can do.”

Click HERE or on the image below to read more…

Leave a Comment » | Equipment, Fundraiser, United Kingdom | Tagged: equipment, fundraiser, united kingdom | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

Berkeley Bionics: Introducing eLEGS

November 24, 2010

Berkeley Bionics: Introducing eLEGS

Not specifically SMA related, but I thought this technology was so incredible and this video was so inspiring that it was worth sharing…

On Oct. 7, 2010, Berkeley Bionics unveiled eLEGS, an exoskeleton for wheelchair users who are committed to living life to its fullest. It powers you up to get you standing and walking.

Leave a Comment » | Equipment, Inspiration, Technology | Tagged: equipment, inspiration, technology | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

Dinner To Raise Funds For Van

November 16, 2010

Dinner To Raise Funds For Van

Springfield News-Sun | November 16, 2010

By Whitney DeGroat, Staff Writer

Family’s vehicle needs to be modified to lift wheelchair for girl with spinal muscular atrophy.

Leave a Comment » | Equipment, Fundraiser, Ohio | Tagged: adapted vehicle, equipment, fundraising, ohio | Permalink
Posted by stronwi

iPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy | New York Times

October 29, 2010

iPad Opens World to a Disabled Boy

New York Times | October 29, 2010 | By Emily B. Hager

OWEN CAIN depends on a respirator and struggles to make even the slightest movements — he has had a debilitating motor-neuron disease since infancy.

Owen, 7, does not have the strength to maneuver a computer mouse, but when a nurse propped her boyfriend’s iPad within reach in June, he did something his mother had never seen before.