The email says "but not much else" for movement. I would investigate further what other motion the patient has. Often people don't think about foot or leg movement. Or, the patient be may have shoulder movement. All these motions are easier to harness with a switch.

I just wanted to bring this up, because a lot of people think that a switch can only be used with your hand. So they don't even think or investigate lower extremity movement.

One of my first that nursing home vent clients that I visited was using a switch. It took me a while to figure out that she was pushing the switch by closing her legs together. I don't know that I would have thought to harness that movement on my own without seeing it to practice.




Sincerely,
 
Antoinette Verdone, MSBME, ATP
Owner, Rehabilitation Engineer
ImproveAbility, LLC
Office: 512-522-1705
Cell: 512-497-6026
Email: xxxxxx@improveability.com
Web: www.improveability.com
Fax: 888-501-1009
Address: 7301 Burnet Rd, Suite 102-265, Austin, TX 78757
 
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"One cannot consent to creep when one has the impulse to soar" -- Helen Keller

On Jun 1, 2015, at 10:35 AM, Alisa Brownlee <xxxxxx@alsa-national.org> wrote:

Any suggestions for this writer?

Thanks

 

I am a nurse at a chronic care hospital and am currently caring for a woman with advancing ALS.  She has been using an EZ touch type of call bell, but is having an increasingly difficult time moving her head even the 2-3 mm needed to use it, especially when fatigued. She would be unable to use any puff/straw type of call bell because she is on a vent.  She is able to move her eyebrows vigorously at this time, but not much else.

 Do you have any information regarding more adaptive call bell systems that may be helpful for her?

     Thanks so much for any suggestions.

 

 

Alisa

 

Alisa Brownlee, ATP

Manager, Assistive Technology Services

ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Association, National Office and Greater Philadelphia Chapter

 

Office line: 215-631-1877

Business Cell: 610-812-0361

 

Twitter: alsassistivetec

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