I have always thought that a rolling mount would offer more flexibility with regard to repositioning, suctioning, etc but it seems these folks are able to work around it.   Having the system mounted on the chair doesn’t affect their ability to recline, tilt or elevate legs and if you figure there’s a good 18-24 inches between them and the device, there’s room to lean forward or get in there for suctioning.  The mount doesn’t get in the way if pulling someone up in the chair from behind either.  I will try to survey our eye-gaze communicators about why they prefer the wheelchair mount and get back to you!  Like you, I have my own thoughts about it but I’d like to hear what they have to say…

 

 

Thanks to everyone who has written so far- I really appreciate it.

 

I’d be really curious to know why PALS who expressed a preference for wheelchair mounting wanted it expressly mounted onto their wheelchair.

 

My personal thought had been that on the whole, most people would be better served by using a rolling mount.  In addition to what Mary Jean, Kathleen and Joan mentioned, it seems like a lot of my former clients needed a lot of help with positioning (being straightened, lifted up in the chair, tilted back, leaning forward for pressure relief…) It was easier to move a rolling mount out of the way in order to help with positioning and saliva management.

 

 

Another thought- Earlier in my career, when it was more difficult to get an eye gaze system, the only people who were really getting them were people who truly were at an advanced stage of ALS. Now, for a number of different reasons, it’s a lot easier to get an eye gaze system. I’m imagining that more and more people who aren’t at such an advanced stage will be receiving the system, (and as follows, maybe more people will be mounting them onto their chairs?)

 

Just a thought. Thanks to everyone for their input

 

Margaret Cotts

 

 

Hi Margaret,

 

I doubt that this is the trend…

 

Of our advanced stage PALS who are currently using an eye-gaze system, 7 are wheelchair mounted and 3 are on rolling mounts.  

 

Recently, our patients have verbalized a preference for wheelchair mounting when given the option.  In some cases, we’ve had to spend a considerable amount of time getting the wheelchair mount just right for calibration accuracy and to ensure that caregivers can easily work around it or remove it as needed.   We’ve also done quite a bit of “rigging” with spare mounting parts.  

 

These are folks who, though they may be vent-dependent, are still getting out of bed on a regular basis and spend a considerable amount of time in their wheelchairs.   Since positioning can be problematic when trying to calibrate, a wheelchair mount seems to offer more stability and consistency. 

 

One patient, who does spend the majority of his day in bed, has his wife drive his chair over to him and swing the mount around so that he can access his system from bed. 

 

I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts!

 

Amy    

 

 

 

 

There is something I’ve been curious about for a while.-

 

I’ve been thinking about eye gaze systems, mounting, and folks with advanced stage ALS.

 

I wanted to take an informal survey - do people think that most folks with advanced ALS would generally be using a rolling mount for an eye gaze system, or a mount attached to a wheel chair?

 

(I have my own thoughts on what I think most PALS would be using, but I thought I would check with the group first ;-)

 

Thanks for your help with this-

 

Margaret

 

Margaret Cotts, MA, ATP

DynaVox Technologies & Mayer-Johnson

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