Disability and Mobility Do-it-Yourself Co-Op

PURPOSE: To examine the feasibility of a new open-area body weight support system (BWSS) to act as both an "assistive" and a "rehabilitative" device within the home.

INTERVENTION: A 5-year-old boy with spina bifida used the BWSS during self-selected activities for 10 weeks. Feasibility, behavioral, and clinical assessments provided a quantification of his activity in and out of the BWSS.

OUTCOMES: On average, the child used the device on 2.7 days/week and for 67 minutes/day during intervention. When in the BWSS (assistive role), the child's locomotor activity and engagement in adapted sports activities increased. When not in the BWSS (rehabilitative role), the child's functional mobility and ambulatory ability increased.

WHAT THIS CASE ADDS: The use of the open-area in-home BWSS was feasible for regular home use and associated with an increase in functional mobility for a child with spina bifida.