Innovation Showcase

    For this project, my client is Craig, a 36 year old man who was recently diagnosed with a C7 complete spinal cord injury. Craig owns a music retail store and has a wife who also works. Craig would normally work around 70 hours in his store and his hope of having the store is so that his wife could stop working once they have children. Craig fell off a ladder at his store and resulted in his spinal cord injury. He has flaccid paralysis in his upper and lower extremities. He has no sensation below the C7 level and requires assistance with ADL's, transfers, and mobility. 

    For my project I created a plastic holder for Craig to use at his music retail store that can attach to a wheelchair or walker. The idea I had was to create something where Craig could attach the holder to a wheelchair for him to be able to play CD's or other items into slots that are cut out on the top of the container. This would hold the items in place and give Craig an easier way to carry items around the store. The one I created has slots cut out to hold CD's, but different sized and shapes could be cut out to hold other items he might need to carry around the store. The holder has zip ties that can be used to attach it to the armrest of a wheelchair. The materials I used to create this project was an empty swiffer wipes container and zipties. 

    I chose to create this project because in the case study it was apparent that it was important for Craig to be able to continue working in his store so that his wife could one day not work anymore. Since Craig has flaccid paralysis but use of his upper extremities, I thought that this could help preserve some energy while he is at work. This project could serve as an adaptive device since it can attach to wheelchair or walkers to be a container to hold items, but it could also serve as a therapeutic activity. Having the slots in the lid and putting the CD discs into the slots can be used to work on fine motor skills. 

    This assignment supported my learning because it made me think out of the box. We were given certain items to choose from to incorporate in our project and it made me have to be creative. I had to consider what my client can do and what his diagnosis limits him from doing. I had to think about how to make this client centered and adaptable for other with various other diagnoses.