Gravity Chair

Jack’s Gravity Chair

Thank you for an amazingly comfortable chair for my little Jack to grow up in! I suspect we will be purchasing every size to come! It’s the only chair where he can just relax comfortably, so we are very grateful! Thank you!

Jack’s Mum

Teagan’s Gravity Chair

The Gravity Chair has made a tremendous difference in improving the quality of life of our handicapped daughter, Teagan. It is by far the most comfortable chair she owns; it’s like a big, soft hug around her. Not only is she relaxed and happy in the chair, it is low to the ground, allowing her to interact and play with her younger brother. We credit the Gravity Chair with the fact that her brother now walks up to her, strokes her hair, and kisses her on her cheek. That is priceless.

Teagan’s Mum

The Gravity Chair has made such a positive impact in Teagan and her Family’s life! As a Physical Therapist, one of our main goals is to achieve optimal positioning, with the use of equipment, for the health of many body systems including respiratory, neurologic, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, renal, immune and digestive systems. The Gravity Chair easily assures we are addressing these medical needs for Teagan. The Gravity Chair allows Teagan to be in a comfortable, upright and supportive position which not only helps her medically and physically, she is able to participate socially with her one year old brother, Simon, as well as have more access to her toys, people and sensory experiences to advance her cognitive and communication skills. The chair itself is designed to give head, lateral and pelvic support without the addition of bulky, obtrusive trunk laterals, chest harness, pelvic straps, etc.. as Amanda expressed “it’s like a big, soft hug around her”. It is also so nice to have only one safety belt for ease of transfers, a mobile base and incline when needed.

I really appreciate all that you have done for Teagan and her Family! Without sharing Teagan’s specific medical needs in the testimony, the Gravity Chair has been a “life saver” for her.

Teagan’s Physical Therapist

Special chairs work wonders!

At Hamilton North School, it’s not unusual for the special-needs students to become agitated, sometimes for the smallest of reasons. And thanks to a grant from the Mazda Foundation, teachers have a new tool to counter that agitation, helping children to become focused again. Teacher Daina Brown calls them gravity chairs, special sensory chairs made out of contoured layers of foam that give the upset child a squeeze, similar to a hug. Brown said just five minutes in the chair can make a world of difference. Brown said the chairs conform tightly around the body, and the tightness allows the pupils to relax.

“At morning circle times, it keeps students calm and focused, so that they can participate.”

She said the chair moulds to the student, and there is a wedge underneath that enables the chair to recline to provide a calming sensation.

“It’s all about the pressure, that’s what gets them to relax.”

The smallest change in these children’s routines can disrupt them for the rest of the day. Brown said something as small as taking a different route to school, arriving late, or a change in staff member can upset them. She said in one instance, a child who usually comes to school on the bus came in a car. By the time he arrived, he was crying hysterically. She popped him in the chair and after 10 minutes, he was settled.

“The mum was able to leave and the student was able to carry on with the rest of their day.”

Brown said the majority of her students are nonverbal, but it is obvious by their expressions and body language that they love the chairs. The school’s paediatric physiotherapist, Susie Nyika, said students with disorders such as Rett Syndrome, ASD or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome may bang their heads, rock or hide under tables, which is not only distressing for the child, but can disrupt the rest of the class.

“One of the biggest challenges when educating the children is their sensory systems being completely out of sync, affecting their ability to focus.”

Nyika said the chairs provide a sensory break, calming them. Hamilton North School received close to $4500 from the Mazda Foundation last month to purchase two chairs.

Fairfax Media NZ / Waikato Times

How the Gravity chair makes a difference in Mauri’s life

Mauri has a diagnosis of Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy. For some time we have wanted to find a chair that would provide Mauri the support that he needs, while also allowing him to be relaxed and restrained as minimally as possible.

The Gravity Chair has been ideal for this. Due to its design, Mauri is able to be positioned safely in the chair with only a lap belt holding him. Mauri uses his Gravity Chair multiple times every day. He is able to be fed in it, both orally and tube fed.

It is ideal for interactive activities such as reading and games. It is also a comfortable relaxing place for him to watch his Wiggles DVD’s in.

I find the Gravity Chair to be very light and portable, and I really appreciate finding a product that is both simple and functional.

I would recommend the Gravity Chair to any parents and caregivers with children who have a disability.

Mauri’s Mum

Siera’s Gravity Chair

We would like to say a huge THANK YOU, to Wilson Home Trust for buying Siera’s gravity chair.

We appreciate it very much. Siera is very comfortable in it & even fell asleep in it today & is now watching tv in it.

It is very well made, soft yet supportive. Family & friends have commented on how awesome it is.

A thank you also to Claire at Mckenzie centre & Hayden at Medifab for helping make this available to us.

Anything we can do to make her day a little more comforty is well worth it.

Thank you once again, The Wilson Home Trust, you have given us a great start to the year.

Siera’s Mum

Alex’s Gravity Chair

Alex is my very precious 6 year old son who has severe spastic quad/dystonic cerebral palsy. Over the past 6 years we have been inundated with a lot of supportive equipment inorder to meet all of his physical needs. Medifab’s Gravity Chair is one Alex’s latest pieces of equipment and to be honest I don’t think I can really call it equipment. We call it Alex’s ‘lazy chair’. It meets his physical needs perfectly but with 100% comfort. Allowing him to truly relax and look relaxed!

As a parent, I love not having to strap him down like I have to with so much of his other equipment. In his Gravity Chair he only has one lap belt which I pull his shirt down over it so he looks totally strap-free! For kids that are constantly strapped into equipment, this almost strapless feature is very important!

Alex spends a lot of his afternoons and evenings in his Gravity chair watching his DVD or having books read to him. He gets extremely tired with his morning schooling and therapy so he spends his afternoon relaxing. Alex got his Gravity Chair is an alternative for him wriggling about on the floor. Alex relaxes in a very bad posture when he is left to freely move on the floor so sitting up is just like cruising on the couch in a physio-friendly way! We have found him to have far less pressure spots in his Gravity chair than in any other equipment to which has been a big bonus. It has also been good during those long nights when he is unwell. He can be reclined to keep his airways safe whilst he sleeps on and off in comfort.

Another huge benefit we have found with the Gravity Chair is that friends and family can get nice and close to him when they visit without bulky hard chair parts getting in the way. It might not sound important but when your disabled child gets too big to sit safely on your knee, having hard metal between you and your child isn’t so nice. Lovely soft chair arms make it very easy to snuggle up!!

If you are looking for a chair for your child that promotes excellent posture and structural support and that also meets their need to relax and not be stuck down by strapping, then I highly recommend the gravity chair. My only regret is not getting one sooner!

Alex’s Mum