APC Kids
Focusing on the needs of your child.
Because of their often highly active lives, children have different prosthetic requirements compared to most adults. Careful consideration of all the needs of the child and the family is essential to provide a successful outcome. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of prosthetic components for children available.
Making children feel comfortable and at home is an important part of APC Prosthetic’s philosophy, which is evident in our recently completed kid’s fitting room. This room is specially designed to make any visit to APC Prosthetics an enjoyable experience, with lots of entertainment available including toys games and a plasma screen with DVD player.
We have also had some help from the amputee association who have organised visits to Westmead Children’s hospital with an amputee dog who has successfully completed a peer support training program. The dog can provide an uplifting experience for young amputees who are obviously going through a tough time.
Prosthetic Options for Children
Helping your child achieve the best possible outcomes.
The child amputee has a completely different set of needs and wants to an adult amputee. Similarly the function a child requires from their prosthesis differs vastly from an adult. The activity level of a child is usually far greater than that of an adult and being an amputee certainly does not change this. This needs to be taken into account regarding prosthetics components, which need to be durable and in many cases provide energy return.
There is a completely different set of components for children that are light weight and obviously much smaller. As a child grows they can progress onto the smallest adult components where thereare even more options available.
Recreational prostheses are often very important for children as they allow them to participate in different sports and activities with their friends and family. Examples may include a waterproof leg to go surfing and swimming, a leg specially designed to play soccer, or an arm that can be used to ride a bike.
The growth pattern of children requires more frequent prosthetic adjustments and replacement of both the prosthetic sockets and components. As a child grows the height of their prosthesis needs to be constantly adjusted to accommodate for the lengthening in their sound limb. Similarly as the size of their residual limb grows with the rest of their body, the prosthetic socket no longer fits and needs replacing.
At a recent world congress and trade show in Leipzig, Germany, Otto Bock released a new range of myo-electric prosthetics specially designed for children with upper limb amputations. Technological advances have made these components lighter, more powerful, splash proof and provide quicker reaction times than those previously available. Batteries have been made considerably smaller, lighter yet longer lasting.
Fun & Games
New iPad for the APC Kids Room
There has been a recent “new edition” to the Kids room at APC Prosthetics courtesy of a donation from Shane Bushell and the Amputee Association, which makes waiting for your prosthesis or adjustment so much more fun!
As Shane wanted some of this money to go towards children with amputations, part of this donation has provided an iPad for the Kids room at APC Prosthetics.
Since receiving the iPad, we have installed a number of games and children’s activities and it is now waiting at reception. The idea behind it is that either children, with amputations, who have an appointment or children, of parents who have an appointment, can use the iPad whilst they are here. We all know that these appointments can take longer than expected … it has already proved a great way of keeping the younger ones (and sometimes mum and dad!) entertained.
So, next time that you are in with your kids in tow or your son or daughter is attending an appointment – just ask the team at the front desk if you can grab the iPad for the duration of your appointment and watch the time fly by!
A big thank you to Shane and The Amputee Association of Sydney for their generous contribution to the APC Kids room and the enjoyment of children visiting APC Prosthetics.
