Question
Are there less costly alternatives to a custom seating system when faced with a very limited budget?
Answer
There is a low cost option if you need a way to see what is happening under your client but do not have access to the high tech computer systems that provide a topographical view of asymmetries and pressure areas. If you go to your local craft store to the artificial flower aisle and look for the floral foam used for flower arrangements. You will need a two inch thick sheet of the foam and cut it to fit in your client’s wheelchair seat. Put a solid seat insert in the wheelchair seat with this foam on top of it and have the client sit down on top of the foam. When they stand back up, an impression will be left in the foam to help identify positioning issues such as pelvic obliquities, pelvic rotation, etc.
If you need to create your own custom seating on a limited budget, there are some low-cost options to consider. If you are involved with mission trips to third world countries, a very inexpensive seating system can be created with bean bag filler and space bags. Simply empty the bean bag filler into the space bag, place the bag into the seat and once the person is sitting on the bean bag filled space bag, begin to vacuum the air out of the space bag to form a molded seat. This can be created for as little as $23. I am not recommending this for mainstream use here in the US, but it can be an option for volunteer mission work where there is literally no funding available.
Another option is “foam-in-place” seating. It was first created in 1984 and is one of the oldest methods of custom seating but is still very functional and commonly used. For this process, there are three chemicals you mix together, and the chemical reaction will create foam. You take the foam and pour it in a bag placed over the wheelchair. The foam then expands up and around your client, creating a custom molded seat. It is fairly inexpensive and also fairly easy to use. You can make some decent custom pieces such as lateral supports and foot plates using this material. You can find more information and a diagram of the fabrication steps on this website: https://www.sunmatecushions.com/pages/liquid-sunmate-foam-in-place-seating
Editor’s note: This Ask the Expert was adapted from the article ‘Selecting the Ideal Wheelchair Seating System’. The complete article can be accessed here.
