Question
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a power seat lift?
Answer
Power Elevate
A power seating option is power elevate. The seating angles, as in tilt, remain the same at the hips, the knees, and the ankles, but the seat to floor height increases. Driving is usually possible while elevated. Depending on the system, the driving speed may automatically be reduced while the chair is elevated, because it is inherently less stable.
Advantages. One of the main justifications is this extends functional reach for the client. Things that were out of reach may now become in reach, if the client has the motor ability, by changing the seat to floor height. Changing the seat to floor height also helps optimize transfers, particularly when the client is transferring to various height surfaces. The height of the toilet, the height of the bath seat, and the height of the bed may all be different and this allows the client to find that optimal height for that transfer. It also provides access to a variety of height work surfaces and this is where I think that power elevate can be particularly helpful with children. Children may go from a small desk, to a counter-height table in Art class, and then to the dining room table at home. This provides access to those varying heights. By raising the height of the system, the client now has better visual regard of their environment and certainly better social interaction. These two justifications are not always very helpful from a funding standpoint, but they are certainly benefits to our client.
Disadvantages. The main disadvantage of power elevate is the price. It is very difficult to get funding for these. Also there are only certain power wheelchairs that offer this feature and so we might be limited in the bases that we choose. The initial seat to floor height might also start off a little higher, when we add this to a base.
