A stool and a little girl…

It all started with Anniston

In 2016, Jennifer met Anniston - a bright-eyed infant who was diagnosed with Krabbe’s disease. Krabbe’s disease is a leukodystrophy. It is much like Multiple Sclerosis in an adult. Anniston has a progressive disease. This meant not only was Anniston going to have trouble achieving milestones like sitting, but extra care would be needed to maintain sitting. Anniston was also growing out of her infant seats, such as a bumbo or upseat. Jennifer felt there has never been a seat on the market for children who pass that 6-8 month age and are still not sitting erect on their own on the floor or in a chair or stool. Anniston’s mom had a favorite infant swing too. While Anniston was getting longer and longer, Jennifer was thinking we need something to help Anniston get stronger and stronger. Feeder seats and pea pods were great resting devices for her growing body but nothing was available to support her in sitting erect with her feet on the floor. Initially, we (with the help of grandpa), developed just a stool with trunk support, thigh contact, foot contact. Then a desktop was added to help with upper extremity weight bearing. Sensory components were very important for Anniston. A hot (or cold) pack in the trunk support, a warm water tray for her feet, a vibration disc in the foam trunk support were all helpful in getting Anniston to relax while sitting upright with as little support as possible. Over time, the idea of adding a T bar to stand up from sitting was added. Then we made the desktop not only able to change angles it could elevate into an easel for standing artwork.

Working with Anniston inspired an idea! A therapy device specifically designed for flexible functionality and for right-sized therapy support.

Learn more about Anniston on her Facebook Page - Always Anniston

Early prototypes with Anniston