Nothing About Us Without US Part Four Chapter 32 1 of 10 http www dinf ne jp doc english global david dwe001 dwe00142 htm part4chap32 Nothing About Us Without Us Developing Innovative Technologies For By and With Disabled Persons PART FOUR WHEELS TO FREEDOM 207 CHAPTER 32 Mobility Aids a Walking Toilet and a Seeing Eye Person for Carlos CARLOS is the son of migrant farm workers from Oaxaca one of the poorest states of Mexico During harvesting season his family used to come north to Sinaloa the state where PROJIMO is located to pick tomatoes When he was 8 years old Carlos already worked with his parents in the fields Sadly when he was 10 the boy was hit by a truck and his brain was severely damaged He remained mentally and physically disabled and also visually impaired Months after his accident Carlos was taken to PROJIMO by state social workers While he was still in the hospital his parents had abandoned him Apparently they had gone back to Oaxaca without leaving an address The social workers asked if PROJIMO could provide rehabilitation for the boy In effect PROJIMO became Carlos new family On arrival Carlos already had secondary physical and emotional problems His spastic body had become very stiff and he had contractures of his hips and knees He was almost totally blind and his mind did not function well He had very little short term memory and difficulty learning even simple things The few words he spoke were mostly abusive swear words He got angry easily and often cursed and spit at persons trying to help him He would repeatedly plead I want water or I want food even when he had just had plenty to eat and drink He constantly wet and pooped his clothing and bed Carlitos as he was affectionately called needed a lot of personal assistance plus a huge amount of understanding and patience Fortunately an older woman named Rosa who has worked at PROJIMO for years became like a mother to him Rosa lovingly bathed him and washed his soiled clothes 2 or 3 times a day Mobility To help Carlitos move himself about one of the first things the shop workers did was to build a wheelchair adapted to his size and needs At first he could not move his wheelchair at all But little by little he learned to roll it about In time he could more or less find his way on the pathways between buildings Water Play as Therapy In preparation for standing and walking the team helped Carlitos with range of motion and stretching exercises These helped to correct contractures and reduce the spasticity of his hips and knees At first he angrily resisted the exercises But when the team tried working and playing with him in water he loved it The water supported his weight and let him move without the fear of falling His pleasure and activity in the water seemed to help his stiff body to loosen up 2 17 2007 9 31 PM Nothing About Us Without US Part Four Chapter 32 2 of 10 http www dinf ne jp doc english global david dwe001 dwe00142 htm part4chap32 208 Standing Although Carlitos knees still bent stiffly when he tried to stand the team felt he had the potential for learning how to stand and walk At first he was non cooperative and understandably so After nearly a year without weight bearing standing hurt his feet But with daily practice his feet toughened The team found that the best way to get Carlos to try to stand was to put him with another child who was learning to stand 209 Walking When Carlitos first tried to stand at the parallel bars he had very poor balance He practiced daily Little by little his balance improved until he could take a few steps holding onto the bars After months of practice he learned to walk back and forth between the bars with fair stability When Carlos began to say I want walker the team asked Jaime to design a walker that would meet the boy s needs Mari and Inez tested him with walkers of different sizes and heights At last they found a combination of features that allowed him to stand straighter and more firmly Jaime a paraplegic wheelchair builder who works lying on a gurney wheeled cot built the 2 17 2007 9 31 PM Nothing About Us Without US Part Four Chapter 32 3 of 10 http www dinf ne jp doc english global david dwe001 dwe00142 htm part4chap32 walker out of steel tubing He used thin wall electric conduit tubing the same material used to make the wheelchairs 210 A Wooden Walker with a Seat Carlitos enjoyed walking with his new metal walker But his attention span was brief and he tired quickly After a few minutes he would want to sit in his wheelchair And a few minutes later he would want to walk again Because he was blind and had difficulty remembering it was hard for him to find things All day long he would call out to people to bring him his walker or his wheelchair When everyone was busy there was sometimes a delay and he would get angry and frustrated Carlos want walk NOW he would wail One day Ju n a disabled carpenter and brace maker asked Carlos Carlitos would you like a walker with a seat on it so that you can sit down and rest when you re tired of walking Yes said Carlos eagerly Carlos want walker with seat So Ju n made him a unique wooden walker with a seat 2 17 2007 9 31 PM Nothing About Us Without US Part Four Chapter 32 4 of 10 http www dinf ne jp doc english global david dwe001 dwe00142 htm part4chap32 Although transferring from his wheelchair to the wooden walker required stepping over the wooden bar that supported the seat Carlos soon learned to transfer without help With his new walker Carlos became more independent He no longer needed to always ask people for help and he began to take pride in doing things for himself His self help skills in walking helped prepare him for a better response to toilet training see p 212 211 A Seeing Eye Person for Carlos With his walkers Carlos walking improved But being blind he had a hard time finding his way Someone suggested a seeing eye dog But it was easier to provide a seeing eye person At PROJIMO there are always young wheelchair users who have trouble moving about by themselves These include Tere and Lupita who have spastic arms and legs One day Tere was practicing standing at the parallel bars At the same time Carlos was walking in circles around the outside of the bars holding on with only one hand To do this Carlos had to circle around Tere s wheelchair Once when he took hold of the handles of her wheelchair he laughed and tried to push it like a walker That gave Rosa an idea A Wheelchair as a Walker When Tere finished her