Columbia OT Students Build Assistive Devices to Empower Local Children with Disabilities
For children of any age, much of the day revolves around sitting at a table. They eat meals at the table, color and play games, and as they grow older, they use desks to work on school assignments. But without the ability to independently sit upright, tables are inaccessible to many children with disabilities.
For 2-year-old Zoey, the solution to this problem came in the form of an activity chair, created by students in the occupational therapy program at Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. The students created the chair through a course in assistive and adaptive design that’s been offered to Columbia OT students since 2022 and provides about 20 bespoke devices each year to children in need.
With her new chair, Zoey will be able to pull, touch, and hold things due to the stabilization of her waist, allowing her to be more tactile and move her upper body safely.
“The chair is going to help her, first with teaching her that she has the ability to do these things, and second, strengthening those core muscles that are necessary for her to be able to do those things when she does move out of the chair,” says her father, Liam Karter.
Zoey’s chair and 19 other devices created by students this year were recently presented to 10 children and their parents at the Assistive and Adaptive Technology Innovation Showcase, which allows the students to display their creativity and client-centered approach to patient care.
“These projects are time intensive, require creativity, and require students to think on their feet: all critical skills for clinical life,” says course director Rochelle Mendonca, PhD, assistant professor of rehabilitation & regenerative medicine. “The showcase gives the students the chance to demonstrate their hard work, innovativeness, and accomplishments and see how their work impacts their clients.”
In its third iteration, the course has evolved to become more structured and allow for more collaboration between students and a patient’s community, including family members, teachers, and therapists.
“The assignments now allow for more reflection from the students and ensure that the students feel confident that the devices they build really meet the needs of their clients,” Mendonca says.
Another aim of the course is to highlight how low-cost affordable solutions can help patients whose needs are not being met through the health care system. All devices made through the course are built with tri-wall cardboard, a sturdy and affordable material that allows students to experiment and modify the device for their patients’ needs.
For Zoey, the opportunity to participate in the program came at the perfect time. Zoey’s occupational therapist recommended the program to her family after they had been searching for adaptive chairs on the market but were denied by insurance. Previous experience with one of the occupational therapy students in the course also encouraged Zoey’s family to pursue the program.
“Overall, it just felt very personable. When we came for Zoey's fitting, it was just good to see a familiar face, not only for us, but I think for Zoey, too,” says her mother, Tasha Karter.
Mr. Karter believes that the personal experience of collaborating on a device with students and faculty created an infectious joy unique to the program.
“It felt good coming into the environment because the students really love what they are doing, they feel good about what they are doing, and that spreads around to everyone,” Mr. Karter says. “From the directors down, everyone is just willing to help people and give back to children in need and that is a really beautiful thing.”
Mr. Karter is grateful for Zoey’s participation, and the legacy each patient experience builds for the program.
For the students participating in the program, witnessing their work change their patients' lives was powerful.
“Seeing Zoey use her chair really underscored the importance of assistive technology/adaptive devices for occupational therapy clients and how much of a difference they can make in our clients’ lives,” says Cynthia Hsu, one of the students who helped create the device. “Sitting upright independently is essential to engaging in everyday activities and to participate in life, and I’m so glad we were able to build a device which allows Zoey to do so.”
For Kaitlyn Louie, a second-year OT student who worked with Hsu on Zoey’s chair, the project reinforced the value of celebrating victories of all sizes, no matter the budget—something she believes will be crucial for her future as an occupational therapist.
“The most unforgettable moment of this experience was watching all the children, including Zoey, use the assistive devices we created as students. Walking around and seeing their smiles, it was clear how much our work had positively impacted their lives. It even brought tears to my eyes,” Louie says. “This created a lasting memory for me, one of my favorite moments as a student, and it truly reinforced my passion to become an occupational therapist.”
