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Mount'n Mover News and Stories
The changing needs of living with ALS can be a challenging journey. BlueSky Designs is here to help navigate that journey by improving the quality of life and independence for both caregivers and people living with ALS. One journey we have been very fortunate to be part of began in 2006, when our first mount prototype was tested by Gae, a very active woman who lives with ALS. She was looking for something that can give her more independence at home and in the community. She found it with her Mount'n Mover and has used it ever since.
Sophia and her family are long time fans of the original Mount’n Mover. For over 5 years, they have used it to mount Sophia’s communication device on her wheelchair, bed and table. When they heard about the Easy Mover they were excited to give it a try. They soon fell in love with how easy and intuitive it is to use. They especially like that it requires less training for the multiple care givers working with Sophia throughout the day and the joints resistance can be customized making it easier or harder to move.
Brea was passing through the aquarium tube at Omaha Zoo and wanted to capture the sharks and rays swimming above her. Brea reclined her chair and used eye gaze technology to take a picture using a program on her Tobii Dynavox communication device. Brea can also use a switch to bring her communication aid into position using the Hybrid Dual Arm with Pow!r Shoulder.
Linae is a bright high school student who also takes college classes online. She has an interest in studying astrobiology and chemical biosignatures and enjoys playing Power soccer. She fatigues quickly due to Mitochondrial myopathy and Ehlers-Danlos joint hypermobility. In preparation for school, Linae recently got a double decker mounting system. A Single Arm Easy Mover holds her keyboard and mouse and a Dual Arm Easy Mover holds her laptop. By positioning her laptop higher she experiences less strain on her neck and it keeps her trunk more upright.
Michael uses a Dual Arm to hold his tablet and easily operates his dual arm Mount'n Mover using one hand.
Writer and activist Shane Burcaw has limited use of his upper extremities and has written about living with the disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy. In April 2019, Shane and his now-fiancee Hannah came to the BlueSky Designs office to have a custom Pow!r Mount fitted to his chair. The result was life-changing.
Since then, BlueSky Designs has teamed up with Shane to spread the word about the Pow!r Mount, which delivers a new level of independence to people who use power wheelchairs.
It’s no big secret that I have been opposed to using communication devices pretty much my whole life—that is, until now. My cerebral palsy affects my speech and mobility, but not my spirit. Although it is difficult for many people to understand my speech, especially before getting to know me, I preferred repeating myself a few times over using a communication device because that was more efficient. There wasn’t a communication device that matched my comprehensive vocabulary and my slow typing speed made the process too slow.
Many of you may already be familiar with Jack.
As a result of a spinal cord injury, Rick has limited movement and strength. See how he does photography and more with the support of his Mount’n Mover mounting system.
Check out Sophia, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and uses eye gaze technology and her two Mount'n Mover to communicate, learn and interact with her classmates remotely!
We took our existing iPad tray and tricked it out for his phone and two cameras!
Brian, Attorney at Law, originally bought an iPad tray with two custom camera mounts so he could film both himself and the interviewee during interviews.
His recent upgrades:
The Mount’n Mover mounting system has gone Hollywood!
NCIS New Orleans recently added Daryl Mitchell as the recurring character of Patton Plame, a computer security analyst for NCIS.
“Overcoming obstacles is the stuff of being a disabled person, and so when the mountain seems ever harder to climb, we look at ways of moving the mountain a little closer which, for most of us, means we can look at ways of making life easier in all kinds of different ways” - Rosie
----- (Copyright © 2014 by Rosaleen Moriaty-Simmonds, Photography by James Moriarty-Simmond)
As a college student Nicole needs to multitask—reading, writing, using a laptop and of course, eating. She can do it all more easily now. She uses a Tilt’n Turner and a Dual Arm Mount’n Mover to use her laptop and read at the same time. She can adjust and change the trays depending on her needs.
“It’s so much easier and more cost-effective than going around and trying to adapt all of her classrooms," says her father Karl. "She’s got what she needs with her, no matter where she is.”
Kevin knew before the end of his first week of his free two week Mount'n Mover trial, he couldn't live without a Mount'n Mover. Through crowd-funding he raised the money to buy it within 19 days.
In Kevin's Words:
“This mount is the best investment I made in a long time. It has surpassed just a mount for my communication device, and become truly a device essential to my daily living”
This quote coming from a man as active and particular as Kevin Williams is saying a lot: Kevin is an avid power soccer player, water skier, disability advocate, web developer, theater performer, techno-geek and assistive technology enthusiast who also happens to have Cerebral Palsy.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools transformed its Special Education program through the use of 30 Mount’n Mover workstations.
The adjustable Mount'n Mover offers a cost-effective Universal Design solution. It provides equal access to students with and without disabilities and makes the educational experience more inclusive for students, parents, staff, instructors and administrators.
Dad Says The Mount'n Mover Makes Danny's Eyemax Function.
"With the Mount’n Mover, the screen is repositioned to the exact location needed in seconds, and can be moved out of the way to drive and redeployed when he stops in seconds – making everything less time consuming and much easier for Danny, his teachers and support staff” -Ed (father) McNamara
“I remember being 13, when I first drafted my first letter to Barry Romich at the Prentke Romich Company (PRC) with various product suggestions and asking for a job. I think I had to send a couple more letters proving that I was serious.”
"I especially like my ability of tilting and turning my communication device, making it more accessible at any given time.”
“My favorite was the Northwest Territories in Canada. It was beautiful. One evening a herd of Caribou came through our campsite. I think a zipper broke on a tent.”
When you get to know Bob, two things become apparent: Bob has a mischievous sense of humor and big heart, and he loves sharing both with the world.
Upon entering his home you might be challenged to Karate (in which he has a black belt) or joked with, but ultimately the request always comes up. “How can I help?”
Bob loves life and he loves to advocate.
“[I] helped so many people learn how beautiful communication is, made people laugh constantly and fell in love with the joy that comes from doing something meaningful with life.” –The Tan Car
The executive director of Authentic Voices of America has built a career out of filling people with hope through enabling communication.
“To teach people to say hello to somebody or to show them how to tell their parents they loved them is something amazing.”
On a tiny screen, dragsters rocket neck and neck while exuberant 6th graders cheer them to the finish. “I’m an educator,” says the amateur cinematographer proudly displaying his students’ annual race on his iPhone Touch.
"I appreciate this innovative and functional technology - I use a power wheelchair, drive a van and use a Mac."
He needed a movable mount so he could bring his laptop with him, but move it to transfer into the driver's seat so he got the Mount'n Mover.
When out and about, he needs to take the laptop with him. At home, David can strategically park his chair, reposition the Mount'n Mover to transfer into the other chair and swing the mount over to access his laptop while watching television.
Mount'n Mover Uses:
Seth is in grade school. He uses a manual wheelchair and a communication device. He needs to change positions of his device for different school activities.
Mount'n Mover Uses:
Speech Device Reading TrayMount'n Mover Benefits for Him:
Loren is a professional photographer. His blog, Rolling F-stop, is a forum for photographers who use wheelchairs.
Loren had tried all sorts of mounts in search of one which securely attached to his wheelchair and held his expensive camera while he rode his power chair over rough terrain and gravel roads.
Mount'n Mover Use: Photography
In his own words:
Mark is a veteran - he served his country and sustained a spinal cord injury roughly 30 years ago. His power chair is terrific for mobility, but makes it more difficult for him to use tables of a standard height.
Mount'n Mover Uses:
Computer: keyboard/mouse tray Reading and Writing EatingIn his own words:
Jim has run his own accounting business since 1963. He and his wife started a nonprofit to better manage personal care attendants. Jim says "Retirement" is not in his vocabulary.
Use: speech device
Mount'n Mover benefits for him:
Reposition for computer work Move to access to sink Place off to the side, in a second operating position Move for transfersIn his own words:
Catalina recently celebrated her fifth birthday dancing her heart out as a princess.
The hyper-social Kindergartener loves school, princesses, pink things, dancing and all music (especially Taylor Swift).
Catalina (Cata) enjoys cycling with dad in an adapted stroller and spending time with her brother and sister.
“Communication is such a basic need and I am very grateful for access to new methods to remain actively engaged in everyday life. I still have a voice!”
Gae Skager leads a busy life full of faith, friends and advocacy.
When she recognized she exhibited the early symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) she acted quickly and met the diagnosis without pause.
Laura Hall, an assistive technology blogger, reviewedher two week trial of the Mount'n Mover and we couldn't be more excited about it!
Beth Moulam, a Lightwriter user in the UK, posted a rave review on the Mount’n Mover in her blog and on YouTube, check out her video below.
Check out Beth's blog posts here.
The Mount’n Mover is being put through it’s paces! We are testing the mount in a worse case scenario – a 10 lbs device, at a 30° tilt, with a 100 “speedbumps”.
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"This mount is the best investment I made in a long time. It has surpassed just a mount for my communication device, and become truly a device essential to my daily living"