Product photography of high quality and useful disability aids by AAT
Posted on 28th November 2022 at 22:01
Peter and I embarked on a new photography challenge over October the half term. It’s not something
we had ever tried before, however, when Angela from AAT got in touch with us, it sounded like a great
project to be involved with. Not only did Angela want us to photograph their products, she wanted
George to model them!
Over half term, Adrian from AAT, came to our home with lots of interesting and exciting new products
for George to model and use. It was great for us as parents to get to try out loads of products, some
of which we had never heard of before. I do feel that this is a common issue with disability aids and
products, there are so many on offer and out there to people, it is a matter of finding them that is the
issue.
The first item that Adrian set up for George to model was the Stabilo Grande Mattress. I was really
looking forward to seeing how this piece of equipment worked and how it would be suited for George
and his needs. George has quadriplegic cerebral palsy which means George is not able to sit unaided
without support. Peter and I are always looking for ideas and ways to support George so he is able to
sit more freely without the constraint of the wheelchair and this is exactly what the Stabilo Grande
did.
We placed the Stabilo Grande in various locations around George’s recreation room. Firstly, we laid
George flat on Grande on his plinth. He was extremely happy and looked very comfortable, due this
being a vacuum posture cushion, it molded to George’s shape beautifully. This could then be further
adjusted on the plinth to allow George to lay on his side comfortably.
Many a times when George was younger, Peter or I would lift him out of his chair and prop him up on
the sofa with cushions for family film time just to have him sat with us on the sofa watching a film. I
was amazed when Adrian set the Grande up on the sofa and George was sat in a lovely upright position
on the sofa looking very comfortable and chilled indeed! More importantly, really happy. This is a
perfect way to resolve all of those issues we had in the past when wanting George to join us on the
sofa for movie time. We also enjoy family game nights and often sit on the floor around a board, so it
would be a great way to have George join in on the floor with the action.
I really loved the concept, set up and versatile use of the Stabilo Grande, for George it would be a
fantastic piece of equipment which can be used around the house in many different ways for a number
of years.
Next up on the shoot was the Gravity Chair. This chair aims to offer not only support but sensory
feedback and stability to those who use it. Upon first impression, it does look like a gamer chair that
my 17 year old would enjoy playing his Xbox on, however, of course it does offer a lot more than that.
Adrian had brought three different size chairs and due to George being a growing lad, he suited the
larger chair better.
As George loves to extend himself as much as possible, we needed to strap him in to prevent him from
falling out of the chair. Of course more able children or adults would not require the strap. George did
really enjoy sitting in the chair and of course was extending himself as much as possible, because he
is cheeky like that, so Adrian placed a wedge underneath, which comes with the chair, to angle it. I
think the chair would be fantastic in a home or school setting for use in a quiet area or a library.
I thought I would give the chair a go myself as I was intrigued to see how it felt to sit in. It was much
more comfortable than it looked and provided a real nice support on my lower back.
The Aqua Liberty was up next. This is used in the bath as a support system which is designed for the
bather to relax and enjoy a bath without the need of a parent or carer to physically intervene. The
bather is then left to enjoy a nice soak in the tub! George was very excited about using this as he loves
being in the bath. The vaccum posture cushion is molded around the shape of George creating a really
effective way of him to be able to sit supported and unaided in the bath.
We used to have a similar product to this but it used a beaded system and therefore didn’t mold very
well to George’s body shape. Plus it recently broke and the beads went everywhere! Think polystyrene
balls all over the wet room floor and I’m still finding them now!
At present, we have to keep George’s sling on the in the bath and he is not able to sit up in the bath
without this support. He was extremely relaxed and comfortable whilst seated in this and was
thoroughly disappointed he didn’t get a full soak in the bath in it! The reason for this being it was far
more effective from a photo point of view to show it without the water. George did get to have a soak
in the bath later on though!
This piece of equipment would again be a very much welcomed addition to George’s collection and
he absolutely loves the bath so would make very good use of it.
We moved on to the Chili Bean Posture Cushion. I am not too sure why it is called a Chili Bean, perhaps
it is to reflect upon the fact it gives a bean bag style effect, which is great for a family home or quiet
area in a school or respite centre. This again uses the vacuum posture and its shape adapts to the body
or a desired position.
A molded footrest can be purchased to give extra support and comfort for the legs and feet, which is
a welcomed add on for George as it would help prevent him slipping down when extending. A roller
base is an additional extra which is provides a good use of moving the person around if being used in
a school, hospital or respite centre. This product is again a really lovely way of giving George a break
from his wheelchair and also a lovely way to sit with the family.
Last up on our shoot was the stair climber, Adrian went through the stair climber with me so that I
could use it on the video that Peter was going to take. Adrian was very clear with his instructions and
very good at demonstrating the chair to make me feel at ease with it. At first sight, I was quite nervous
about using it, however, once I had a few goes of it I was actually surprised at how easy it is to use
going up and down the stairs. Going down was a scarier prospect then going up, which felt more
natural to me.
The braking system on the front wheel really gives you a sense of calm as it feels incredible strong at
the front of the step. That wheel isn’t moving until you tell it to! So gave the reassurance of being able
to adjust my position to move to the next step. We modelled the chair with Violet in it, Violet is able
to walk the stairs and does not have any form of disability, however, Adrian wanted to show the
versality of the chair and the different sizes it came in. Also, let’s face it what four year old would turn
the chance of using a fancy piece of equipment with the fee of chocolate on offer!
This is a great solution for someone waiting for a property to be adapted or if someone was looking
for an item less imposing than a chair lift being permanently fitted to the wall. After some small
training it is very easy to use and another fantastic solution to assisting people.
Overall, we felt the product shoot was a really great success. Adrian was fantastic to work with and
George absolutely loved him! Which made things really relaxed and informal which is a really nice way
of working and gives good flow and vibe to the day.
I would really recommend the products made by AAT as they are of a good quality and are products
that give really good solutions to aid disabled people’s needs. Peter and I will definitely be investing
in some of the products for George. George enjoyed his day as a model and I am sure would love the
opportunity to do it again.
Peter and I are really looking forward to building our working relationship with AAT and hope this is
the start of many photography shoots.
If you know of anyone who has a disability aid or product that they want to share on our website,
please get it touch. As I said at the start of this blog, there is so many great product and services for
disabled people that we just don’t know about. We want to help spread the word!
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Tagged as: Care, Cerebral Palsy, complex needs, Disability, Disability Aids, Disability Products, Special Needs Families, Support
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