Neil Harris
Technician, The Spastic Centre of New South Wales, Australia.

Custom moulded seating is often considered for clients with complex postures: to improve posture, reduce pressure through equally distributing load, and consequently aid functional abilities. However due to the close contouring clients, often report they become hotter and sweat. Subsequently moisture collects between the client and the seat, leading to discomfort. There is a need to frequently change clothes, which is time consuming for the client and their carer. In extreme cases, there is an increased risk of pressure areas through skin maceration. Increased moisture and heat can also limit the life of the seating system. There is little evidence for successful interventions that address this issue.

The Spastic Centre has recently trialled a breathable fabric (Supracor) attached to a moulded seating system to reduce temperature increase with good affect. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of this material to address the needs of four young men of similar ages, who clinically required a custom moulded seating system but clients and careres raised temperature regulation as a concern. The paper will outline the process undertaken by the seating team, including the practical technologies used, and a summary of the trials and results. The Goal Attainment Scale (GAS) is used to identify goals, and analyse data from the trials. This paper will be of relevance to clients, carers and clinicians who have an interest in heat regulation and/or custom moulded seating, or to those interested in the use of evidence based practice tools.