Product Spotlight: Crosswind Concepts Activity Tray & Freedom Chair
Enda Palmer had had it. At the age of 92, her Essential Tremors seriously inhibited her ability to perform everyday tasks like eating and reading the paper. Unimpressed with what was out there, she decided to invent and patent her own solution: The Activity Tray.
Essentially, her design is a sturdy tray which rests on a table or lap and can be adjusted to optimum height. When the user presses their arms into the indentations on either side of the tray, they are able to stabilize the tremors in both arms and hands in order to complete their desired task.
Now Abilities Expo exhibitor Crosswind Concepts is proud to be the sole manufacturer of this simple, yet ingenious, device.
"We are very pleased to be the company with the exclusive rights to get this product out for the people in need. Anything that can benefit the quality of life for anyone with physical challenges above and beyond normal life is something we want to be involved with," said Jack Wright, president of Crosswind Concepts.
Further proof that it doesn't have to be high-tech to be the perfect solution, the Activity Tray is ideal for individuals who struggle with various diseases and situations such as Parkinson's disease, Essential Tremors, ALS, strokes, over active thyroid, MS, Huntington's disease, alzheimers and arthritis.
Regardless of its particular use—eating, reading, writing, computer work, applying makeup or shaving—the Activity Tray promotes independence and self-sufficiency by allowing the individual to continue to do the things that they always have. "No one has to help me feed myself," insists Palmer. "I can do it myself."
Adjustable to four different heights, the tray's proximity to the eyes and mouth not only simplifies a task, it reduces the fatigue. When a person does not have to work as hard to navigate food from the plate to their mouth, they are less like to be too tired to finish their meal. The device is also lightweight and easily collapsed, making it extremely portable.
According to Wright, "We all want to age with dignity and believe the tray can be a key contributor when it comes to quality of life."
Another essential tool from Crosswinds Concepts is the Freedom Chair. Initially envisioned as an emergency evacuation chair, this device has come in handy to ferry wheelchair users over ground that their chairs cannot traverse.
Fashioned with aircraft grade aluminum, the chair has 6 points of carry enabling up to 6 people to lift someone in the chair over rough ground or up and down stairs.
The Freedom Chair was a hit at this year's Boy Scouts of America 2013 National Jamboree. "The chairs enabled Jamboree staff and scouts to help scouts using wheelchairs and scouts with injuries to negotiate very difficult and muddy terrain where their wheelchairs or crutches would not let them travel," said According to Disability Access Services Leader Timothy Birt. "Use of these chairs can help provide access to high adventure areas and activities to participants with disabilities that is nearly impossible without such equipment."
For more information on Crosswind Concepts, visit www.crosswindconcepts.com.