We started pursuing a new "stander" for Elsa (age 6) last fall. That's because in October 2017, she officially outgrew her old wooden one. We simply couldn't make do any longer. Here's 3-year-old Elsa, lookin' tough (and adorable) in her original stander...
Standers help people who can't stand, well, stand. You don't really think about the benefits of standing unless someone you know can't do it on their own. Standing is great for joint health and digestion (and all that THAT entails). And... little known fact... it even helps your feet grow!
Plus, the social implications of being upright with peers, family and friends can't be over emphasized. Wheelchairs are great for many reasons, but our family (and probably yours, too) spends most of its time up. If Elsa can be up with us, nice and close, we absolutely want her to be.
For 7 to 8 months, we've been waiting for the stander - waiting on scripts, insurance approval, order, delivery and custom fitting. Eeeesh, what can I say? It's a long process. During this time, Elsa has been sitting more than usual. We have gotten creative about facilitating some standing, though, which I wrote about in this post. Here's the rigged up situation that got us through for a while...
But to ensure Elsa's safety, and optimal posture and positioning, a big-girl stander was a necessity. At last, the new one has arrived. Now we're back on track, and up and at 'em! This is it...
Kind of huge, right? Its size is even more apparent when it's positioned horizontally (which is how we get her in). When the stander is at this angle, it takes up about an eighth of the room we keep it in...
One thing you may notice are that her legs are kind of far apart. That threw me off a bit a first, but we learned that this angle is optimal for hip positioning. Elsa also doesn't stand at 90 degrees. Instead, she's tilted back a bit (at 75 degrees), which allows her to stay standing for longer and keeps her from leaning forward against her chest strap.
The stander has some really cool features, such as a high tray, which can transition into a basin. This is fantastic for keeping toys in front of her. (She otherwise often swipes things to the ground pretty quickly.)
Overall, she seems to like it!
Do her sisters try to climb on it? Has one of them already colored on it with marker? I'll let you fill in the blanks there. We're all getting use to it, its possibilities and family rules for respecting and protecting it - and above all, Elsa!
But...
More than anything, I absolutely love that this summer, Elsa will be up with us outside - on the front porch, in the drive way, on the back deck (on flat surfaces only, of course!) - instead of on a blanket on the grass, which has been our summer baseline for yeeeeeears. This photo is almost three years old, but until now we haven't moved too far from this position...
It's high time Elsa is up high with us, enjoying all that summer has to offer.