Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Loving the Neater Eater



Well the Neater Eater has arrived in our house and everyone is loving it especially Missy. Over the years we have continued to look for ideas in particularly when it comes to eating and drinking that provide independence. We have the sandwiches and drinks now sorted with TAD's help(see other post). However dinner and breakfast were time consuming and didn't provide the opportunity for Missy to be independent.

The Neater Eater made in the UK is a eating device that greatly assists with controlling arm movements and works on a spring system that is very adjustable, so the distance back and forth and the height to the mouth. So after moving the spoon into the dish and you have your desired amount on it will lift by it's self and move to the mouth position. The plate has a small lip around it to assist pick ups and it has stand underneath that fits into a hole making it very stable but can be turned to find the best bit of dinner or the most tomato sauce.
Dinners have been transformed with Missy now getting hers first and not having to wait for me to sit down with both our dinners, so I can start feeding her. No longer is there one mouthful for me and one for Missy with both our dinners going cold. Missy is highly motivated by food and the independence this machine provides while enjoying her favourite past-time EATING is awesome.
Of course they are an expensive piece of equipment, with accessories they retail about $4K however I was in the right place at the right time and a few trips to Sydney, I managed to picked up a demo for much less.
Video attached is Missy eating some slippery peaches in her first week of practice.
Her determination to be independent is inspiring.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Hectic Life continues

Life continues to run at a fast pace since returning home from the Gold Coast. Following that trip I have done two Sydney trips, just quick down and back day trips, to pick up some sale equipment including a neater eater - what's a neater eater? well watch this space i will take some photos of Missy using it and post it very soon.

We are continuing our trial of the Eco2 Communication Device at the moment.

H-Ho has celebrated her Birthday with a friends party, a family dinner and cake at Pre-School.

While the pace of our household picks up, the temperatures we are experiencing are dropping dramatically. Winter has hit with a top today of 5 degrees. Beanies and scarves are standard school uniform around here.