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.

4 comments:

  1. Missy you are so clever, what will you achive next?

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  2. That looks fantastic. well done missy. Hope to see you all at the next clinic if you are going. We are there 4th & 5th August.

    Also i would be interested to find out how difficult it was to up load a video to the blog. I have a video of Harri I would like to up load, but I have not worked it out yet. Regards Matt

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  3. Luv the neater eater, Mitch, Matt & i enjoyed the talent of Missy & the freedom of choice.

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  4. It is fantastic and really inspiring.
    My son is not totally dominates the spoon and often leaves half of the food if I leave the mess alone and does not tell you, but Missy taught me that it is important that the opportunity to be more independent

    I loved this post, could you post it on my blog?

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